‘Twas the last weekend of the Challenge of January when the outlaw Edwin Hood of Holgate assembled his Merrie Band of Women and Men at his hideout in the Youth Hostel of Sherwood.

The hideout had been carefully arranged by the beautiful and wondrous Maid Vicky of South Bank who was so admired and famed across the land that bounteous food was smuggled into the hideout under the cover of darkness by a bandit from Tesco.

Afore the adventures could commence the Merrie Band feasted on Chilli and Spuds and had first to Endure the Challenge of the Quiz of Sir Michael of Woodthorpe - a hideous ordeal that only the bravest and most nerdy could survive.

This was followed by much merriment and the drinking of flagons of Ale before it was revealed that the evil Sheriff of Nottingham had removed the alcohol from many of the bottles leaving our heroes with the foul brew of Beer Zero.

After a fitful night caused by the aforementioned false beer, chilli beans and too many baked goods, the heroes made their way via a 2 out of 10 sunrise to avenge themselves and do battle at the parkrun of the Pines of Sherwood.

Here they did disguise themselves as competent pacers and did deceive the runners there into believing that they were capable of telling the time.

Tall Peter of Poppleton did point his arrow sending many runners into the Forest, Claire the Metronome did arrive on time and Little Mitch of Acomb did abuse the runners in his funnel.

Having succeeded in their aim of causing confusion in the Forest the band retreated to the hideout to indulge in more feasting on the many sausages which had been roasted there.

But outlaws cannot rest and before long many were off running in the foolish attempt to achieve the Bingo Square of Run Thy Age - a challenge only attempted by the half witted and the heavily inebriated.

Outlaws they may be but on arriving at the Palace of the King of Clumber and meeting with the original outlaw Egg of Cheshire, they did much Good assembling the bookcases of Ikea, tidying the Kings yards and digging up many brambles that were overgrowing the Cottage of The Head Gardener.

There was no time to stop for cake (well actually quite a bit of time for that) and soon shovellers were called for to dig out the wash down for the bike hire of the King.

Sandy James did soon throw down his shovel and head off to find a younger and fitter outlaw and it wasn’t long before the Merrie band was off again running to the Brewery of Tuck where much Porter was consumed.

By now the Merrie band were flagging and only the truly foolhardy continued to run back to the hideout. Scrambling over fences is nothing for our hardy outlaws and Lady Leanne, Nicky of Harrogate, Jane of St Paul’s, Paul Kelly of the Poppleton Road, and Lucy the Knight made it back to the hideout.

It was too much for some and Edwin Hood himself, Sir Michael of Woodthorpe, James of the Tilburn, Tristan-a-Dale and Jen of the ‘Never Run this Far Before’ were so overcome that they were forced to stop at several hostelries on the route back before becoming so disorientated that some did run in circles in the car park.

Friar Griff and others had been sizzling chicken and various curries for the brave women and men before the traditional Dice Game of the Offloading of Random Rubbish Gifts, where the ancient Fables of Cheryl of Cole were much coveted and Stef the Durkin did happily seize the Tub of the Roses.

Here our tale takes a sad turn as after the baby Guinness, the Snowball, the Rum and Coke and many other beverages Amy of the Woollard despite being accompanied by her trusty hound Fergal Barky (and struggling to remember who was part of this group) did declare herself to be deeply disappointed most especially with Michael of Woodthorpe, Paul Kelly of Poppleton Road (although he did the best that he could) and even with Edwin Hood Himself. Lady Leanne (the most awake), Jane of St Paul’s, Babs The Great and the one man band James of the Tilburn were spared her wrath and the day drew to a close.

The morning dawned and the heroic band broke their fast on more sausage before attempting the great litter pick of the RSPB of the Forests of Sherwood and Budby South wherein Debs the Barely In Time did Brasso polish the important medallions and the Archer Katie the Fair celebrated her birthday by making a bow and arrow before the Merrie Women and Men did head for home singing the praises of the most marvellous Maid Vicky & Edwin Hood.

Cast List:

Edwin Hood of Holgate

Maid Vicky of The South Bank

Tristan-a-Dale

Jen of the 'Never Run this Far Before'

John and Jackie of Camden Town

Bec Sneak off early-a-Bed

Paul of the Early Rising

Sir Michael of Woodthorpe

Stef the Durkin

Nicky of Harrogate

Jenna of the Tall Tales

Helen of the Springs

Alex the Jaguar

Becca Maude Marian

Friar Griff (who knows his limits)

Little Mitch

Tall Peter of Poppleton

Babs the Great

Steve of the Rice

Kit Kat

Lady Leanne the Most Awake

Debs the 'Barely in Time'

Paul Kelly of the Poppleton Road

Lucy the Knight

Claire the Metronome Metcalfe

Laura Barrett of the Whisky

Sandy James

Katie the Fair

The Egg of Cheshire

Hannah of Woodthorpe

Jane of St Pauls

The Artist David Barrett

Catherine of Poppleton

Amy the Disappointed

Neil the Van, Maid Vicky's man

Louise of Old London Town

Abigail of the Little Sleep

Dylan of the Much Wailing

Digby the Small Horse

The Ferocious Hound and Loyal Companion Feargal Barky

For Goodgym York, Sunday is never a day of rest (particularly in the midst of the January Challenge!) and the last day of our 8th birthday weekend away was no exception. Most of the weekend crew took a detour on the way home to help out the lovely folk at Langdale School in Chapel Stiles - which, despite rumours, had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they'd installed a pizza oven since we last visited in January 2024...

Our task owners had once again prepared an epic list of things for us to do and Storm Éowyn had put in some extra effort to make sure that we didn't run out of tasks in the two hours that we were there.

