For Vic Smith-Dunn, life is all about connections.

She’s a sociable person who likes to make links between people with something in common – even if that thing is they don’t know anyone else in the room.

Vic’s own connections have been particularly significant in guiding her to where she is now.

Her grandparents were wardens at the former Oatlands Methodist Church in south Harrogate and she is one of the people tasked safeguarding the same building.

Now known as Oatlands Community Centre, it also housed a pre-school for many years, which Vic’s daughters attended. Vic became a trustee of the pre-school after it bought the building around a decade ago.

Last autumn, the pre-school closed under the growing weight of expectations and regulations, which the small charity’s trustees were unable to meet. However, Vic wanted to ensure the building remained in use and the mortgage could still be paid.

“We decided the way forward and to safeguard the community space was to focus on delivering on our constitution in different ways.

“It said it had to be a service for families with pre-school children. One of the main aims is to work with community groups and social enterprises.”

Coincidentally, Vic had set up a social enterprise a few years before, called MyLifePool. It aimed to bring the community together in a simple, affordable way, creating social groups and events as well as supporting businesses.

For £1 a week, members access discounts from dozens of local partner businesses, from coffee shops to hairdressers, and can get discounted rates to attend a programme of family activities, nights out and more.

There are weekly stay-and-play sessions for children, including dedicated times for neurodiverse children. Drinks and snacks are provided, including fresh fruit from local business and MyLifePool partners KD Fruiterers.

While the membership fee is low, the demand has been extremely high, allowing the trustees to keep paying the mortgage on the community centre. Hall hire for children’s parties and other events has also contributed significantly.

Vic grew up and still lives in the Oatlands area, part of her reason for wanting to build up community activities and networks. She also recognises that the support which used to be on offer elsewhere is no longer as readily available.

“When my eldest daughter was a baby, I saw my health visitor every week.

“She realised I had postnatal depression. If it hadn’t been for her and my GP, I don’t know what might have happened.

“I worry about people in the same position now who aren’t having that regular contact – who is supporting them?”

Social media

Even with the support she had, her depression and loneliness prompted Vic to set up Ready Steady Mums, a free walking group for parents of children up to one, which still meets every Friday at St Mark’s Church.

Her experience of the value it offered to attendees stimulated her interest in doing more in the community – leading her to set up MyLifePool some years later.

“I had seen how social media was becoming really damaging to social interaction.

“People were so busy putting up posts showing themselves living their best lives that they were terrified to actually meet anyone, because you can’t be at your best all the time.

“Then it becomes even more difficult to walk into a room full of strangers.”

In recent years, she has drawn on her own experiences once again to set up a new group dedicated to women going through the menopause. From social meet-ups to informative talks from experts, the group has hit the ground running and already has dozens of attendees at each event.

MeNoPause was launched as one of MyLifePool’s events, but is open to anyone in the community.

Vic Smith-Dunn is the welcoming face of MyLifePool and Oatlands Community Centre

Similarly, there is a working mums’ group, offering mums the chance to socialise over drinks but still get home at a sensible time to be up for the school run the next day. It’s organised by one of the ‘lifepoolers’ who, with support from Vic, set up the kind of group she wanted and discovered there were many others who felt the same.

Vic says her role is always to connect people and give them the confidence to get involved.

MyLifePool has become so successful that Vic has been approached to expand the model into York and, if that works, beyond.

Wherever it goes next, Vic is clear about its purpose.

“I’m all about funding community stuff. It’s about finding ways for communities to become self-sustaining.

“We have to find innovative ways for that to happen.”

We have been bathed in glorious sunshine this week and it feels amazing to get outside and feel the sun on our skin again.

While our sunny disposition may change with the weather, it’s always good to make the most of it while you can – and that includes exercising outdoors.

Because, let’s face it, the treadmill and weights areas just don’t have the same appeal when it’s warm outside.

If you’ve only ever really worked out at a gym, however, you might be wondering how to make your sweat session an al fresco experience.

