Surrey and Sussex Wellbeing Weekend 2025

MAY ARRIVED with sunshine and great weather just in time for my third outing at the Surrey and Sussex Well-being weekend in Hay-on-Wye.   With leave booked I was looking forward to a great weekend with Karl, Jo, Forest, and Janice at the Trewern Activity Centre.   Every year brings the usual hardcore team and some going for the first time, it's great to meet new people and doing some networking on these weekends.

Hay has a unique position on the border of England and Wales, it is ideal for visitors to enjoy and explore the border country.   Hay is known for books and bookshops and is the first book town in the world, with a yearly festival attended by thousands of people.

This year promised to be bigger than last year with more people attending, resulting in Karl booking the local activity center in Cussop for accommodation.   Giving us the perfect base to rest and relax before heading out for the planned events.   Last year was the first time that I had been on an activity weekend, which I booked when I was going through a very hard time.   The weekend really helped and I would recommend it to anybody.   Mental health is always improved with exercise, getting out into the country, and great people around you.

Like last year I decided to relocate to Wales on the Thursday staying at the bungalow in Hirwaun, it helped me miss the Friday traffic on the M23, M25 and M4 and put me within a one hour striking distance of Hay, which was ideal.

Day 1 - Formation

Arriving in Cussop I headed for the activity center to meet up with Karl and Forest.   With fridges packed with food and bedrooms allocated I unloaded the car and started moving in, being the first to arrive I could choose my bunk, result!   With traffic pretty good on the motorways (unlike last year) it wasn't too long before everybody else started to arrive and we settled in and started to plan the first activity of the weekend.

With two designated drivers we set off for wild swimming at Bredwardine.   The water was freezing but once you've taken the bold step of submerging you soon acclimatize to the water.   The river is a great spot for wild swimming, with a bridge for people to cross on foot or car.   The supports create a strong current down the middle of the river that makes it an effort to work to swim towards the base platforms of the bridge  but swimming away from it you are in that "jet stream", which can take you down stream quickly.

After the swimming we went to Brobury House and gardens for coffee and cake.  The gardens are cared for throughout the year by a small team of dedicated gardeners and make the perfect place to visit all year round.   They do not close the gates to the public, so you are able to go and enjoy the gardens anytime.   In the center of the gardens is Brobury House, a charming turreted Victorian building which in Spring has the most magnificent bloom of purple wisteria.

In the evening we walked across country and down into Hay to The Globe a community venue, where you never know what you are going to get.   This time is was open mic night with a lot guitarists and poetry.   It was another interesting evening at the Globe and something that we always look forward to.

Day 2 - Connect

This is the big day for activities that we look forward to, with a return to my first year and gorge walking.   This year the activity was arranged through the activity center which means we kitted up and got on the mini bus before heading out to the site.   Two years ago I tried this on the first weekend and wasn't really aware what gorge walking was, but you jump into a river and float down stream and then start climbing rocks, waterfalls, and navigating the river.   Most of the time you are in the water and it is great fun, but can be dangerous, so you always keep an eye on the person in front of you.

With the bank holiday weekend there was going to be a big demand on the main sites, but the activity team found a location that isn't well known, I cannot say where we were it's that secret!   We arrived in the the glacier effected site and walked down to the river.   Stage one was acclimatizing to the water and jumping into a cold pool before walking across country, rejoining the river and starting the journey back to the jumping pool navigating the steam in all it's glory.

Working downstream, floating, climbing rocks, and navigating the bends of the river.   Surrounded by high rock faces, blue skies, and green hills was absolutely beautiful.   What made it really great was the camaraderie with the team, from the trainers to the people in our group.   With the common ground we have, everybody gelled and just made the day work brilliantly.

In the evening we walked cross country again and went into Hay to the Cozy Cafe, to celebrate their third year of trading.   The venue was a hot spot for dancing with DJ Max Galactica on the decks, and few glasses of Dark and Stormy we were set up for the evening.   Alcohol and dancing, what could go wrong?   Apart from everybody having a great time and Karl dancing on the tables around the Cosy Cafe!   After three hours of dancing I soon found out!   Everything ached and the following day there was a 7 mile cross country walk up to the top of Hay Bluff to do!

