Our weekend away in the Peak District had it all: camping, running, kayaking, paddle boarding, pub food, composting toilet facilities and some extremely important scientific debate.

We kicked things off on Friday with the traditional BBQ. It was a but chilly so we (Michael) tried to extend the bbq time but were politely asked to put it out!

The campsite was basic but with beautiful views and came with joys of compost toilets — because nothing says GoodGym weekend quite like doing your bit for the environment before breakfast.

Then it was trainers on for a run to Ashbourne parkrun, where we joined the Saturday morning parkrun crowd. Becca got a pb! Great running! Following this was s pit stop for breakfast in f'coffee.

Next came a run or walk down to Carsington Water, where we swapped running shoes for paddles and took to the water for some kayaking and paddle boarding. There was plenty of splashing, wobbling and the occasional dip. There was of course an alternative pub crew who were enjoying liquid of a different sort.

After all that activity, there was only one sensible option: pub food at the Red Lion. Food was consumed, conversations flowed and the weekend’s most pressing question was eventually raised:

Which animal could Steve Rice take with his bare hands?

Naturally, this became the subject of serious discussion, with various increasingly ambitious wildlife contenders considered. I'm not sure we got to the bottom of it as the discussion carried on well into the night, with a short break to play 21 and test out knowledge of prime numbers.

A brilliant weekend of running, camping, paddling, eating and laughing with an excellent bunch of GoodGymers.

Peak District? Peak performance? Probably not. Peak GoodGym? Absolutely. ⛰️❤️

Tonight we saw a bumper turnout for Holgate Community Allotment which meant there were plenty of hands on deck for a proper evening of GoodGym gardening.

Before we set off we celebrated PK and Leanne's epic hike up Kilimanjaro, as well a some great 10k running from Stef at the weekend.

When we arrived we were met by Helen who had a long list of jobs. We got stuck into turning the compost, cutting back brambles, watering trees and clearing the school plot, giving everything a much-needed tidy-up. There was also a group of scrumpers sorting the windfall apples. 🍎 Because there were so many of us there was lots of opportunity to stand about and have a chat too!

We rounded off the evening with a lively game of Fitness Splat, proving that even after all that digging, chopping and clearing, there was still plenty of energy left in the tank for a bit if fun!

A bumper turnout, a bumper workload and finally a bumper crop of apples. A very productive night at Holgate! 💪🌱

see you next week!