Putting Your Heart into Walking
Join the Equals IW Friends and Family Group with Mark for a walk along the old railway footpath.
- Sunday 28th September 2025
- 2.00pm to 4.30pm
- Meeting Point: Shanklin Railway Station
- What3Words: ///ramps.planting.dearest
- Parking: £1.20 at station car park
3 Miles, 4.82km Circular Flat Easy Walk, 281.4 Kcal, 6,680 Steps
We will walk along the railway footpath and woodland trails while taking part in an autumn scavenger hunt and enjoy a team learning activity. Together we will
- Explore why reconnecting with nature matters.
- Discover how walking can boost your health.
- Learn how the outdoors supports your emotional well-being and mental health.
This three mile circular flat easy walk offers a mix of old railway footpath passing beneath two original brick bridges, woodland trails and quiet country bridleways.
We will explore the beautiful woodland of America Wood. Walk along winding paths and cross the gentle stream. Unusually for the Isle of Wight, most of the wood today is high oak forest with downy birch. The woodland floor supports a great deal of holly but little other ground cover. Until the spring when bluebells carpet the ground. A badger set has been reported and red squirrels occasionally spotted.
The walk then follows the valley to Ninham Farm where we will join the bridleway through Lower Hyde Holiday Park back to Shanklin Railway Station.
This walk is open to children accompanied by parents, young people and adults, with no upper age limit. Dogs are also very welcome but must be kept on a lead at all times. This walk is not pushchair, child buggy, mobility scooter or wheelchair friendly.
Call or text Mark today to book your place. Late booking up to 8pm Thursday 25th September 2025. Further details in our flyer. (1.8MB).
Green Time is a fun, informal way of using the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.
First Prize at Ryde Illuminated Carnival 2025
Asian Global UK proudly joined Equals IW for the 2025 Beach of Dreams project. Together we took part in Ryde Illuminated Carnival on Saturday 30 August 2025. The project was part of a UK-wide coastal arts festival to celebrate the history, cultures and future of our coastlines in a time of climate change. Our costumes showed the colours of the sand and sea featuring the shoreline, sea life and the wildlife found around UK beaches.
The team of 45 people came from across the UK. They travelled from Portsmouth, Yorkshire, and the Isle of Wight to join the parade. Creative Hearts United organised a group of 14 dancers from Leeds and Harrogate. This was their second year performing at Ryde Illuminated Carnival.
The Yorkshire Filipino Group (YFG) troupe shared the Pintados tradition with the crowds. They wore colourful costumes and performed lively dances. “Pintados” means “painted ones,” a term given by Spanish colonisers to tattooed warriors from the Visayas region in the Philippines. The Pintados Festival keeps this tradition alive with body paint, music, and dance that honour bravery and culture.
The YFG Cultural Dance Troupe regularly performs at major cultural events. These include the Bradford Barrio Fiesta, London Barrio Fiesta, Cheshire East Barrio Fiesta, and Ryde Illuminated Carnival. Creative Hearts United runs yearly workshops for the YFG troupe. Rehearsals begin in spring and combine traditional and modern dance styles. This mix creates exciting performances that connect old and new. Creative Hearts United proudly support YFG and Ms Joeace Kristine Ang-Siao (Ms Yorkshire).
Ten Asian Global UK Pageant Queens joined the parade this year. They included Ms Isle of Wight, Ms Hampshire, Ms North London, Ms Chelsea, Ms Westminster, Ms Yorkshire, Ms York, Ms Nottingham, Ms Berkshire, and Ms Worcester. All wore stunning Beach of Dreams costumes that delighted the crowds.
Aireen Gauntlett, Asian Global founder and project joint lead shared “I am delighted to have brought together people from all around the UK who are connected and supporters of Asian Global UK, to take part in the carnival with some coming to the island for the first time. Everyone has had an amazing positive experience, enjoying the carnival spirit. The crowds cheering us and clapping us was wonderful. Winning a 1st prize was and is unbelievable. My heart is full of happiness and I am so proud of our achievements.”
Mark Cox project joint lead said The weather was wet and soggy. Blustery winds at times tested us but we bravely faced it and the reward was priceless winning 1st prize for best group entry of five or more group members.”
We have photos
Ryde Carnival is the oldest carnival in the UK. It began in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. Its Illuminated Procession is the final carnival of the summer. This spectacular event fills the streets with light, music, floats, and costumes. Thousands of people watch and cheer from along the route. Even with the rain, the 2025 carnival was a bright and joyful celebration.
