Rachel's Guide to Newcastle and Beyond!
*Sponsored
Following on from my recent health kick in Bamburgh I have been on the look out for fun ways to keep fit and active at home in Newcastle without resorting to joining a gym (that’s just not my bag). Thankfully, I didn’t have to look far, ParkLives is back with a jam-packed programme of FREE activities taking place in beautiful parks across the city.
ParkLives is an initiative from Coca-Cola Great Britain, run in partnership with nine local councils including Newcastle. We’re really lucky to have some wonderful parks in Newcastle and if I learnt anything during my experience at Northern Bootcamp, it’s that exercising outdoors is good for both mind and body.
There are loads of different sports to have a go at including Tai Chi in Jesmond Dene, Family Hula Hoop in Heaton Park, Nordic Walking in Exhibition Park and Bowling in Westerhope Park to name but a few. There’s something to suit all ages and abilities, everyone is welcome, you don’t even need to register, just turn up and enjoy!
I recently went along to Gosforth Central Park (just behind Gosforth High Street) and tried out Cardio Tennis during Love Parks Week as part of Coca-Cola Great Britain’s ParkLives Initiative.
Run by Keep Britain Tidy, Love Parks Week (13th-20th July) encourages everyone to get out, enjoy some fresh air and celebrate the important role that parks can play in the local community.
I’d never been to Gosforth park before, it’s so much bigger than I expected with a lovely play area, basketball court, bowling green and two tennis courts where our session took place. I parked at Gosforth Shopping Centre which is free in the evenings and as the class was also free the evening didn’t cost me a penny.
Tennis rackets and balls are provided at Cardio Tennis and there were two coaches putting us through our paces. About twenty people turned up to take part, mainly women and a few kids too. Our session got off to a bit of a confusing start as none of us had really understood what we were supposed to doing in the warm up. We soon got in to the swing of things though and I found myself working up quite a sweat and… wait for it… enjoying it too, woohoo! It’s not often that happens, let me tell you.
I’ll definitely be checking out some more of the free ParkLives activities on offer in Newcastle this summer. If you’d like to do the same head to www.parklives.com
*This post is sponsored by Coca-Cola Park Lives, all words and opinions are of course mine
[…] sports like Aquarunning and Zumba thanks to This Girl Can, I’ve given Cardio Tennis a go with Coco-Cola Park Lives and discovered that Yoga is for everyone with Active Newcastle. There is always something going […]