Glasgow Queens Park Wellbeing Walk

SWAN has been working with Walking Scotland to train our autistic volunteers to become Health Walk leaders and run local walking groups for autistic women and non-binary people.

The SWAN walks offer a supportive and inclusive environment for autistic women and non-binary people. Beyond improving physical wellbeing, these walks provide an opportunity for socialisation and peer support.

The walks will be around an hour long at an easy social pace and are perfect for anyone who would like to become more active in the company of other autistic people. We will start and end at Langside Hall.

Our walk leaders may not start the walk until around 5 minutes after the scheduled starting time, if they're waiting for people to arrive.

Langside Hall is accessible on foot, public transport and car. There are multiple bus stops nearby.

First Bus services running from Glasgow city centre to Langside Hall on Saturdays include the 3, 4,57, 38B and the 38E.

Langside Hall is an 8-minute walk from Crossmyloof train station and a 13-minute walk from Queen’s Park train station.

There is, however, no car park so those traveling by car will need to park in a nearby street and walk to the building.

Walk leaders will be waiting at the main entrance and can be identified by orange “WALK LEADER” armbands worn.

We can't always guarantee good weather so please make sure you dress for the weather conditions on the day.

Please be aware that this walk runs twice a month, one on Thursday evenings and one on Saturday mornings. Please make sure you check the date and time when booking a spot on these walks.

SWAN groups are safer spaces for autistic women and non-binary people over-18 who live, work or study in the local area.

SWAN is inclusive of all autistic women and non-binary people, including those who are exploring whether they are autistic, who self identify as autistic or are clinically diagnosed (private or NHS).

If these descriptions do not match you, we ask that you do not attend our groups unless they are specifically stated to be for non-autistic individuals. If you are a non-autistic person wishing to learn more about autism, visit our website for workshops and training: swanscotland.org/training

We aim to make our walks and groups as accessible as possible - they are led and designed by autisic people, in accessible venues.

If you have any medical conditions which might affect you when you are at a group, please let the facilitator know at the start of the group so they are aware of what to do should anything happen (e.g. epilepsy, diabetes, etc.).

If there is anything we can do to make the experience more accessible for you please do get in touch with us ahead of the meet up:

[email protected]

You can see a picture of the meeting place below so you know what to expect when you arrive.

Starting at Langside Hall, the walk begins on a flat path past Hugs & Mugs Cafe and GOALS sports center. We will then pass “Duck Island”, a small pond with ducks and coots.

A small set of stone stairs will lead the group down past the boathouse, following the path beside the bigger, main pond of the park where ducks, coots, and swans reside.

Passing the snack van, the group will then follow the path towards the bandstand, passing the tennis court before arriving at the glasshouse where the group can take a rest, go to the toilet or pop in and see the park’s resident koi fish.

The walk will then continue the path down a hill towards a wide, straight, level path surrounded by trees that takes us back to the walk starting point at Langside Hall.

The walk duration is around 45-60 minutes and accessible for beginners.

The route has been risk assessed and offers the opportunity to enjoy nature and socialize with other autistic women and non-binary people.

The walking pace is slow and relaxing.

Toilets: An accessible toilet is available to use at Hugs and Mugs Cafe at the beginning of the route. There are also toilets available at GOALS soccer center at the start of the route as well as at the glasshouse at the walk halfway point.

You can see the route here.

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