Wirral Walking Festival 2022
The Wirral Walking Festival is back!
The Wirral Walking Festival highlights the variety of walks that take place in Wirral during Spring/Summer each year. The Wirral Walking Festival includes short strolls, long-distance treks, nordic walking, mixed ability running, and much more!
Fiona Hanik
*To avoid disappointment, we recommend checking the relevant group’s website and social media to confirm that walks are taking place before setting off.
Campaign to encourage more people in Wirral to be physically active
‘Be Part of the Movement’ is a new campaign to encourage Wirral residents to make sport and physical activity part of their everyday life.
Funded by the Government’s Welcome Back Fund it will showcase the borough’s facilities and open spaces as safe places to improve health and wellbeing especially as communities continue their recovery from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The campaign is part of Wirral Council’s new Sport and Physical Activity Strategy approved by the authority’s Tourism, Communities, Culture and Leisure Committee in January.
The strategy lays out the council’s ambition to ensure that all Wirral residents have the opportunity, environment and support they need to lead active, healthy, and happier lives, and recognises the important role sport and physical activity plays in improving physical and mental health, supporting the economy, reconnecting communities, and rebuilding a stronger society for all. More than 1,000 people and organisations contributed to the development of the strategy.
The vision for the strategy is to now make sport and physical activity part of everyone’s everyday life and is based on four key themes:
- Active People – To provide opportunities for all Wirral residents to be more active
- Active Partnerships – To build partnerships and collaborations that provide inclusive activities for all
- Active Places and Spaces – To ensure a network of high quality and accessible spaces that make it easier for people to be active.
- Active Facilities – To create accessible, affordable, environmentally sustainable facilities offering a quality opportunity and environment that encourages Wirral residents to be more active, more often
Cllr Helen Cameron, chair of the Tourism, Communities, Culture & Leisure Committee, said: “It is incredibly important to keep active whatever your circumstances and this a great way to help to stay healthy for longer.
“There are lots of ways you can be part of the movement with Active Wirral. Whether you are someone who is already active or you want to find out how to start moving in ways that work for you, there will be something for everyone.”
The campaign’s mini website, ActiveWirral.com is where individuals, organisations and community-led groups – Motivators – will be able to access a toolkit to support their participation and Be Part of the Movement.
It also includes information on the new Sport and Physical Activity Strategy for people to learn more about our vision for the next five years, as well as a news feed plus ways to get involved here Get Active – Active Wirral.
The campaign will highlight how people can find out more about getting healthy and active.
FREE TENNIS SESSIONS
Sports charity serves up free tennis in Wirral as part of a national programme to improve physical and mental wellbeing across Britain
National sports charity ‘Tennis For Free’, with the support of the LTA, is serving up an ace for the local community, with the launch of free coach-led tennis sessions across Wirral, starting Saturday 2 October.
In an exciting partnership with the LTA and the local council, Tennis For Free will provide free sessions for families all year-round at New Ferry Park, Marine Park and Birkenhead Park. The simple aims are to get more people playing tennis and improve the physical and mental well-being of members of the local community.
Tennis For Free CEO Paul Jessop said: “Together with the LTA, we are helping to make tennis more accessible to more people by removing the cost barrier that some sections of the community face, so that the entire community can play and benefit physically, mentally and socially.
“We have created specially designed programmes to welcome families, the old and the young, of any ability and the beauty, is that each session is led by qualified tennis coaches who will ensure people develop at their own pace.”
Arron Woodward, who will lead the coaching at New Ferry Park said: “I am very excited to welcome Tennis For Free to New Ferry Park. It is a fantastic opportunity for the local community to try tennis for either the first time, or to dust off the cobwebs after a time away from the sport. It’s a fun, friendly and entertaining free weekly event where you’ll make new friends and benefit from regular exercise. There is no catch, as the name suggests, everything is free.”
Stuart Maidment, LTA Parks Tennis Manager, said: “We are proud to partner with Tennis for Free and very excited about the launch of weekly tennis coaching sessions at New Ferry Park, Marine Park and Birkenhead Park. Our Vision is to open tennis up to many more people regardless of their age, gender, background, ability or disability and our partnership with TFF is helping to do this.
“Having high-quality, easy to access park facilities where you can play informally with your family and friends is really important to encourage new people to pick up a racket and play, and a key area of focus and investment for the LTA”
All you need to do is visit the Tennis For Free website here and search for the session you would like to join.
You can also follow Tennis For Free on Twitter and Facebook @tennisforfree
Les Mills
LES MILLS ON DEMAND WIRRAL LEISURE OFFER
As we enter 2021, we are once again delighted to be able to offer all our customers the opportunity to receive 60 Day Free Access to Les Mills on Demand*.
TRY LES MILLS ON DEMAND FREE TODAY
Although the current national lockdown means that our facilities are closed and we cannot offer Les Mills into our leisure centres just yet, we are able to offer all our customers the opportunity to keep fit and healthy online with Les Mills On Demand, the perfect way to complement our own Invigor8 Live Fitness Classes!
After FREE access for 60 days, Wirral Leisure customers will then be able to subscribe to the platform at the reduced prices of just £7.94 per month, a 30% discount (usual price £11.94pm).
In addition to this fabulous offer, the Invigor8 Fitness Instructors will also be including a selection of LIVE Les Mills Classes in our weekly free live classes on the Invigor8 Facebook page. These classes are only available to watch live at the stated time and will not be saved to the video library so try not to miss them!
What is Les Mills On Demand?
LES MILLS On Demand gives you the best, authentic Les Mills workouts anywhere, anytime, on almost any device. The workouts have been customized and made available to you as online videos. Many of the workouts are only 20-30 minutes – ideal for in-home – and they’re just as challenging and rewarding as going to the gym. In addition, LES MILLS On Demand provides workout schedules customized to your level of fitness, Les Mills Nutrition knowledge to improve your training and videos to get the most out of your workout regimen.
1000+ CLASSES
13 PROGRAMS
60 DAYS FREE
How Do I Sign up?
You can sign up here. When you sign up you will receive 60 days completely free (Unless you have previously signed up and used your 60 days). When the 60 days are up you will then automatically begin your first month of Les Mills On Demand.
Contact:
For any Les Mills On Demand queries please email: support@lesmillsondemand.com
For general Wirral Leisure queries please email: bookingsandinformation@wirral.gov.uk
For Cancellations please view the Les Mills How do I Cancel my Subscription Page.
Wellbeing Week with Wirral Leisure
WELLBEING WEEK WITH WIRRAL LEISURE
Monday 16th November – Sunday 22nd November
From Monday 16th November we are going to be focusing on the importance of everyone’s wellbeing and do what we can to help. Our Wellbeing Week will be ran by our amazing team of Invigor8 fitness instructors who are offering over 20 Wellbeing sessions throughout the week in addition to our usual class timetable of over 40 Exercise Classes. In total we have over 60 classes and activity session for you to access from home. All sessions are completely Free and available to members and non members, all you need to do is head over and ‘Like’ the Invigor8 Facebook Page to make sure to don’t miss out!
WHAT IS WELLBEING?
Wellbeing is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy.” We think it is much more than that though. Wellbeing is so important to our overall health. By looking after our wellbeing and doing things to help improve our it we are working on our overall health which in the long run helps us to overcome difficulties and challenges.
Ways to improve our Wellbeing include connecting with people (this can simply be over the phone or by checking in on friends over text), being physically active, learning new things and so many other ways. We will each find our own things that help improve our wellbeing.
The benefits of having a good wellbeing are endless – we cant wait to help you along with your wellbeing journey with some fantastic sessions.
WHAT WE’RE OFFERING?
We are offering a variety of classes and sessions on our Facebook Page, outdoors, on video chat and over the phone. Our Instructors our running Wellbeing sessions such as:
- Facebook Live Classes – Free
- Q&A Ineractive Classes – Free
- Outdoor One To One – Book via 07880063834
- Wellbeing Telephone Chat – Book via bookingsandinformation@wirral.gov.uk
OUR AIM
Our aim is to improve the wellbeing of our customers and Wirral residents alike. We all know that everyone needs a helping hand to keep motivated, active, healthy and happy but especially during these very different times and the ongoing Covid 19 restrictions that are affecting people’s lives. Sometimes we forget to check in on ourselves and our wellbeing, we hope that our focus will allow you to take some time for yourself and work on your own wellbeing and that of your friends and family.
If you have any questions or require further information please contact us on 0151 606 2010 (Mon – Fri 9am to 5pm) or email us at bookingsandinformation@wirral.gov.uk
We look forward to seeing you at a session
TIMETABLE
To view our timetable on Facebook, click here.