Day 3 - Team

The day started with Lucy and her team coming over to Trewern to teach us how to make small bird houses out of Willow.   Essentially this is an ancient craft of weaving.   The team had a lot of patience showing and taking us through making the bird houses, with just a wooden base and lot of lengths of willow.

It was a great morning learning an ancient craft and allowing us the opportunity to add a little more wildlife to our gardens by inviting small birds to nest and nurture.   I did get home and having put the bird house up found blackbirds nesting in my ivy which is amazing, I've been keeping clear of that area allowing them to get on with rearing their young.   The morning ended with tea and cake, which was made for us by Lucy and her team.

We then turned our thoughts to the cross-country hike from Cussop to the top of Hay Bluff  (Penybegwn) which is situated at the northern tip of the Black Mountains, an extensive upland massif which straddles the border between south-east Wales and England.

Setting off from Trewern we went cross-country with quite a lot of hills to start getting the altitude, going past a cemetery that Karl reliable informs us is the resting place of the person who invented the cross-word, whose position in the church cemetery is six down and four across!

Working our way along King Offa Way we caught the attention of a herd of cows, who decided to wander over looking a bit intimidating.   They didn't account for Forest who started running towards them, turning the herd back to where they came from.   It was a sight you had to see to really appreciate it!

The majestic climb to the top of Hay Bluff was steep and hard, as expected, but worth it to see the landscape where we stopped for a packed lunch and a break before heading back to Trewern.   It's interesting that the top of Hay is a few degrees colder, you really notice it and can't wait for the warmer air when you descent down to the bottom again.

The day ended with a quiz night led by Karl, who it appears has a local reputation as "the quiz master", we even found posters for his quizzing in The Globe.   Being broken into four teams things went well until security had to be called in to deal with a few disagreements!

Day 4 - Depart

Normally we break up on the Sunday after the Hike, but instead, due to the bank holiday Monday, we had an extra night.   Last day was a walk across fields into Hay to see the village and enjoy the shops.

As usual the first stop was coffee by the river and a group chat before heading into the town, first on my list was the Electrical Company which has everything, as the name is deceptive.   We toured the book shops of the first book town and had lunch at The Castle before thinking of heading back.

This left time for a quick visit to the local curiosity shop where I bout three cats for £6 and the famous fudge shop for treats on the long journey home.

Another great break, expertly planned and executed by Karl and Jo, thank you.

 

Surrey and Sussex Wellbeing Weekend 2024

LAST YEAR I attended the amazing Surrey and Sussex Police well-being Weekend in Hay-on-Wye.   This year I was determined to go again, although it got off to a difficult start with the dates falling on working days and no chance of leave, when suddenly the dates changed with a perfect rest day fit.

Hay has a unique position on the border of England and Wales, it is ideal for visitors to enjoy and explore the border country.   Hay is known for it's books and bookshops and is the first book town in the world, with a yearly festival attended by thousands of people.  

This year promised to be bigger than last year with more people attending, resulting in Karl booking the local activity center in Cussop for accommodation.   Giving us the perfect base to rest and relax before heading out for the planned events.   Last year was the first time that I had been on an activity weekend, which I booked as I was going through a very hard time.   The weekend really helped and I would recommend it to anybody.

I decided to relocate to Wales on the Thursday staying at the bungalow in Hirwaun, it helped me miss the Friday traffic on the M23, M25 and M4 and put me within a one hour striking distance of Hay.

Day 1

Arriving in the town of Hay I met up with Karl and Forest for coffee and waiting for the Surrey contingent to arrive.   We met in the town of Hay and went for coffee, catching up with friends from last year and meeting new people at the Castle Cafe.   There were the inevitable delays on the motorway and the chance of wild swimming on day one was lost, but there was plenty planned for the rest of the week to make up for it.

We settled into the Activity Center in Cussop sorting out the sharing and dividing up the rooms.   It was great to have a large open community area and kitchen.   Karl had sourced the food and the weekend started with a BBQ.   Following this was an evening around a camp fire with guitarist/singer Stephen Russell, who did an amazing set with his guitar and looping system.   Highlight for me was an amazing rendition of U2's "With or Without You".

