Pilates in Frome.

The long read

Pilates in Frome, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.

For a social group class, start with Palm St Pilates or Pure Moves. Palm St brings the newest high-design room to Palmer Street, with reformer, mat, barre and yoga and a three-class starter pack at £30. Pure Moves has taught in Frome since 2007; its four-person reformer classes cost £20 and sit within a more traditional timetable of rehabilitation, bone health and one-to-one work.

The private-apparatus choice is unusually rich. Frome Pilates Studio teaches the full classical system on reformers, towers, Cadillac, chairs and barrels, with a £40 private taster. SOpilates offers one-to-one and shared reformer work from Keyford Gardens after more than two decades of teaching. Focus Pilates adds a comprehensive classical studio and teacher-training programme at the Old Tannery.

That leaves a useful distinction between fashion and method rather than a contest between them. Palm St is the energetic reformer-led membership; Pure Moves is the established small-group habit; the three classical studios reward people who want individual detail, apparatus range or a deeper study of the original system.

Frome makes the local part easy. Walk Catherine Hill, check the Black Swan Arts programme, and let Rye Bakery or the monthly Frome Independent handle the post-class appetite. Almost every studio is close enough to the centre to keep the car parked and make a proper morning of it.