It’s January and the month when many make (and some break) New Year’s resolutions!  If your plan is to get fitter and more active in 2015, helpfully, London’s green and open spaces offer many possibilities to make turning a new leaf…more leafy!

Pictured in this week’s photograph is outdoor gym equipment in Hornchurch, Havering. This one is a Green Legacy coloured Gym by The Great Outdoor Gym Company: “Outdoor fitness equipment for the whole community to use in the fresh air…proven to raise sports participation in local communities”.  The gyms are available to users of the park or open space, therefore for free.

Outdoor gyms are a relatively new addition to London’s open space sports and activity facilities.  The GiGL open space database includes details of site ‘features’. These include a diverse range of activity facilities, for example: 230 bowling greens, 80 athletics tracks, 31 BMX tracks, 18 outdoor swimming pools, 195 skateboarding areas, 337 natural playing pitches, 279 cricket pitches, 223 cycle paths 386 basket ball hoops and 2 croquet lawns.

The GiGL open space dataset is based on a historic long-running survey of open spaces throughout the capital, updated with available data from the London boroughs and information submitted by recorders and the general public. We also have a volunteer who surveys sites for us.

If you’re out and about getting fit in London’s open spaces in 2015, you can also help us keep information about facilities up to date; a form designed for this is available here.  Many thanks for your help, and good luck with the resolutions!

January 2015