Things took a different turn when Aggi turned up with two bottles of vodka (apple and grass).   With the sun going down we sat around the campfire drinking vodka and talking about the weekend to come.   Aggie didn't make it last year, so this was the first time I had met her and hope she will make future events.

Day 2

This was the big planned actives day.   Heading out to Glasbury we met up with The Ultimate Activity Company for a canoe exploration of the River Wye.    We were set up with canoes of two or three people and headed downstream canoeing from Glasbury to the Boat Inn between Rhydspence and Willersley.

We picked up a passenger whose party had left their "best man" behind during their stag weekend.    Luckily, by the time we got to the Boat Inn he was seeing the funny side of things!

It wasn't long after the safety briefing that we got the canoes into the water, started to pair off and sailing down stream.   It all got off to a great start and were doing well, navigating the stream, riding weirs.   Things were about to change when Forest became Captain Jack Sparrow and launched himself over the gap between two boats in an effort to "parley", but capsized the boat putting everybody in the water.   Swim Forest Swim!

It was a great journey on the river, working in teams to get the boats down stream and across the weirs to arrive on the lawns of the Inn for beer before we were picked up and taken back to Glasbury.

Then came a lesson in archery being taught how it should be done.   At Karl's suggestion we were split into two teams of male and female in a shoot off, where the men clearly demonstrated how not to do it and were taken back to school by the ladies!   Turned out Janice was pretty good with a bow and it was a well deserved win, next time we will have to even up the talent a little!

This was followed, rather neatly, by a lesson in axe throwing.   Again once being taught how to throw an axe there was a play off.   My inner Saxon came out and I found I wasn't bad with an axe!   Karl threw a great session and it ended with a head to head between Forest and I.

The day ended with a trip to The Globe to see the Classic Blues Band, playing covers of blues songs that Britain exported back to the states at the end of the 1960's and early 1970's with bands like Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds, Fleetwood Mac and Eric Clapton who embraced the music and tried to recreate the sounds.   In those days there was no internet and it relied on vinyl imports from the states and hours of listening to the music to try and transcribe and learn it.

The Classic Blues Band recreated the music brilliantly and we really ended the day.   The combination of guitar and vocals were amazing, but the work of the saxophonist and trumpet really created a great sound that made an amazing evening.

After an evening of music and beer we regrouped and headed back to Cussop for our last sleep at the activity cent, pretty knackered from the days events having created a lot of memories.

Day 3

It was a sad moment to get to the end of the week, but there was one more event planned before we packed up the activity center and headed back home.

We had an 11km hike from Cussop to Hays Bluff.   A really nice trails hike across the country with some very difficult hills; the aim to get a lot of altitude to see the whole of the surrounding country side.

The pinnacle of the hike was to get to the top of Hay's Bluff which forms a part of the "Dragons Back", running from North to South Wales.   This was a climb and a half to get to the top, but well worth the effort.   As we hit the top we sat back with a packed lunch and enjoyed the surrounding countryside.   The top of the Bluff was a good few degrees colder and I am pleased Karl questioned why I was just wearing a running vest!  Good call!

I am definitely looking forward to next year.

Surrey and Sussex Wellbeing Weekend 2023

THE FIRST thing I need to do is thank the amazing Karl for organising and hosting this event from Hay and Jo for organising it from the Surrey/Sussex end to bring it all together.   Without them the entire weekend wouldn't have been possible, so a great big heart felt thank you to both of them.

At the end of a long shift I found the lastest copy of the S&SP Wellbeing Magazine online.   In it was an article from Jo about the weekend last year with new dates for this year.   It came at the perfect time for me, I emailed Jo asking if there were spaces and to sign me up!

All I needed to do was get to Woking and transport was arranged from there.   Straight through to Hay-on-Wye in Herefordshire on the border with England and Wales, where the weekend kicks off.   I was really looking forward to this break and couldn't wait to hit the road with Jo and Andy.

