As the autumn evenings rapidly draw in, the GoodGym Hounslow crew gathered for some energetic warm-ups to get the blood pumping before heading into the twilight. Headlight season is officially upon us!

Warmed up and raring to go we headed down to Staveley Road where we met up with Michelle and Alanna. Last night's mission was to support Wild Chiswick, a fantastic local charity dedicated to increasing awareness of local wildlife, conducting vital citizen science, and creating robust urban habitats. This includes building hedgehog highways to managing a dedicated wildlife allotment plot - and this is where we working last night to help it get ready for winter.

With tools in hand, the team split up to tackle a variety of tasks across the plot:

• The Artichoke Excavators: Steph and Maxime took on the Jerusalem artichoke beds. They dug deep and found absolutely loads of bulbs which will be planted in spring
• The Weeding Wizard: David took charge of the first bed, meticulously weeding it until it was completely clear and ready for its next phase
• The Hedgerow Heroes: Jon and Michelle tackled the (currently mini) hedgerows, weeding between them to ensure they grow back stronger
• The Allium Avengers: Alanna and Gus teamed up to chop down the alliums and dig out the dead matter, tidying up the debris to keep the patch healthy

With the tasks successfully completed, we switched our headlamps to high beam and headed back to base. The return run offered plenty of interest, including a stop to admire a charming local attraction—a tiny diorama nestled right at the Chiswick traffic lights! We chatted along the way, discussing the old philosophical paradox: why bad news is actually good news. GoodGym sessions are nothing if not varied!

It is never too early to get into the festive spirit. Next week, we are escaping the autumn chill and heading indoors for a lovely seasonal task. We will be helping out and getting everything ready for Christmas at the beautiful Chiswick House and Gardens. Don't miss out on the indoor festive fun—go ahead and sign up for next week's session here!

Last night we had a very special Sunlight Society x GoodGym collaboration in Westminster — bringing together two communities with plenty in common: getting active, getting outdoors, meeting people and feeling good.

Sunlight Society helps women in London move their bodies, spend time outdoors and make genuine connections and founder Caterina is herself a GoodGymer! So it was brilliant to bring the two communities together for an evening of running, volunteering and plenty of laughs.

We met at Hyde Park for some warm-ups, introductions and a chat about what the evening had in store. Then we were off!

Our route took us across some very busy central London crossings before we found ourselves running away from the traffic through Green Park. The final stretch involved us encountering a slightly spooky alleyway and an invitation to join a ghost tour - which we politely declined despite how close we are to Halloween! 👻

From there it was past some very swanky bars, followed by some very expensive-looking shops. We managed to resist temptation and arrived at St James’s Church Garden, where Catherine welcomed us and told us more about this fascinating place.

The church has a long connection with social justice and provides space, support and resources for a range of community groups. Even the ground beneath our feet has a story to tell — what is now the garden was once a graveyard and was later used as an air-raid shelter during the Second World War.

We divided into groups and got stuck into the gardening jobs: clearing leaves, shifting bags of compost and leaf mould, managing kitchen waste, chopping branches and twigs ready to be composted, and generally giving the garden a good tidy-up.

There was plenty of work, but also plenty of chat, plenty of laughs and plenty of teamwork. It was brilliant to see everyone getting stuck in and making such a positive difference to this little pocket of green in the heart of Westminster.

After half an hour of hard work the result was a cleaner, safer, more welcoming and more biodiverse green space for local people and the wider community to enjoy. 🌱

With the task complete, we headed back towards Hyde Park — with that all important stop along the way for a quick fitness blast featuring several stations and several different exercises. There were perfect planks, super squats and even some creative use of a tree. 🌳💪

Then it was back to Hyde Park for stretches and goodbyes. Great running, great impact, great company — and a brilliant reminder of how much good we can fit into an evening when we get together.

Thank you everyone for coming, for getting stuck in and for making the evening such fun. It was lovely to spend it with you all. ❤️

And next week...

We're off to the oldest youth club in the world! Join us!. We also have plenty going on during the week, including picking up surplus food, making sandwiches for rough sleepers, and helping to reduce waste going to landfill. Check out all our sessions here

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We were back at Doddington for our monthly session last night— the evenings are getting darker, but thankfully it’s still warm enough to make the most of being outside.

We kicked things off with the important question of the evening: what colour is hippo sweat? Because why wouldn’t we? 🦛

Then it was time to run down to the garden, where we got stuck straight into a whole host of jobs. We laid down cardboard to create new growing space, dug out and replanted teasels, shifted soil around the garden and generally had all hands on deck helping with the maintenance of this special place where local people without access to gardens can grow food.

It’s such a beautiful time of year at Doddington, with amazing squashes and pumpkins growing all around the site. The children will be carving them for the local library, before the contents are cooked up and shared with the community — meaning everyone gets to be part of the life cycle of the garden. 🎃🌱

With the garden jobs done, we headed down to the square for our circuits-based fitness session. And if that wasn’t enough, we finished with a one-minute squat challenge. Our legs were definitely feeling it by the end!

Great work, everybody! 💪

Then it was off to the quiz to defend our GoodGym reputation. 🧠🏆

Next week, we’re heading to Paradise to shovel manure in this beautiful space. Come and get stuck in!

Sign up here for all the details.

What a day for a GoodGym trail run! Yesterday we headed out onto Wimbledon Common, and despite it being October and technically Autumn, the weather hadn’t got the memo. It was a hot 20C and many of us found we regretted our decision to wear layers!

We welcomed Guldjan to her first GoodGym session - lovely to meet you! - and settled into a great pace. The trails were beautiful and leafy, with plenty of hills to keep things interesting. Along the way we explored some of the Common’s more exciting landmarks, including the Big Alp, Little Alp and the infamous Toast Rack. There was even the added excitement of navigating around the golf course and successfully avoiding being taken out by any stray golf balls! ⛳️

After a good run, we finished up at a pub that felt like we’d been transported to the countryside — the perfect place to cool down, relax and give ourselves a pat on the back.

A brilliant run, great company and plenty of ideas for where to explore next. Richmond was mentioned so keep an eye out for the next GoodGym trail adventure! 👀

Thanks everyone for making it such a fun one and to Catherine for plotting us a beautiful route. 🌿💪