What we’re about
The Left Culture Club hosts social events, skill-sharing workshops, cultural activities, film screenings, reading groups and games nights for London's progressives, dissidents, and radicals. Everyone is welcome, whatever your politics or your level of political committment.
The Club was created to solve a problem: how do we bring together all people trying to face the political, economic and social challenges of our times and give them a space to understand each other better, without making political parties or activist organisations the starting point? There's nothing worse than trying to get to know people and explore progressive politics when the price of admission to these spaces is making all the right political committments, reading all the right literature, or having the right backstory. The LCC wants to make the political left a welcoming place again, and that means providing a space for progressives and radicals to move together without having to sign up to each others' newsletters from day one.
If you ever wanted to learn more about emancipatory politics, or if you've ever felt like your activist group or political org wasn't providing the social space that every broad movement needs in order to hold itself together, then the Left Culture Club is for you.
We're committed to making every one of our events welcoming and safe for everybody. Our spaces are non-partisan, but not apolitical. Racism, sexism, antisemitism, classism, forms of discrimination based on sexual preference or gender identity: all these are obviously way out of line. If you are a victim of bigotry or harrasment at any of our events, please raise this with an organiser who will act appropriately. We broadly follow this code of conduct https://wiki.dbzer0.com/the-anarchist-code-of-conduct/.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- LCC RUNNERS: Hackney & Walthamstow Trail Running [5-6km] ALL SPEEDSHackney Wick Overground station, London
Welcome back to LCC's Trail Running Club! For our next outing we're heading east to Hackney Marshes and Walthamstow Wetlands . This is a nice flat run, suitable for all runners. We'll be looking at a roughly 45-60 minute run, covering between 5 and 6 kilometres or thereabouts.
Our route will take us from Hackney Wick Overground Station (on the Mildmay line), through Hackney Marshes up to the top of Walthamstow Wetlands and back around to finish where we started, following different trails all along the way. Terrain will be mostly soft earth, with some paved paths in certain spots.
All are welcome - we're a mix of skill levels and leg lengths, so I'll be maintaining a relatively relaxed pace and will make sure no one winds up too far behind.
Afterwards we may hit a cafe or pub to refuel and potentially discuss strategies and next steps for this little project.
I'll be bringing plenty of water along with me, so if you forget yours, fear not. I'll also have some misting sprays and microfibre towels if the day's weather feels over-hot for anyone.
Our standard bit of info about our running group and why it's good is provided below:
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Humans evolved to run and sprint; no wonder then that when we do it regularly (within moderation and with plenty of rest days), our brains as well as bodies thank us. Running has recently been shown to improve neuroplasticity, heal brain damage in affected individuals, and foster better mental health including elevated mood at rest and enhanced task-switching ability. Doing all this in nature, as opposed to busy London roads dodging commuters and street cleaners, also helps deliver the well-known benefits of time spent in nature to mood, anxiety levels, cognition and memory. All these things matter a great deal in an age where burnout and exhaustion are a constant presence either in our own lives or those of the people we care about [who you should totally invite along]. It matters especially for people trying to eke out a percentage of their time and mental capacity for transformative social and political organising: the better we feel, the more we'll be able to do.
In a nutshell, running is great for you and you should do it. Trail running is even better. Best of all is doing all this with a supportive group of comrades, especially one which includes knowledgeable folks who can provide some structure to what can be a puzzling sport to get started with if building up to something, like a 10k or half marathon, is your goal. Part of our running group's programming will be building a series of events aimed at building people up, slowly but surely, towards specific goals, using progressive programmes similar to the NHS's Couch to 5k system.
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Take care and see you on the trails!
- Climb Club: Indoor Rock Climbing @ Aldgate City Bouldering (£16.5 ENTRY)Aldgate City Bouldering, London
Hello verticalists! Join us Friday, August 22nd as LCC goes (indoor) rock climbing, aka bouldering. We'll start from around 17:30 and stick around until around 8PM - feel free to join us at any point within the window.
This is a surprisingly addictive, fun sport, easy to master and always great for your upper body, core and grip strength, hand-eye co-ordination and general mobility. Indoor bouldering is a great way to get the rush of rock climbing in a safer environment without the need of complex rope and anchor systems.