Day 1

Somehow we got around the M25 and up the M4 making perfect time for our arrival in Hay.   Greeted by Karl and dumping our gear into the bedrooms we had fruit loaf and tea before taking off for wild swimming at Bredwardine.   The location was amazing below a large bridge that goes across the river, the water was refreshingly cold, but great fun, swimming against the current as it came around the bridge legs.

Once we dried off and changed we walked across to Brobury House for coffee and a walk around the gardens situated between the Cathedral city of Hereford and the book-lovers paradise of Hay-on-Wye.   The gardens are cared for throughout the year by a small team of dedicated gardeners and make the perfect place to visit all year round.   They do not close the gates to the public, so you are able to go and enjoy what the gardens anytime.   In the centre of the grounds is Brobury House, a charming turreted Victorian building which in spring has the most magnificent bloom of purple wisteria.

Karl turned out to be an amazing chef and knocked up a risotto in the evening, after which we walked around the area and into Hay for drinks at the Blue Boar.   After this we made our way back to the house and closed day 1.

Day 2

This was the big day with Gorge walking arranged.   I had my well worn wet suit at the ready and was excited about the day with the challenges that lay ahead.   We headed for the activity centre to get our wetsuits and buoyance aids on before heading for Dinas Rock in South Wales.   We disembarked the mini bus and walked the trails to the start point where we jumped into a deep pool of icy water before floating down stream where the adventure really started.

If you want to see what this looks like then click here.   This will show you a group of adventurers walking highlighted parts of the course from two years ago.   Well worth having a look at.

This is something that you have to try, walking up stream, though deep water, across rapids and climbing waterfalls was amazing, refreshing and I walked away thinking that I had achieved a lot, I want to go back and do more, so looking forward to next year already.

In the evening we went back to Hay and had pizza, spending the evening at The Globe.   This is a community centre where they put on variety, with authors reading their work, plays, open mic nights and DJ sets.   A few more beers were acquired and we made our way back to the house for the end of day 2.

Day 3

This was the chill out day before heading back to reality.   We spent the morning on a walk across the fields to Hay and had a slow look around the book and curisoity shops.   It was a great morning, ending with a village fete on the local fields before heading back to the house and packing up.

This was a great weekend, full of friendship and camoraderie.   It was relaxing and fun to do, especially after the week that I had.   Thank you Karl and Jo for a great weekend.

Outdoor Military Fitness

A COUPLE OF weeks ago I went out for a training run.   The plan was to head to Victoria Park and do some hill loops, using the lamposts as marker points and then run across to Paddockhall Road for more hill loops.   I completed the Victoria Park segment and then everything changed!

Outdoor Military Fitness were running their Saturday morning session in the park and I decided to watch them for a couple of minutes before moving on to Paddockhall Road.   Being a amazing friendly group I was invited to join the session, free of charge and give it a go.

This is one of the hardest workouts I have completed in a long time, it really tests your fitness levels in a fun, safe enviroment with a great trainer who takes your needs into considerion.   After an hour of the OMF workout I ran home.   When I walked through the door my wife thought that I had been run over by a car as my clothing was covered in mud from the session!

Since my free session I have returned twice for further sessions.   Since taking on the training I have found that my core has improved and there is an improvement in terms of my stability and endurance in running.  The basic athletics fitness level has improved, not significantly, but I have only completed three sessions so far.

OMF is run by current military trainers who are engaging and friendly, the groups are amazing as they are welcoming and help you with the sessions as you grow in confidence and build your fitness levels.   I have put this down to the way that the trainers approach and develop both the individual and the teams to work together.   Which is exactly what the military do.

If you are looking for a really good workout to improve your fitness levels then it's worth dropping down to Victoria Park and have a chat, maybe come prepared for a free session to see how it goes for you.   OMF also operate in Crawley and Horsham as well as Haywards Heath.   If interested or you want further information then click here.

#RunandTalk

IT'S BEEN A difficult year and I have not managed to organise a #RunandTalk event over the summer.   England Athletics put out a post for their Mental Health Champions declaring the w/c 19th September as their Mental Health Awareness week.

