Aren’t we fortunate to have such lovely open spaces in Taunton?

At a time when many of us are spending so much time indoors, it provides a real breath of fresh air in its truest and most literal sense, to be able to take a walk away from it all but without having to go in the car to get to the countryside. 

One such location is Longrun Meadow. A country park on our very doorstep, it is a haven for wildlife and a haven for those who just need to get close to nature for a while.
The other day I arranged to meet a friend – just the one – for a walk and suggested we go to Longrun. We planned to meet outside The Weir café and what a good decision that turned out to be as they are open for takeways!

 So hot chocolate in hand, (and who can resist a chocolate brownie?!) we set off to have a good old catch up. There were so many paths to choose from it was easy to allow for social distancing as many people, especially those with dogs, find it a great place to walk and exercise.

One great aspect of Longrun is its accessibility, with many of its paths, although not tarmacked, accessible to the users of wheelchairs or mobility scooters. Being able to enjoy the countryside is an experience that many of us take for granted, but for disabled people it can often be much more difficult to access places that allow them to enjoy nature and it was good to see people doing just that.

I also discovered that there is an area which has been developed for BMX bikers to practice their skills, with a purpose-built series of ramps and jumps.

For families looking for an outdoor activity there is an orienteering course which is great way to exercise and develop navigation skills while having fun – and perhaps a little bit of friendly competition! There is an app for smartphone users, iOrienteering which gives further information, or you can download the link from http://www.longrunmeadow.co.uk/activities/ . A map can also be found outside the COACH building.

We’ve all heard about the healing power of nature, so why not get out there and enjoy what our local area has to offer?