Activities near you

What activities are available near you?

There are lots of ways you can find out about activities in your area:

Use online search tools:

Search for Move More events in your local area on our website. Visit macmillan.org.uk/inyourarea
Visit Be Inspired to search for sport and fitness venues, clubs and activities across the UK. You can search by activity or location.
There is a national search tool for England on the NHS Choices website. Visit nhs.uk/livewell/fitness/pages/whybeactive.aspx and enter your postcode. NHS Choices also has suggested exercise videos and podcasts.
There is a national search tool for Scotland at activescotland.org.uk Enter your postcode or town to find activities near you.
In Wales, you can use sportwales.org.uk to search for activities near you.
In Northern Ireland, you can use sportni.net to search for activities near you.

Contact your local council. Look on the website or call to find out what activities are provided in parks and leisure centres.

Ask your GP if they can refer you to any specialist services. This might be an exercise referral scheme, falls prevention (if you’re worried about falling) or physiotherapy (for example if you’ve had surgery and have problems with range of movement).

Walking groups

Walking groups are an enjoyable, social way to become active. There are free, guided health walks across the UK. We have more information on health walks and how to search for your nearest one.

Sports

National sports councils can give you contact details for individual sports’ governing bodies. They can also help you find facilities near you. These are the UK’s sports councils:

Sport England

www.sportengland.org

020 7273 1551

Sport Scotland

www.sportscotland.org.uk

0141 534 6500

Sport Wales

www.sportwales.org.uk

0300 300 3111

Sport Northern Ireland

www.sportni.net

028 9038 1222

Gardening

Gardening is a way of enjoying some physical activity outdoors. It can also be quite therapeutic to watch your garden grow. The National Gardens Scheme gives you the chance to visit some of the most beautiful gardens in England and Wales. The scheme raises money for several charities including Macmillan and other cancer and carers charities. Visit ngs.org.uk to find a garden near you, or to open your own garden to raise money for charity.

Mobility and disability organisations

There are specific organisations that can help if you have mobility problems or a disability:

Our Move More guide has lots of information on keeping active, including a booklet, activity chart and DVD to help you get started. Order one online or by calling 0808 808 00 00.

Back to Keeping active

Benefits of being active

Exercising and keeping active can have a very positive impact on your health and wellbeing.

Physical activity and advanced cancer

Keeping active if you have advanced cancer can help improve some symptoms and side effects

Different ways of being active

There's a variety of activities you can do to keep active. Each form of exercise has its own benefits.

Health walks

Walking is one of the most popular forms of activity and a great way to keep healthy. We work with health walk programmes all over the UK.

Making sure you're safe when you're active

It is important to make sure that your physical activity is adapted to your condition. Your doctor can tell you which activities are safe for you.

Who can help you get active

Talk to your physiotherapist or your doctor before you start doing physical activity. They’ll point you to appropriate exercise programmes.

Tips to get you started

You may find keeping active after a cancer diagnosis challenging. There are some tips that can get you started.

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We rely on a number of sources to gather evidence for our information. If you’d like further information on the sources we use, please feel free to contact us on: bookletfeedback@macmillan.org.uk

All our information is reviewed by cancer or other relevant professionals to ensure that it’s accurate and reflects the best evidence available. We thank all those people who have provided expert review for the information on this page.

Our information is also reviewed by people affected by cancer to ensure it is as relevant and accessible as possible. Thank you to all those people who reviewed what you're reading and have helped our information to develop.

You could help us too when you join our Cancer Voices Network – find out more at: http://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancervoices

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© Macmillan Cancer Support, registered charity in England and Wales (261017), Scotland (SC039907) and the Isle of Man (604). Also operating in Northern Ireland. A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales company number 2400969. Isle of Man company number 4694F. Registered office: 89 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7UQ. VAT no: 668265007

We make every effort to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and up-to-date but it should not be relied upon as a substitute for specialist professional advice tailored to your situation. So far as is permitted by law, Macmillan does not accept liability in relation to the use of any information contained in this publication or third party information or websites included or referred to in it.

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