This was the perfect opportunity to arrange two runs taking place Lewes and Haywards Heath.   The aim was to run at least one mile to support good mental and physical health at a conversational pace.   This gives participants to the opportunity to talk with the option of coffee and a chat at the end of the event.

Lewes saw a 5km run which was set up for emergency services and took place along the banks of the river Ouse.   There were a number of people that attended and this was followed by a #WalkandTalk for those who wanted to attend, but didn’t want to run.

Haywards Heath was a 5km run from Beechurst to Cuckfield and back. There was also a #WalkandTalk opportunity for anybody who also didn’t want to run.

#RunandTalk is an event by England Athletics to promote good mental health by encouraging people to run one mile, it is sponsored by Mind, the mental health charity.

Queens Baton Relay

THE QUEENS Baton Relay was launched from Buckingham Palace on October 7th, 2021. It's set to travel the lenth and breadth of England for a total of 29 days, before culminating at the Open Ceremony for Birmingham 2022 on 28th July.

As a tradition, Her Majesty The Queen places a message inside the Baton which will be read out at the Opening Ceremony. Starting on the 2nd June, the Baton will spend four days in London, coinciding with the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Weekend.

For the 2022 event Haywards Heath Harrier Michael Parish was nominated as a Baton Bearer as part of the relay across the South East. The nominations came from the Emergency Services for the work he had done with mental health and starting a learn to run group for workers who had a sedintary role answer emergency and non-emergency calls.

FCCCD Run Group - #RunAndTalk

A WHILE AGO I arranged a #RunAndTalk session in Lewes, Sussex for colleagues in the emergency services.   Over the next week a few people said that either they wanted to run it, but it was on a day/time they were working or they had not run for a very long time.

Being on a day that they were working was easy to resolve, as I could arrange another session on a different day.   Having not run for a very long time required a lot more thought and potentially committment from me.   I had gone this far, so realistically what was stopping me?

I decided to start a #RunAndTalk Learn to Run Group.   Being on the departmental wellbeing committee I used that to advertise feeding into the organisational wellbeing committee.   From that two people came forward who wanted to give it a go.

The first session was an induction with interval training and looking at breathing, run technique to avoid injury and the mechanics of running.   The main take away part was running tall and light.   We discussed what they wanted to get out of the learn to run sessions and it was agreed that the common goal was to be completeing a 5km parkrun.   This then led into a mixture of running and training over the next nine weeks.

As we were training and running in Lewes we began to get noticed by colleagues and that started some more enquiries.   The membership rose and we currently have 12 people with 6 currently active.

On the 17th March 2022 I decided to set a test to see how everybody was doing and how close they are to the 5km.   The session was to complete a 4km run with a warm up and run along the river Ouse that meanders through Lewes.

As the 4km was coming up on my Garmin the group wanted to detour around the park and up Mayhew Road, which they managed with real determination and motivation.   Once back at HQ Garmin was showing 4.63 km.   There was a real appetite to push this to 5km and we took a route around the complex, including the dog field and the FCCCD building.

This brought the run to 5km.   Everybody is now getting their parkrun membership and we will be looking at completing the task very soon.    This is the first group I have taken from zero to hero and feel one proud coach.

Anybody within the organisation interested can see details of the group and training dates/times on the FCCCD Run Group (R.I.O.T) tab at the top.

Photo's feature three of the runners from the FCCCD group who completed the 5km run, great running.

#RunAndTalk

ENGLAND ATHLETICS announced that they were looking at restarting the #RunAndTalk programme between the 20th and 26th September 2021, coinciding with World Gratitude Day.   This was to be the first official run since lockdown.

It has been established that there has been an dramatic increase in mental health issues as well as a rise in the number of people who have started running during the pandemic lockdown.   These are for a number of reasons from getting out of the house, alone time, physical fitness and good mental health.   This is a great time to restart the event and try to link in with as many new runners as possible.

England Athletic wanted people to pledge a group run over this week.   I have always looked at this from a simplistic view, it's not necessarily there for the running club to do "another run", but to open to club to the public and use those running skills to invite other people into walk/walkrun/run a set distance.   This can be with people who have stopped running, returning to running or new runners.