For this inaugural meetup, we'll be at Aldgate City Bouldering, just next door to Aldgate station (Circle and Metropolitan lines) and around 15 mins' walk from Liverpool Street station. Peak time entry to City Bouldering locations is £16.5 and shoe hire (if you don't have your own to bring along) is £3.
If it's your first time at this location, be sure to fill out the mandatory pre-registration form at this link and find out more about bouldering in general here.
In future, we'll check out other locations across London and experiment with non-peak times if there's sufficient demand.
Take care and see you on the walls!
- COLD SWIMMING @ Hampstead Heath Mixed Pond [£4.80 MORNING SESSIONS]Hampstead Heath Mixed Bathing Ponds, NW3
🌊 LCC COLD SWIMMING:
⏱️ MORNING SESSION (10:00 AM)
📅 SATURDAY AUGUST 16th 2025
📍 HAMPSTEAD MIXED POND (FIND IT HERE)
💷 COST: £4.80 (NO PRE-BOOKING REQUIRED)
Supplies to bring:
- Swimming costume
- Towel(s)
- Something warm to throw on after getting out
- Flip-flops or slip-ons recommended
- A hot drink!
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Swimming as an act of defiance: Britain's wettest capitalists (Thames Water, Severn Trent, etc) may have set their hearts on turning our waterways into one great solid mass of waste. But the bond between the people and the water refuses to break, with wild swimming clubs booming since the pandemic. Per the BBC:
"Swimming has always been a popular sport in the UK, with accounts of 16th-century knights struggling to paddle in full armour and Victorians embracing dips in the sea. But [since] the pandemic, the hobby of outdoor swimming has been rediscovered. Public swimming pools closed, and people could not travel, so they looked closer to home for opportunities to swim, creating a spike in interest and soaring club memberships."
Across the country access to this ancient, popular, indeed working-class pastime is under threat. Here in London we have options. Wild swimming at Hampstead Heath's Mixed Bathing Ponds is a great way to get your wild aquatic fix, set back in the Heath's lush forest.
Why wild swim? Swimming is one of the best low-impact full-body workouts you can do, and it requires almost nothing in terms of gear or equipment - just a piece of swimwear. Forget the Lidos (manmade pools) with their jostling crowds and pre-booking: adult access to the Mixed Pond is just £4.80, payable on-site without advanced booking during morning and evening (off-peak) sessions. The Hampstead ponds (non-mixed ponds are also found elsewhere on the Heath) feature all the essentials found at a Lido including lifeguards, changing areas, showers, toilets, and stepped access into the water via ladders.
What about cold swimming? Unlike a Lido, these ponds ain't heated or treated. Expect the shock upon getting in the water. Cold swimming and cold plunges however aren't all pain, no gain: cold therapy has been shown to help fight inflammation, improve metabolism, regulate stress hormones like cortisol, improve rest and recovery, promote the immune system, and of course provide an endorphin rush that needs to be experienced to be explained. Hampstead's ponds aren't icy obviously so they present the opportunity for some light, easy cold therapy that won't send shivers too far down your spine.
The waters at the Mixed Pond are deep and dark, so swimming ability is a must! Find out everything else you need to know here:
https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/hampstead-heath/where-to-go-at-hampstead-heath/mixed-pond
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hampstead-mixed-pond-tues-29-jul-mon-04-aug-tickets-1510081236629
These events will run on weekends throughout August, September and possibly, per demand, beyond. Take care and see you on the water!
![LCC RUNNERS: Hackney & Walthamstow Trail Running [5-6km] ALL SPEEDS cover photo](https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/4/d/4/e/event_527779790.webp "LCC RUNNERS: Hackney & Walthamstow Trail Running [5-6km] ALL SPEEDS")
![COLD SWIMMING @ Hampstead Heath Mixed Pond [£4.80 MORNING SESSIONS] cover photo](https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/8/5/d/f/event_529354271.webp "COLD SWIMMING @ Hampstead Heath Mixed Pond [£4.80 MORNING SESSIONS]")