From wild swimming and cycling to bootcamps and running, here are six outdoor workouts across the Harrogate district to get you out in the sunshine this spring and summer:

Outdoor fitness sessions with Set the Tone Fitness – Ripon and Knaresborough

A Set the Tone outdoor fitness session.

Head fitness coach Stu Clark and his team run outdoor sessions across Ripon and Knaresborough.

You can expect a mixture of cardio and non-cardio exercises and activities, along with fun warm-ups, team and pair work, accompanied by some “excellent tunes”.

The sessions are suitable for all levels of fitness.

Stu said:

“There’s nothing better than breathing in the fresh air and feeling the sun on your back while you’re doing squats or a one-minute plank.

“It makes you feel alive. There’s something about being in amongst nature and hearing those sounds that brings peace and calm.

“You can forget your other pressures and focus on enjoying the outdoors – even if that involves getting a bit of a sweat on and doing more star jumps than you thought possible.

“The sessions and are great fun. After all, laughter is great for your stress levels and may lower blood pressure.”

Parkrun – Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon

A parkrun in Harrogate from 2015.

Parkrun sees runners of all abilities take part in a 5km run every Saturday morning.

It holds three events in the Harrogate district: on The Stray in Harrogate, at Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough and at Fountains Abbey in Ripon.

It offers an opportunity for all the local community, regardless of age or gender, to come together on a regular basis to enjoy the beautiful green spaces and get physically active at the same time – and best of all, it’s free!

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Wild swimming – various locations

Ben Pitts tests the waters at Janet’s Foss in Malhamdale.

Wild – or outdoor – swimming has enjoyed increased popularity in recent years, with more and more people even braving the elements and swimming throughout the seasons.

If winter swimming sounds a little on the chilly side, then luckily late spring and early summer is a more favourable time to start.

Wild swimmer Ben Pitts, from Harrogate, said:

“I started back in 2019 with a friend from work. For some reason we decided November would be a great time to start, so there was actually frost in the shaded part around the lake. I’m pretty sure we were only in there for a minute, but that was long enough.

“I wanted to get into it after reading about the benefits of it in one of Ross Edgley’s books.

“The mental clarity you get from being in the cold and the rush of energy once you’re out are fantastic, so it’s not hard to see why more people are getting into it with everything that has been going on. It also increases your white blood cell count, which helps your immune system.”

Swimming outdoors is a great way to stay fit and connect with nature, but some basic safety precautions must be taken.

When it comes to locations, a good place to start is here.

Cycling with The Personal Cyclist, Harrogate area

Head outside on a bike with confidence – even if you don’t know where to start.

If you’re anything like me and you love the idea of heading out on a bike, but have no idea where to start, The Personal Cyclist offers cycling confidence coaching and personalised guided cycling tours in and around Harrogate.

Founder Kate Auld said:

“Cycling outdoors with the wind in your hair is one of the best ways to see the world, get close to nature and get a cracking workout in the process.

“You can’t check your phone and just ‘switch off’, you have to really engage with your surroundings and that’s what makes it magic.

“Often people who haven’t ridden for years just need a little extra support to cycle safely and socially. It’s a myth that you need to have all the gear (or go fast) to reap the benefits of cycling outside.”

Ready Steady Mums walking group – Harrogate

Ready Steady Mums brings new parents together once a week to walk together.

In Harrogate, simply going for a weekly walk around The Stray has been a lifeline for dozens of new parents, who bring their babies along to get out of the house and make friends at what can be a very isolating time.

Formed in 2016, the volunteer-run group offers “friendship, support, cake, fresh air and fitness” and meets at St Mark’s Church, just off Leeds Road, at 10am every Friday.

It is free to attend and there is no need to book. I’ve heard amazing things about the homemade cakes!

Bootcamps with Lauren Randall Fitness – Harrogate

Bootcampers get stuck in at “The Ranch”, just outside Pannal.

Personal trainer Lauren coaches at the biggest outdoor gym space in the area, just outside Pannal, complete with a full gym rig and plenty of kit – perfect for adult PE.

Sessions at “The Ranch” are 45 minutes and focus on everything from weight lifting technique to cardio endurance to sport specific training, catering for all levels of fitness.

