Get active

Parks and allotments

Southampton is home to a network of green spaces across the city including 49 parks and 1,140 hectares of open space, such as Southampton Common. These spaces are free and open for everyone to enjoy, all year around.

Find out more about Southampton parks and allotments.

Southampton Parkrun

Looking for a free, friendly, weekly community event to get active? The Southampton Parkrun takes place in Southampton Common every Saturday at 9am. Walk, jog, or run the five kilometre route – it is up to you! Come along and join in, whatever your pace.

There is also a Junior Parkrun, following a two kilometre route. This is at both the Southampton Common and Riverside Park for 4–14-year-olds every Sunday at 9am.

Find out more about local Parkrun events.

Couch to 5K

Couch to 5K is a running programme for absolute beginners. Complete in as little as nine weeks, or longer if you want to go at your own pace.

Find out more about the Couch to 5k app.

Community street closures

Did you know you can apply to close your local street to allow children to play safely in the street and other events? This could be a one-off or on a regular basis (up to once a week). These are called community street closures or play streets.

Find out more about community street closures.

Southampton has a range of leisure centres and facilities across the city. You can find out more information, including opening times, location, timetables, and activities, at Active Nation.

The centres marked with an asterisk (*), are operated by Active Nation and offer an exercise referral programme called Get Active. This is a 12-week structured programme with guidance and advice to help you get started if you are currently inactive and have a long-term health condition. Read more about the exercise referral programme.

Southampton's leisure centres include:

• Alpine Snowsports Southampton
• Bitterne Leisure Centre*
• Chamberlayne Leisure Centre*
• The Quays Swimming and Diving Complex*
• St Mary’s Leisure Centre
• Southampton Water Activities Centre
• The Outdoor Sports Centre (Bassett)
• Woodmill Outdoor Activities Centre

There are a range of activities happening in Southampton to get involved in, whether that is online or in-person. Find an activity to suit you on the:

• Hampshire Activity Finder
• Directory of support services
• SO:Linked community directory

Enjoy Southampton’s walking and cycling routes with friends and family, as part of your commute, or to help improve your health and wellbeing. Why not:

• Discover a range of walking routes on the free Go Jauntly walking app
• Find a health walk or walking group in Southampton on My Journey – Walking Opportunities
• Find cycle routes, guided rides, and cycle confidence training on My Journey – Get Cycling
• Track your steps, set goals, and boost your activity with the free Active 10 app

We are working with local communities to roll out a network of Active Travel Zones, as part of our Local Transport Plan. These zones encourage people to walk and cycle for short trips, providing a range of clean and green travel options, and introduce measures to help discourage traffic.

Read more about Southampton’s Active Travel Zones.

Residents living within Southampton City Council boundary, who are in receipt of some benefits, are entitled to discounted activities with a Get Active subscription on their SmartCities card. The discount applies during off-peak times in participating leisure venues in the city, including Active Nation venues and activities, Southampton Municipal Golf Course, and allotments.

Find out more about the SmartCities Card and Get Active subscription.

The role of Southampton Community Navigators and Social Prescribers is to connect residents with local support in their communities through services, groups, or activities. This could be to improve your health and wellbeing, meet new people, or get access to other support. Both of these roles may be able to connect you to a variety of ways to be more active in a way that suits you.

You can find out more about Community Navigation from SO:Linked by:

• Phone: 023 8021 6050
• Web form: online referral form

Alternatively, you can ask your GP Practice if there is a Social Prescriber who could connect you with local activity groups or activities.

The The Holiday Activity Fund (HAF) programme provides a free schedule of enriching activities and nutritious food during Easter, Summer, and Christmas School holidays. These are for children aged 5-16 who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals.

Previously the activities have included water-sports, skiing, and other traditional sports, in addition to creative activities like art workshops.

Find out more about HAF.

We are working with pre-schools, nurseries, children centres, child minders, primary schools, secondary schools, and activity providers to ensure that children have opportunities to be physically active.

The Healthy Early Years Award (HEYA)

The Healthy Early Years Award (HEYA) aims to support early years settings to create a healthier environment for children, provide practice support for staff, and help families make positive choices. The award covers three areas: Healthy Eating, Healthy Mouth (oral health), and Physical Activity, and has three award levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Find out which Early Years settings in Southampton have achieved the HEYA award.

The Healthy High 5 Award

The Healthy High 5 Award aims to make it easier for schools to provide healthy and fun activities for all pupils, to improve their wellbeing. The award has five elements, known as stars, including increasing the amount of physical activity children do during the day. This could be achieved through the Daily Mile, the Golden Mile, or alternative activities plus PE classes.

Find out which primary and secondary schools in Southampton have achieved the Healthy High 5 Award.

Find information for schools, workplaces, and healthcare professionals to help incorporate and embed physical activity into their own settings in Energise Me’s Toolkits.