Home, street, home

For this week's challenge, I asked GoodGymmers to share place(s) around their home running/walking route where they feel like they can relax and breathe just a little bit easier. You know the type of places: those sights that are so dear to us that just looking at them can make a moment skip and our heads tumble. The places where we belong.

Here they are in their own words

Nurjehan - Haringey “It’s not frequently that I have any section of Downhills Park, in Tottenham, to myself. When summer is here, the trees are variations of avocado, olive and grass green… I love the tranquility of the birds chirping and nature in its fullest glory.”

Peter - Redbridge “Can't really say there is one specific place, hence a collage of different footwear representing different moods & locations

trainers on trails & roads mudclaws getting dirty vibrams for all sorts of exercise rugby boots for play

But if you want one, rugby pitch perhaps?”

Pauline - Liverpool “Runcorn Hill is just a few minutes walk from my front door, and is a place where I go every day, to run, or walk the dogs, or to just be. It is like an oasis of calm, in an otherwise hectic world...my road is on a busy bus route, I live a few feet away from a railway line, and am on the Liverpool John Lennon Airport flight path.

The Hill gives me the time and space that I need to reset, de-stress if needs be, to think (or not)...to breathe deeply and appreciate the beauty of nature at its best. The Hill is a place of special scientific interest, has heathland and a wide range of flora and fauna. I love losing myself amongst the trees, walking across the heathland and listening to the songs of the myriad of birds that have made their home there.

A former quarry area, it provided stone for building works as far apart as Liverpool Cathedral and New York harbour, and now provides extensive and impressive sandstone Cliffs, with panoramic views over the Mersey estuary. Being from Liverpool, this feature means that I can look across the river, to my home city, and feel close to my family there.”

Linda - Redbridge Hainault Recreation Ground

Playground of my childhood, Place to clear my head, Area of “fairy rings” that as a 4 year old I used to find in the adjacent infant school, Distant view of Hainault Forest, Field where I helped Trees For Cities plant saplings which I privately dedicated to departed friends and family.

Vicki - Redbridge As I’m in lockdown away from my home I’ve been getting used to running in a new area and I’ve found some lovely routes.

I chose to take pictures of the part where I run over the footbridge before going in to the park, as it’s nice being up at tree height looking down.

Liz - Camden “I’ve lived in Essex for around 4 and a half years. In that time, I’ve mostly confined my running to commutes from the train station, and to training runs along a couple of routes. I’m not a fan of varying it up as the more familiar something is to me, the dearer it grows.

I’ve provided four different photos of one of my regular running routes. One photo is just of a lane, because that lane reminds me of one autumn morning when the sun came up as I ran and I felt infinite. Another is of a church on my commute that’s at the apex of that route: aside from thinking it’s beautiful, I appreciate knowing that whichever way I’m running, I’m going downhill!

My favourite photo is simply that of the tree. It’s just one turning away from the road onto my estate, but I can’t see anything else once I’ve spotted it: it’s my sign that I’m almost home 🧡”

[Insert shameless McFly plug here, because cheesy music also feels like home ;)]