In August thirteen people from the Equals IW Friends and Family Group joined Mark and Gina as the sun went down for a summer evening walk .
Gina began by asking everyone to be aware their senses. She reminded the group to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of nature. She also shared the walk's theme of medieval mindfulness.
The walk took the group down Froglands Lane and past Froglands Farm. They followed the valley beside Lukely Brook, then continued to Clatterford Shute and back towards the castle.
Mark encouraged them to stop en route to view the surrounding landscape with the stream and the sun setting over the hills.
The walk ended after going around the Carisbrooke Castle wall and moat. Gina Then led a fun twenty-minute Mindful Movement meditation to medieval music resonating with the long rich history of Carisbrooke Castle.
Mindful Movement is a gentle way to connect body and mind. It helps us notice how we feel as we move. It can lower stress, release energy, and support both physical and mental health.
We took photos
Green Time a fun, informal way using the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.
Twenty-one friends from the Equals IW group came together for a walk in Firestone Copse.
The evening began with a picnic where they met in the woodland picnic area and shared delicious food.
Mark then led the group on a gentle walk as the sun went down. The air was cool and fresh. The trees gave shade and the woods were full of oak, ash and hazel.
They also saw tall Douglas fir cedar and Scots pine. These trees stay green all year and many took lovely photos.
Mark stopped with the group by the river. It was one of the most beautiful places in the woodland and they enjoyed the view together.
By the end of the walk each person had taken about 4870 steps and used 206 calories.
We took photos
Green Time a fun, informal way using the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.
Discovering Landscapes
Heritage ‘Coast to Coast’ Project: Tennyson Heritage Coast at Compton Bay
Equals IW Friends and Family Group recently joined a short guided walk along Compton Bay beach, led by Mark and Dan.
After the walk they took part in Indonesian Cultural Line Dancing led by our Indonesian Community Friends Wayan and Niviera.
The group also enjoyed watching a Filipino Cultural Dance Performance, led by Cece and Aireen from our Filipino Community Friends.
A Cultural Picnic and Learning Display
The afternoon picnic included a delicious selection of food from different cultures.
There was also a "Show and Tell" display, created by Dan, with handwritten fact cards. These cards shared what the group had learned during two earlier exploring workshops.
Topics included:
- Compton Bay and Downs
- Fossils at Compton Beach
- Local birds, butterflies, and other wildlife
- Geology and rocks
- Shipwrecks
- Surfing
- Erosion of the coastline
The display also featured 20 artworks made by Equals Friends and Family Group, together with our Climate Pledges. These focused on
- Using sustainable materials
- Walking or using eco-friendly transport
- Turning off appliances when not in use
- Washing clothes cold and air drying
- Shopping local
- Reducing plastic use and refilling products
Celebrating with Walkers and Silk Flags
The picnic ended with a warm welcome for walkers arriving from the Isle of Wight Walking Festival route from Newtown to Compton Bay.
This final part of the event was part of the Beaches of Dreams national arts project. It celebrates UK coastlines and their culture, history and future in the face of the climate crisis.
Frankie and Chris from the Discovering Landscapes Team led a beautiful silk flag parade along the beach. Twenty colourful silk flags flew in the sea breeze, creating a stunning scene.
Discovering Landscapes at Compton Bay was a wonderful way to boost wellbeing and mental health while enjoying the coastline and being creative.
We took photos
The Heritage Coast-to-Coast project (pdf 412kB) uses the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.
Discovering Landscapes
Heritage ‘Coast to Coast’ Project: Tennyson Heritage Coast at Compton Bay
Equals IW Friends and Family Group joined Creative Connector Gina to create 10 beautiful silk-painted flags.
Each person learned how to do batik and paint on silk using bright, specialist dyes.
The flag designs were inspired by our recent visits to Compton Bay. We took ideas from the art we made there, and from the local views of sea, land, cliffs, rocks, and soil colours.
While exploring the beach and nearby nature, we found fossils and dinosaur footprints.
The small group split into two teams to create the flags. They shared stories, enjoyed friendship, and laughed from start to finish.
This creative workshop was a fun and relaxing way to support mental health and emotional wellbeing through art.
We took photos
The Heritage Coast-to-Coast project (pdf 412kB) uses the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.
