A popular community game designed to get everyone more active by exploring Wokingham Borough is returning in June and July.
Beat the Street will take place across Wokingham town, Winnersh, Woodley, Twyford, Finchampstead, Hurst and Wargrave from next Wednesday, June 5, until Wednesday, July 17.
The free game is open to all ages and abilities, and sees players compete for points by tapping a special contactless card on ‘Beat Boxes’ at more than 100 locations.
The boxes will be attached to lamp posts, and people can either walk between them or use other types of healthy, sustainable travel like cycling.
Anyone can pick up a free Beat the Street card from locations across the borough, or download the app if they’re over 13-years-old.
The routes pass lots of local green spaces, including nature parks, and a map with the locations of all Beat Boxes is available at https://beatthestreet.me/wokingham/map.
A fun start to a healthier lifestyle
Beat the Street is run by Intelligent Health in partnership with the council’s My Journey Wokingham active travel team. It’s funded by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
When it was last played, some 6,263 participants walked, cycled, wheeled and scooted 151,531 miles – the equivalent of walking from London to Tokyo and back 13 times. Afterwards, a survey found that many were regularly ditching the car for healthy alternatives.
The council said it hopes lots of people will take part again, adding that it’s a great way for people to get outside, even if they haven’t been active for a while, and connect with their neighbours and surroundings.
It also encourages people to pick up healthier habits in the long run, because it shows how fun and easy it is to make activity a part of daily life.
On top of the physical benefits, getting more active improves people’s mental health and even makes it easier for children to learn.
Sign up today and get ready to play
To play, residents can sign up at beatthestreet.me/wokingham and pick up a free card from one of the locations listed there, or download the app for Apple or Android devices.
Once the game launches, they can visit two ‘Beat Boxes’ within an hour to collect their first points – and keep going from there.
Players can join a school, community, family or workplace team and there are prizes for those who travel furthest, including books and sports equipment vouchers.
There’s a series of local leaderboards and “spot” prizes for taking part, plus a chance to win donations for local charities.
Beat the Street was first held in Reading, where founder and GP Dr William Bird is based, and has since been played by more than 1.8 million people in 168 places across the UK.
Visit beatthestreet.me/wokingham or follow BTSWokingham on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