We quickly split off into different groups to complete:

• Sandpit tidying

• Leaf clearing

• Soil barrowing (with comedy sized barrows - both too small and too big. 'Just right' was nowhere to be seen)

• Forest school debris clearing

• Dead hedging

• Deck scrubbing

• Polytunnel tidying and maintenance

• Weeding

• Something that Mitch and Neil were proud of completing which involved a big water tank and some pipes

• General tidying up in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn

While we got stuck in, I lost count of the number of people who declared that they "would have loved to gone to a school like this!" There was certainly no shortage of folk trying out the various dens that were dotted around the forest school.

Our final, very important job was to test out the pizza oven. Gavin and the rest of the school team did a sterling job of pumping out slices of freshly-made pizza while the group huddled around the pizza oven to warm their cold hands.

33 full tummies later, we were ready to tackle the journey home to rest up, and get our GGs washed and ready for our last group run of the January Challenge on Monday.

As part of GoodGym's mega weekend away in the Lakes, we all volunteered at Patterdale Village School. They needed a lot of work completed to make the school tidy for the pupils.

The initial task was actually getting there. There were multiple splinter groups where some people ran whilst some people (including myself) hiked. We loved the scenery of the Lake District so much we decidede to take a scenic route and get to the task half an hour late. I did not hear of other stories from the runners, but I assume they were more punctual!

After that initial hurdle, we all got stuck in. There were so many tasks to complete, including:

1. Clearing out a greenhouse of old dead vegetation and giving it a good clean.
2. Digging up large amounts of weed and soil around a climbing frame, and throwing the debris into a drainage ditch (lots of fun!)
3. Adding new meshing and wiring to the border fence (very proffessionally done!)
4. Cleaning out a bug hotel
5. Cleaning out a chicken coop
6. Lopping trees of various sizes. Some of the branches were massive and required 4 of us to move!
7. Clearing the car park of moss and debris.

Despite the fact there was so many of us (more volunteers than students), we were all busy and got to work.

See this mess I'm making, you need to clean it up - Rich

After 2 hours of solid graft, cake and a chin up competition (which Paul absolutely won!) we were left with a clean and tidy school and very happy staff. We definitely earned our trip to the pub after.

report courtesy of Matt Hobby

Let's face it, January is rubbish! The nights are long, the Christmas and New Year hangover has truly set in and spring still feels like the light at the end of a very long tunnel. So what better way to turn that frown upside down and spend a weekend with the good gymmers in the lake district.

And if you think you're not a fan of January, well... the weather gods are just as peeved. With Storm Eowyn sent to smite the north of England, the weekend started with a series of closed roads, fallen trees and landslides. But, undeterred, with the mountains calling and tasks to be completed, a pioneering team set off across the pennines early on Friday. Relaying messages as to the great peril that lay ahead, they provided safe passage for the goodgym pilgrims who followed later.

Home for the weekend was Glenridding YHA. This remote hostel, nestled amongst the old lead mine ruins of yesteryear, conjures up feelings of a dwarfish middle earth. And like Hobbits to the shire, the goodgymmers feasted on home made chillis as late arrivals continued bursting through the door to much laughter and joy. None less so than during the Goodgym Treasure hunt, derived by Abigail who sadly couldn't make it at the last minute. Making full use of the YHA, it was a good thing we had exclusive use of the building

Saturday dawned with some folks disappearing off to Penrith Parkrun as volunteers, Pacers and participants, whilst others remained in the mountains to watch the sun rise or go for a fell run. Snow levels at 650m and some remaining strong wind meant changing plans to accommodate the conditions. But with stunning views of Ullswater amongst the snow covered corries above, it was well worth it. Returning to the YHA from the buzz of parkrun and fell runs alike, a full breakfast was prepared and devoured by all. Cooked eggs, bacon, veggie and meat sausages, hash browns, mushrooms, beans, tomatoes - you know, the full works organised with the usual military goodgym precision.

Sated and ready for action the team descended upon Patterdale school. Such an idyllic place for little people to learn with wild gardens on the edge of the lake. Of course, even wild gardens can get too wild and the school team had a big list of tasks pruning the hedges, clearing the flower beds, tidying the field edges and prepping the dead wood hedgerow. What would have taken the school team weeks, if not months, was polished off in mere hours - they were so happy! A warm feeling, knowing that we'd made someone's life easier and brightened up a spot of the local community, meant a well deserved stop at the Ullswater Inn, before heading back to the YHA. ... and then, of course via the Travellers Rest. Well, we were travelling and fancied a rest. It would have been silly not to stop for another beer!

Finally returning back to the YHA to a smorgasboard of curry dishes that folks had prepared at home and brought along to share. There's a recurring theme here, have you noticed? Big spice, little spice and everything in between made for a super tasty supper followed by a game of pass the parcel. Now, you may think you know how to play pass the parcel... but you've never played Goodgym pass the parcel. Everyone brings a parcel, an old unwanted gift or something, and everyone takes home a parcel. Everyone is a winner! However, with some exchanges forced by the gamesmaster and others voluntarily engaged in, there's no telling whether you'll go home with Aunt Ethel's old stockings, or a golden ticket to Willy Wonker's chocolate factory. Nevertheless, Mitch seemed genuinely excited by his grabbing a copy of Cheryl Cole's biography - who gave that away!?!?

And Sunday dawned with another fantastic breakfast, consisting of more bangers than a second hand car show (leftovers making a perfect treat for James dog when he returns home). Task number 2 involved another school trip, this time to Chapel Stile in Langdale. Once again, the team set about helping to clear up the school grounds and build deadwood hedgerows. But this task had a special treat - fresh pizza cooked on the school's wood fired oven.

... and just as the weather took another turn, the team packed up and started heading back to York. Well fed, well rested and with a warm glow inside from having helped out some local communities. Maybe January isn't that bad after all!