Discovering Landscapes
Heritage ‘Coast to Coast’ Project: Tennyson Heritage Coast at Compton Bay
Equals IW Friends and Family Group joined Kathy to explore and discover the cliff coastline. Kathy is a Nature Connector and helped the group learn about the different bird, butterfly and plant species found on the coastal path including
- Sea beet, an edible plant adapted to produce modern-day sugar beet
- Buckshorn plantain, another edible plant (buck's horn)
- Ribwort plantain, a food plant for the rare Glanville Fritillary butterfly
- Thrift, called sea pink and attractive to bees and butterflies
- Lesser Celandine, provides early-season nectar for pollinators like bees and hoverflies
Down on the beach at Compton Bay Kathy demonstrated how to make some charcoal on an open beach fire.
Everyone enjoyed cooking, on the open beach fire, Crab Damper bread on sticks with sea beet foraged on the day.
The group also joined Gina who is also a Creative Connector, and learnt how to use a selection of oils, pastels, crayons and coloured pencils to create sketches of the land and seascapes of Compton Bay.
The session was very interactive, creative and hands-on, enabling all to take part in a really fun and exciting learning experience.
They were able to switch off, get up close and connect with nature and each other.
The time spent together ‘Discovering Landscapes’ at Compton Bay was a perfect way to enhance emotional wellbeing and mental health while enjoying the fantastic coastline views.
We took photos
The Heritage Coast-to-Coast project (pdf 412kB) uses the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.
Discovering Landscapes Heritage ‘Coast to Coast’ Tennyson Heritage Coast - Compton Bay
Equals IW Friends and Family Group recently joined Kathy to explore and discover life on the water’s edge at Compton Bay.
Kathy is a Nature Connector which is someone who helps people enjoy and understand nature. They guide activities that help people feel closer to the natural world, through fun, learning and creativity.
The group had the challenge of finding dinosaur footprints and fossils and created sand art using natural materials.
They enthusiastically explored the geology of Compton Bay with its different colours. They also took part in sensory activities to connect with nature.
During a late afternoon exceptionally low spring tide they investigated the natural resources of the beach including the rock pool creatures.
The group came together and gathered different coloured clays from the cliffs to make paint. Some added green colour from plantains growing on the cliffs. These natural materials were used to create beautiful artwork on fabric.
The session was interactive, creative and a fun way to learn. It gave people the chance to relax, learn and enjoy nature together. The time at Compton Bay was a great way to feel better, connect with others and take in the stunning coastline views.
We took photos
The Heritage Coast-to-Coast project (pdf 412kB) uses the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.
Join the Equals IW Friends and Family Group with Kathy to explore and discover the cliff coastline. Learn about the bird, butterfly and plant species found on the coast.
- Sunday 13th April 2025
- 4pm to 6pm
- Meeting Point: Compton Beach Car Park, Military Road, PO30 4HB
- What3Words: loitering.estimated.error
- Parking: Free
On Compton Beach we will explore the rock pools, sea life and seaweeds.
We will safely make charcoal on an open beach fire and use it in the creative session with Gina to make mixed media pictures.
We may also have time to create a collage using items such as shells found on the beach.
Using oils, pastels, crayons and coloured pencils we will create sketches of the items, land and seascapes at Compton Bay.
Exploring Compton Bay during a spring low tide will be very interactive, creative and hands-on. You will experience a really fun and exciting learning opportunity while switching off and connecting with nature and each other.
A perfect way to enhance your emotional wellbeing and mental health whilst enjoying the fantastic coastline views.
Please bring a beach towel to dry your feet after rock pooling.
Text or call Mark today and book your place on 0785 485 2518.
We have a flyer. (pdf 540kB)
The Heritage Coast-to-Coast project (pdf 412kB) uses the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.
The Equals IW Friends and Family Group recently came together at the Snacks and Ladders Board Game Café and Eatery.
The evening co-ordinated by Niviera let the group meet, talk and catch up in a safe environment.
Everyone enjoyed the time together in friendship, boosting one another’s mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Refreshments were supported through the Green Time, Food and Mood programme.
This element of the programme focuses on the importance of how what we eat affects how we feel, our behaviour, attitude, and our physical health and emotional wellbeing, which ultimately defines who we are.
Niviera shares “I hope our get together last night will have positive results and strengthen our family friendship bonding”.
We took photos
Green Time is a fun, informal way of participating in activities to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.