On 29 September, Letchworth celebrated Greenway Day 2018. This was the third year that I and a band of wonderful volunteers had put on this event to help people get active and enjoy the Greenway and I’m pleased to say it was the biggest one yet!
As ever before these kind of events I was anxiously checking the weather forecast about a week in advance, there’s nothing like a wet day to persuade people it’s nicer being inside. Fortunately we were blessed with a dry day, meaning all of the events could take place from our bases at Standalone Farm and the Grange Recreation Ground.
These events included:
- Greenway Trail Challenge
- Family Fun Run – organised by Letchworth’s Parkrun Team
- Family Bootcamp Class with instructor Jackie Carrier
- Pickleball taster session with North Herts Pickleball Club
- Family Circuits with Nuffield Health
- Group Dog Walk with Willow Dog Walking
- Pirate Show with Imajica Theatre Company
- Fitness Challenge with North Herts Leisure Centre
- Bike Maintenance with Transition Town Letchworth
- Local activity information with Willian Bowls Club
We also used Greenway Day as a chance to raise money for the Heritage Foundation’s charity of the year, Herts Young Homeless. We ran a raffle with prizes donated from Active Letchworth, its wellbeing partners and from generous local organisation, my thanks to all of you! In total this raffle raised £120 pounds which we’re really pleased with. This money will be added to the Foundation’s current donation amount of over £2,000.
We also ran a mini competition to find out which school was best represented at our Greenway Day activities. The school with the most attendees would win some games and sporting equipment. In the end the winning school was Northfield Infants school, followed by The Grange Academy and St Thomas More.
What’s great for me about running events like this is the feedback we get from those taking part, showing how much people value the opportunity to get out and get active, be that just going for a stroll or taking part in something a little more vigorous.
Below is just a selection of quotes from some of our attendees:
“My dad enjoyed the 1 minute squat challenge and he’s said he’s going to try and do it everyday!”
“I loved this day because it was a reason to get the family out walking together and my children away from technology”
“A very well organised event – a joy to watch all the little ones participating in the activities”
“A great family event – can we have more like this”
In total it was another great Greenway Day and our counters have attendee numbers at just under 300.
So, that’s it. Another successful Greenway Day ticked off. But that doesn’t mean that you should stop getting out around the Greenway and enjoying the exercise and fresh air, especially with the blazing autumn colours on display. Or, if the weather turns and it a bit more unforgiving, there are plenty of sports clubs and groups around Letchworth who’d be delighted to welcome you in to the fold. You can find them all in our Out and About guide.
To find out more about the latest Active Letchworth events, head over to our Facebook page.