Lauren said:

“Research continues to prove that being outdoors and around nature improves mental health, lowers blood pressure, improves mood and relieves stress.

“Combine that with the endorphin release and plethora of benefits of exercising and you can’t go wrong.

“The winter weather can make it more challenging to get outside, but you’ll soon notice a surge in outdoor activities and better moods.”

Harrogate parents’ group Ready Steady Mums has been given the green light to resume its weekly walks, as they fit under the “support group” category within the government guidelines.

The group was forced to call a halt for the second time in early September when the “rule of six” came into place, which meant that, in most circumstances, groups of more than six could not gather.

However, after making contact with the office Andrew Jones MP to ask if it could keep going, Ready Steady Mums has been reassured it isn’t breaking any rules as it is a support group for new parents. The group split into ‘bubbles’ of seven parents with babies plus one volunteer and headed out onto the Stray again yesterday morning, in line with the limit of 15 people gathering for organised outdoor events.

Laura Brett, a former mental health midwife who founded the group, said:

“It was so good to be out again. It’s not a lot different to what we usually do – people often split into smaller groups as we go along – but it’s just being intentional about it. We give it a good two or three minutes between each group setting off to keep a certain amount of distance, and we stayed in those groups even for tea and biscuits afterwards.”

In good weather, the group sits out on the Stray for a socially-distanced picnic after the walk

Formed in 2016, Ready Steady Mums provides people with the opportunity to stay fit and socialise during the early weeks and months of parenthood. 

The group usually meets at St Mark’s Church at 10am on Friday, walks together around the Stray and then enjoys tea, coffee and cake inside the church. Resuming after lockdown, the refreshments became a picnic outside, in line with social distancing requirements.

From her background in mental health midwifery, and her new role in fundraising and promotions for Harrogate charity Wellspring, Laura said the group is even more important now than ever. New mums and dads don’t get as many chances to meet and talk to others in the same position, and people are finding their mental health is suffering.

“I’m very serious about the whole covid thing – I had it and I know how awful it is – but I think the mental health epidemic and isolation are also really worrying.

“I walked with one woman today who said, ‘I love it – it’s free, I don’t have to commit, and it’s just so inclusive’. She had moved into Harrogate over lockdown with a new baby.

“Even if we just do it for her, it’s so worthwhile.”

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• WATCH: Are people in Harrogate ready for another lockdown?

The Harrogate parent group Ready Steady Mums will hold its final walk today before the government’s new ‘rule of six’ forces it to stop. 

Ready Steady Mums, which was formed in 2016, provides parents with the opportunity to stay fit and socialise.

The group usually meets at St Mark’s Church at 10am on Fridays, does a group walk then enjoys refreshments.  

The Stray Ferret recently reported that the parents were able to meet up again following the easing of restrictions.  

However, the group’s meetings are set to be cancelled once again due to the new restrictions, which state that from Monday it will be illegal in most circumstances to gather socially in groups of more than six people.  

Laura Brett, group leader, said: 

“We just can’t justify it. We don’t want to do anything wrong. That being said, we are very disappointed. Particularly as Professor Chris Whitty is emphasising how coronavirus is more dangerous when you are unfit. Our group helps mothers to stay physically fit and it helps their mental health.” 

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The new rules take away other benefits of Ready Steady Mums – besides promoting mental and physical health, the group provides a network to help navigate parenthood. 

Ms Brett believes groups like hers should be exempt from the rules because of their health benefits and intends to seek clarification from the government on this matter. She said:

“Mums have lost the opportunity to make friends. Some of our members have just moved to the area and haven’t had the chance to meet anybody. The group also provides encouragement, as it is easy to lose confidence in any circumstance, never mind in the current situation. Many of the volunteers were previously midwives, which means that the group allows us to signpost concerns and guide the members to professional help if they need it.” 

The group attempted to stay in touch during lockdown to support each other. However, its activities now fall foul of the new rule.

After the final session on Friday the network will still encourage members to meet in smaller groups.