As well as our Wellbeing online classes we also offer a wide range of other online exercise classes including HIIT, Revs Cycle, Insanity, Les Mills and more!
View our online exercise timetable here
Keep Fit After 50
As all 50 plus women know it gets harder with age to keep your body in tip top condition. As we age our workouts need to be adapted and tweaked so we continue to get the same benefits from our fitness regime.
50 plus goal is to add some weight training to your weekly routine. Muscle is a fat burning machine that keeps your metabolism working to burn calories. By adding strength training to your weekly routine 3 or 4 times a week you will hold on to the muscle you had in your 20s and 30s.
Find a class that you really love that incorporates some weight training or buy a resistance band and dumbbells that you can use at home. If you don’t want to use weights just using your own body weight as resistance is enough to see some real results.
Squats, lunges, and press ups will all give you the following benefits.
You will change the shape of your body
You will boost your metabolism by retaining or building more muscle
You will increase strength, becoming more functional
You will build strong bones and combat osteoporosis
You will improve joint stability and reduce the risk of injury.
So, go on what are you waiting for – start throwing your weight around today!
Like us on Facebook
1-Mile Happy Walk
Walking is simple and is one of the easiest ways to get more active, lose weight and become healthier.
Sometimes overlooked as a form of exercise, walking briskly can help you build stamina, burn excess calories, and make your heart healthier.
You do not have to walk for hours. A brisk 10-minute daily walk has lots of health benefits and counts towards your recommended 150 minutes a week of exercise.
Our 1 Mile happy walk can be done indoors or in your garden, with mood boosting music and a qualified walk instructor to give you maximum benefit from your workout.
Anyone can do it and it only takes approximately 15 minutes a day.
Why not set your self a challenge to walk, 3- or 5-miles next week!
Join us live on Facebook or reply at a time to suit you.
We Are Undefeatable
Wirral Leisure is proud to announce the launch of its community We Are Undefeatable programme.
Running in partnership with Sport England and the national campaign for We Are Undefeatable this new initiative is aimed at people who are living with a long term health condition and would like more support to be active.
Headed up by Sonia Carty who has worked for Wirral Council for 16 years. Passionate about our local residents with health conditions in finding what works for them to start to be more active.

