Was a great morning with Joao Fernandes navigating Slow Ways route between Brixton and Dulwich. This was my first mission with Good Gym and Joao was very helpful and explained the task at hand as well as being great company. Great morning all round!

4 Good gym-mers , plus 2 mini good gym-mers trialled, for the first time, the Slow Ways walking route from Streatham to Tooting. The walk was along some smaller residential roads and some bigger roads too. Some accessibility improvements could be made for pushchair access in the underpass however it does pass a great cafe for coffee and pastries and is a nice route for a quick access to tooting.

Slow Ways is an organisation aiming to document a national walking network and has recently partnered with Goodgym to gather information on both established and uncharted walking routes. The aim of our mission was to navigate a route from Luton to Flitwick and comment and collaborate with other reviewers on the experience. Oh my days ! A cold start ! A warm-up workout at Luton station and straight into a hill climb to Stopsley dispatched the chills. Then away from the road onto Stopsley Common and Warden Hill, blue skies above. Running and walking our way with a couple of minor deviations from the course that were easily rectified without retracing steps. We were over halfway at Barton-le-Clay, passing a very big house in the country reputed to be the inspiration for that 1995 Blur song. A little more walking than running to follow. Several pauses for pics to illustrate some of the waymarkers, a scary but short road walk near Sharpenhoe, a sad looking derelict house with a story to tell, and a ramble through woodland patches lit with snowdrops and winter aconites. Coffee and cake at the finish line by Flitwick rail station. A very worthwhile exercise and no evident injuries but possibly some sore toes and tired legs to remind us of a great day out on the hills.

For our second Slow Ways walk, we started in an uncommon location for GoodGym Ealing. We ventured out to Southall to follow the Soueal Two route, meeting at the Town Hall there. We were excited to find 3 first time GoodGymers there, Judy, Claire and Moona, plus a long lost returnee, Yvonna.

Once introductions were made and route navigation was sorted out, we set off on a tour of GoodGym Ealing tasks from the last 12 months. Apart from short stretches on Uxbridge Road at the start and The Broadway at the end in Ealing, the whole route was along canals, in parks or on residential streets.

From the start point, we turned into Southall Park, where Harvey volunteered at the 53rd Southall parkrun and then under the railway bridge towards Glade Lane Canalside Park. For those who didn't know there was a train line overhead, there was a bit of surprise when a train rumbled over our heads.

We were then walking alongside the Grand Union Canal over to Elthorne Park. We went past Three Bridges Park, where even longer ago, we'd litter picked by the Canal. The walking surface throughout the route was pretty good and there really weren't many issues to report to Slow Ways, however the tarmac along the canal path was pretty uneven in some places.

As we entered the Elthorne Park Extension, Sevan gave the GoodGym tool container a wave, then we charged up the hill past the saplings that we mulched during Tuesday's Group Run. We headed into Elthorne Park proper where we litter picked (yes another one) back in May.

From here on out, it was mostly walking through residential areas. We crossed Northfield Avenue and entered Radbourne Walk, next to Northfield Allotments which we'd help decorate last Halloween, then into Walpole Park where we've done many good deeds over the years. Through the Pikle, then past Bodyline, home of the GoodGym Ealing meeting point for Group Runs and Haven Green. Ealing Broadway station was in sight, but we decided that it wasn't our final destination today.

We convinced ourselves that we deserved some coffee and cake, so we stopped at a nearby coffee shop. After an easy going 7km walk, surprisingly there was more talk of walking over coffee, the West Highland Way this time. We were also educated on different methods of making tea and which spices to add to our chai for a true Indian flavour.

We hope that Judy, Claire, Moona and Yvonna will be back to help with our future good deeds.

The aim of Slow Ways is to identify safe(1), accessible(2), and relaxing(3) walking routes between urban areas.

We planned to cover the Ealchi route 2 which starts at Ealing broadway and ends at Turnham Green underground station. Emily was the first and early to arrive at the station to witness the beautiful Piano concert which we missed. The other Emily aka Milly and Jen along with a 4 legged GoodGymer Cas were the next batch to arrive. Madhan, Kash, Sevan, and Mike arrived one after other.

Sevan debriefed about the mission and we started the journey. A few minutes later Liv joined us on the way. The weather was nice and sunny with occasional chilly winds. The walking pace was more relaxed and everyone had a nice chit-chat along the way. Mike, Milly, and a tail runner(Cas) were leading the walk, and Sevan and Emily took the role of the tail runner. Sevan/Emily ensured we covered (1) and (2) of the mission by taking pictures at regular intervals along the way where the rest of the group is focused on covering (3).

We took a short break in Gunnersbery park and took a photception. We exited through the west side of the park which for me felt like an exit from Jurassic park. Sevan and Kash checked the maps once in a while and guided us on the correct route. A fearsome good boy was declaring the territory when we reached the Turnham green park. T-Rex in Jurassic park was all that I could think of.

We then crossed a narrow path which brought a wide grin in all our faces. Some cute exhibits by the FairyLand and Nursery school melted our hearts. There was a volcano and yes, there are four Dinosaurs in that. I was surprised that the Jurassic theme continued, only when I was writing this report. We completed 98% of our route by that time. We then reached the endpoint in few minutes and it's time for selfies. I heard someone was looking for a goodgymer with long hands(to take a groupie) and I pointed to Mike. Mike and Jen posed as Trex to show that they have short hands.

Madhan was lost in thoughts at the return of dinosaurs and had to take a moment and pressed pause...

Ok where was I, yeah. The groupie part. Kash crossed the road and took a group photo. I then took my camera out and was checking if something was on my hair. Suddenly everyone aligned for a group pic, thinking I'm taking a groupie. I then acted cool and clicked a few pics. Then we ended the mission with a nice coffee break at..... Chotto matte

I feel like I'm missing something.... big.

Cheeeeeese

Before the selfie moment near Turnham Green station, we crossed the Chiswick cheese market. Some of us couldn't resist the temptation and few of us tasted free tasters. And for the next few minutes all I talked about was the cheese. It sure did increase the appetite of myself and others as it was nearing the lunchtime anyway. After the well deserved coffee break, Emily, Milly and Jen went back to cheese market and everyone parted away.

Cas day out

Cas was calm throughout the walk. Pooped twice and had a snack and did some water trick on the way. She attracted fellow doggos on the way. Smol kids and big adults are not an exception as well. She was a 'catch'

Goodgym has recently set up in collaboration with Slow Ways to review a number of walks to create a network across the country. I attempted a solo mission to test out the route from Luton Station to Markyate - the route is actually recorded as Markyate to Luton, but as another Goodgymer pointed out, there's a rather nice bakery in Markyate (Pruden's) so worth having that as a treat at the end. This meant getting a left to the station and then running through the town and back up the hill, past my house to the park.

It was a grey morning, but once I got to Stockwood Park there was plenty of greenery to brighten up the morning, and the countryside between Woodside, Pepperstock and Markyate made it an enjoyable run.

Although designed as a walk, I ran the 8.8km and was then able to complete a full review for the Slow Ways website to help promote walking (and running) in our local area.