BASSSA Woodland Challenge
For the past two years, Leigh Woods has hosted the Bristol Area Special Schools Sports Association (BASSSA) summer challenge. It’s an event based on orienteering, giving local children and young people the chance to take part in this fun activity in a fantastic woodland setting.
The route was chosen for its accessibility for wheelchair users, as it mainly follows the Leigh Woods purple ‘all-ability trail’. Problem solving activities were also encountered along the way by over 40 children.
As a result of the relationships built up with the sports co-ordinator and the Orienteering Federation, we now also have a special orienteering trail through the woods. This has been designed as a very simple orienteering trail, to be used independently by groups who can choose their own controls and plan their own trail without the need to be led by National Trust staff.
Healthy walks
Walking the Way to Health is a national initiative of the British Heart Foundation and the Countryside Agency. It also benefits from extra funding from the New Opportunities Fund. The initiative aims to improve the health and fitness of more than a million people, especially those who do little exercise or who live in areas of poor health.
There are eight groups in Bristol, all of which aim to encourage people to become more active within their own communities. The walks programmes are designed so that there is something for every level of fitness and ability.
We’ve been working with walks leaders from the scheme to provide access to National Trust sites. Many of the walks now run independently of the National Trust although we are keen to share our knowledge of these wonderful places.
More than 300 people have visited National Trust properties in Bristol as a result of these walks and we hope to develop more walks as the project continues.
Last year, the Walking the Way to Health initiative in Bristol was presented with a National Trust award for its health walks in Leigh Woods. Helen Jones. Co-ordinater for the WHI said: “Leigh Woods has become a favourite among the different walking groups and regularly appears on programmes. We have been thrilled to see the enjoyment and health benefits the walkers have experienced."
More case studies from the Bristol Community Involvement project:
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