Allan Mansfield

5 Goodgymers took on the challenge to support Bring Back Guys Cliffe with creating a new rockery.

After a quick warm up outside the Fat Pug, we headed off on the 1.9 mile (3km) jog towards Warwick (including running up the not inconsiderable Spinney Hill). Arriving at the beautiful Guys Cliffe House in the dark was a real treat as it was lit up and looked stunning.

We were introduced to the pile of rocks that needed moving and then walked along the undulating trail down to the bottom of the cliffe where the new rockery was being created. Two of Guys Cliffe's regular volunteers were waiting to receive the rocks and place them in position on the rockery.

It was then a walk back to the top to load up the wheelbarrows and wheel them back to the bottom of the hill, avoiding the snow drops and mud where possible! We were perhaps a bit too keen with loading the wheelbarrows the first time and some momentum was needed to keep the wheelbarrows moving up the hill and the opposite was true whilst taking them down hill to avoid rolling down the hill with them.

We managed two full trips offloading the rocks at the bottom (perhaps being a bit more realistic with our load in the barrows the second time around!) before it was time to say goodbye and head back towards Leamington. We had clocked up a further 2 miles walking up and down the hill with the wheelbarrows before running back to the pub.

A great workout for everyone and we will definitely be back soon to finish the job! Many of us also plan to return in the daylight as visitors to better appreciate the beautiful Guys Cliffe House.

Five Goodgymers went to Coventry’s War Memorial park on a chilly Sunday morning to support junior parkrun by marshalling, giving out tokens and barcode scanning. I also had the v.v. important role of ringing a cow bell to cheer the runners on for their final lap!

Once all the runners were safely over the finish line, we enjoyed a chatty 5k run around the park. What a great way to start a Sunday!