The legend has it that deep in the ancient woodlands of Grove Farm, there was a hundred-year-old manhole covering a portal to another dimension.

Five GoodGym daredevils walked, ran and cycled to join Mike the Explorer on his mission to uncover the gate to the multiverse. The quest brought the only survivors of Mike's last month's manhole expedition: Sevan and Kash, as well as couch surfers (but not as you imagine them!), Steph Ducat and James, and a guest from another universe (GoodGym Wandsworth), Kamil.

The team used the cryptic what3words clue that.amuse.adults and a magic staff they hadn't been able to use previously - it looked like a metal detector! Mike demonstrated what the contraption does when it gets in proximity of a wormhole to a different dimension.

Aaa-aah

We heard a cry, which we couldn't tell whether it came from a human, an animal or something entirely out of this world. We had never encountered such a demonic voice.

Did a girl shout?
Was it a cat?

In fact, it was the staff channelling the sounds from the other universe! None of the heroes felt brave enough to wield such a haunted item. Eventually, Sevan, who probably resembled a wizard the most, was tasked with sweeping the staff over the ground to make it shout:

Aaa-aah!

Mike brought another enchanted weapon with him: The Hedge Equaliser, also known as The Brambles' Bane. That was Kash's favourite tool of destruction, and she only dropped it when faced with an even more powerful artefact: The Black Circle. Others might have been fooled and thought it was just a fly-tipped tyre, but the adventurers knew better. The circle must be destroyed (or at least recycled). One does not simply walk into Mordor with a huge ring of rubber - but one can roll it to the border of Grove Farm! Kash volunteered to do so, and probably for the best, as James picked up her sword and did a far better job pushing back a horde of brambles.

In the meantime, once in a while, the explorers kept hearing:

Aaa-aah!

Mike and Sevan dug out some 20th-century treasures from places hinted at by the magic staff, but none of the artefacts resembled a door obscuring an interdimensional portal.

Feeling that the quest to find a manhole was not succeeding, Mike decided on plan B, which involved simply digging a wormhole in a location associated with a primal power source: near the water. Kamil and Steph, with skill and power, quickly created a man-made hole with earthworms inside. A manhole and a wormhole in one? That would do, Mike thought, and, together with the team, planted a legendary tree in the hole: the black poplar.

In case you didn't know, black poplars are very rare, especially the female trees. Mike wanted to restore balance in Grove Farm by closing the gender gap within the tree population. Once the new female black poplar roots itself into the wormhole, it will become a guardian of the multiverse, and GoodGymers will be able to jump to different worlds to do more good - or wreak chaos, perhaps? Time will tell.

We will be back to the magical Grove Farm for more adventures next year, so make sure to join us!

Our eventful run last night kicked off in the glow of the Winter Wonderland lights as Ivo and I met in a very festive Hyde Park. We had both run to the meeting spot so did away with the usual warm up and instead headed straight for the task to support Under One Sky.

Weaving through the cyclists we took a brief stop at the Wellington Arch for Ivo to point out the 'Pegasus crossing'. A lofty two metres above the ground you can find a crossing request button for mounted riders and the green man is replaced with a horse. A very cool thing that I had never spotted before but will be on the look out for on all future runs!

We took a steady run down to the bakery taking in all the sights, including Buckingham Palace and the Christmas lights, whilst discussing future running adventures.

This is always a task with a lot of moving parts and, after uniting with Kamil at the first bakery, we were met with our first stumbling block of the evening. Unfortunately our usual pick up spot had been unexpectedly closed for the past few days so they had nothing to give us. Undeterred we set off for the next bakery where another little drama was unfolding. Ivo quite literally jumped into action, Jason Bourne style, making it to the pharmacy just as it was closing. Meanwhile we were collecting food that would otherwise have been thrown away, and bagging it up ready to transport.

Next up was the usual challenge of following a moving live location to track down the Under One Sky team in one of the busiest areas of London at the busiest time of year. Balancing bags and pastries we tested our balance skills and eventually spotted the team handing out hot drinks and food to those that need it.

UOS is a volunteer-led charity that aims to end homelessness. It started off one Christmas when the founder did a walk about in Victoria to hand out presents to rough sleepers to let them know they hadn't been forgotten. It has grown massively since then, and the team does nightly walks to support vulnerable people and empower individuals and companies to be a part of the change to transform lives.

We handed over the goodies, had a quick chat with the volunteers and made plans for our next session. Great work everybody! We'll be back on 6th January to kick off another year of doing good and getting fit in Westminster. Hope to see you then for more fun and fitness!

It's been a busy old year at GoodGym Wandsworth and we have climbed to an extraordinary 11 071 good deeds!

We marked this amazing milestone with a night of even more doing good, a festive task, delicious baked treats and some amazing singing. Not only that but we were able to celebrate Ali's 30th birthday. What a way to see off the year...

During our warm up we discussed our favourite things to eat on Christmas day - we're looking forward to Christmas pud, yorkies, cauliflower cheese, risotto, pasta, smoked salmon and even...parsnips!

It was great to be going back to a task we hadn't visited in a while. Arriving at the Venue community centre we were met by Hadas and split into three groups. One team tackled the decorations, one had the job of packing away chairs and tables and the third got to grips with clearing the outside space.

It didn't take long for the place to be transformed. It had been looking a bit neglected but with all hands on the deck making space for a big local event and giving it a festive makeover it quickly became a community Christmas wonderland.

The final step was to switch on the lights, so after a countdown it was up to Ali to do the honours. Great work everybody - it doesn't take much to make a big difference.

We ran back to base for stretches, even managing a sprint up the big final hill and perhaps an even quicker sprint over to the pub for a night of sweet treats and plenty of karaoke. Turns out that GG Wandsworth has a lot of hidden talent in its midst - take a look at the photos to see the star turns in action!

There are missions happening over the Christmas period, including the opportunity to help out with a big community meal at the BAC on the day itself. Our first group run of the year will be on Monday 5th January - join us to kick off another amazing year of GoodGyming.

Have a great break everybody and thank you for a year that has been filled with unforgettable memories and a huge amount of doing good (and squats). Roll on 2026!