‘Seeing the smiles on the faces of others as they achieve even the smallest of goals is quite simply…….why I do what I do’
Over 1 in 4 people live with at least one long-term health condition and these numbers are rising.
You are twice as likely to be inactive if you have a health condition, however being active can help to manage over 20 long-term conditions such as depression and type 2 diabetes; it reduces the risk of developing some conditions by up to 40% and can delay the onset of and reduce the severity of many health conditions.
As we’re being asked to stay at home more than usual, it’s more important then ever to stay active. Our team can work with you on helping you be active during this time.
The national campaign “We Are Undefeatable”, supported by 16 of the leading health and social care charities, aims to inspire and support people living with health conditions to build physical activity into their lives, in a way that their condition allows, and to celebrate every victory big or small.
The campaign is inspired by, and features, the real-life experiences of people with health conditions getting active despite the ups, downs and unpredictability of their condition. Read more here .
Indoor Cycling
As we find ourselves in the middle of a time that has changed how all of us are living, working and exercising, thoughts can wonder into new areas and we find ourselves thinking about alternatives to our usual routines.
We mustn’t be the only ones though, as British Cycling have created a survey trying to better understand the habits of indoor cyclists.
If you’d like to follow the link to give your thoughts and opinions I’m sure British cycling would greatly appreciate the input.
This got me thinking about the different types of bikes used for indoor cycling activities.
So let’s have a look at some of the different types of indoor equipment we have and the benefits of using them.
Upright bike
These bikes usually have a seat positioned lower than the handle bar.
Riding a stationary exercise bike is an efficient and effective way to burn calories and body fat while strengthening your heart, lungs, and muscles.
Compared to some other types of cardio equipment, a stationary bicycle puts less stress on your joints, but it still provides an excellent aerobic workout.

Recumbent Bike
The ergonomic benefits of this bike are as great as the fitness benefits. Providing a workout of the same quality as an upright bike. These bikes have a seat which supports the lower back more and distributes weight more evenly, add the ease of getting on and off due to a lower seat position and this is a wonderful bike to use for people of all fitness levels and abilities.

Indoor Cycling bike
Also known by their trademarked company names, I’ll use indoor cycling bike. With these bikes you can adjust the resistance on and off to increase intensity and mimic going up hills or sprints on a flat road. Great for a mixed cardio, endurance and strength workout.
Usually found in a darker studio with some good pacing music and instructors who know how to work you and your muscle groups, ouch .

Trixter
Similar to the Indoor cycling bike, but with Trixter’s patented X-Bars handlebar mechanism allowing the rider to engage the upper body and core along with the legs and cardio this bike gives a full body workout.
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