On the backburner was a second idea as during lockdown I gained the Leadership in Run Fitness (LiRF) qualification.   This means that I can organise runs, risk assess and lead/coach runners.   With all of the issues around the pandemic I was in a position to arrange a second run for Sussex Police controllers/contact handlers who have worked throughout the pandemic.

This one is more complex because ...

• 
  There are two parts of the business working different hours
• There are five sections (one on early, one on lates, one on nights and two off)
• The shifts are split into core and cover shifts

 To show how difficult this is on an early shift ...

• Controllers = 0600x1600.
• Contact = 0700x1700, 0800x1800 or 0900x1900.

Seriously limiting the number of staff you could get to run the event.   But we opened the event to the whole of Police headquarters to try and apeal to as many people as possible.

Both events were pledged with specific dates and I set about creating the posters for them.   Two runs over two conseutive days one in Haywards Heath and one in Lewes.   Simples enough, except I also had a half marathon to run in Reigate a few days before!

Haywards Heath was set up for 19:00 hours, which means we are losing the light.   The route has already been set up and I just needed to put the posters out.   Posters were put up at AJ Barbers.    Barbers are one the men's essential for good mental health, men sit in the chair, relax and start a very natural conversation.   Following this there was Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Co-op and Tesco, all of which have community notice boards.

Lewes was the first Sussex Police #RunAndTalk they have had and there wasn't a route.   I poured over google maps looking for good, safe route around Lewes that didn't involve large hills (Lewes is well known for it's hills).   Thanks to two colleagues, Debbie and Wendy, who knew the area we worked out a route that took in a canal run, one pedestrianised area, two parks and a country lane.

Then came the tests, I ran the route about eight times to really define the run and get it down to 5km.   The result was an amazing route with a reasonable amount of effort that was worth doing.   Thanks go to the colleagues who identified a short cut through The Priory Park and ancient ruins.

The Lewes one was a more in house promotion.   Posters went up on every notice board that I could find, they were at the entrance and exits to the main building, and put on the inhouse Facebook site.   I am also on the Wellbeing Committe and help manage the newsletter, so I wrote an article about the run and had a full page advert on the back.

Branton, Debbie, Dean and Mike

We then got the support of Jo Shiner, Chief Constable of Sussex.   I knew she was a keen runner and would be interested, but didn't expect the level of support we got, it was incredible.   Jo said, “Run and Talk is an excellent initiative which encourages all types of people to get out in the fresh air, and walk, jog or run at a pace which suits them and at which they can still hold a conversation. I know from personal experience, that running is a great way to think and talk through those things which have been playing on one’s mind, and often finding perspective whilst doing so. The combination of fresh air, good company and a listening ear can make all the difference to someone who doesn’t know where to start talking about their worries. It also means that you are not ‘faced’ by someone, and instead they are ‘by your side’, both physically and metaphorically speaking. I am very proud that Mike is leading this important initiative on behalf of Sussex Police.” 
I loved the point that you have someone "by your side", both physically and metaphorically".   A point absolutley well made.

The Haywards Heath run went well with 16 to 18 people turning up to run the event.   Which was run between Haywards Heath and Cuckfield, at the end there was coffee at The Harvester in Beechurst.

Lewes was more difficult due to the issues due to ...

- The issue with shifts
- I arranged it on Friday (POETS day)
- The fuel crisis and everybody worrying about petrol

But we managed to get 6 runners who did the event ending the run at Tesco where they had a coffee shop, but it was closed!   It goes to show that the best laid plans of mice and men can go astray, but the basis of the run is now in place and it's been tested.   This is the first building block in moving it forwards.

The event was picked up by England Athletics and they ran a special spotlight feature due to the inclusion of the emergency services, which was amazing publicity for the club.

For the England Athletics feature, click here.

The next stage is to take the Lewes run back to the drawing board.   Look at what can work better, how to be more inclusive and encourage people to run.   Linking in with the Force wellbeing staff as well as departmental.   Also, look at the ambulance service and if they can participate.

Mid Sussex Times cutting