Seven adventure-seeking Good Gymers set off to the badlands of Haxby and Wigginton , hoping for hard graft, an opportunity to exercise, and maybe a bit of cake. We made landfall at The Land, a site off Towthorpe Road which offers classes, events and a sense of community to families of kids with autism who struggle with mainstream education.

The main task was moving corrugated metal shed sections from the entrance through to the main area of the site where the shed was to be built. These were very large and required a full team effort. We assembled around each and carried them across the site along a winding road, navigating tall grass and the occasional bramble.

With only 10 minutes remaining we were tasked with removing as many dock seed heads as we could from a field. Good Gymers love a time trial, so we set off with gusto, culling as many weeds as we could lay our hands on. One very large pile of docks later and we were ready for the next Haxbingtonfest task.

We met Vanessa and Kev at the entrance to the site, and they showed us the giant pile of road planings which needed barrowing down to create a permanent surface for the path from the car park to the main area of their site. The summer's heat had caused the road planings to melt together slightly, creating rock hard piles that needed to be attacked with a pick axe before we could make with our shovels. Undaunted we got down to business, Vanessa and Kev worked alongside us, and we got what we could get done done. But there's a lot left to do. It felt good to be lending a hand at a place that clearly helps so many families, creating a community for people who have fallen between the cracks of the education system. I have a feeling we'll be back again soon.

The Land is on the edge of Haxby with a wonderful view of the Howardian Hills. Well done for Jake for running all the way to the task, some miles out of York, straight after work! We soon got stuck into shovelling the grit into barrows and carting it down a grassy track to make a stone track. It was a good decision to start laying the path a bit closer than the end of the road, a 5 minutes wobbly walk away! The sun soon came out and we focused on clearing the pile of grit that was blocking the mower's garage. It was a decent work out for all, so we celebrated our true Northern grit with cookies, iced buns, brownies and doughnuts. Well, it is Saturday! We will be back to do more, I'm sure!