What's Next? For Women

19/08/2026

🎨 Are you creative? Or do you just like messing about on the beach? 🐚

As part of our What's Next? For Women Beach Day at Goodrington Sands this Saturday, from 12 noon onwards we're going to get creative on the beach.

And I'm still open to ideas!

I'm thinking...

🏰 Sandcastle building (would you like this to be a competition?)

✍️ Sand drawings with meaningful messages or best wishes for others (the drawing will be washed away but the image will stay in our minds and phone gallery forever)

🐚 A giant beach mosaic of our new What’s Next? For Women logo, using shells, pebbles, seaweed and other things we find (see AI-generated example below)

🎨 Beachcombing and making whatever inspiration strikes

Nothing too organised, although you might chose to bring a bucket and spade from home). Nothing you need to be "good" at. Just a chance to create, chat and have some fun together.

If you're creative and have an idea for something else we could make together, or you'd like to come along and lead this (I'm not a creative but I'll have a go!), please message me. I'd love to hear from you.

Otherwise, we'll see what the beach gives us and make it up as we go along. 😊

Bring some lunch too, if you'd like to join our shared picnic. Feel free to bring something to share if you have something spare, but absolutely no obligation.

👭 Women are welcome to come on their own, with friends or bring their children or men along for this part of the day.

📅 Saturday 22 August
📍 Goodrington South Sands
⏰ From 12 noon
💙 Free - just turn up

Come for an hour, stay for the afternoon, create something, have a chat, or simply sit on the beach with us as we watch Suzi Kitley from Swim Aquatics take up to 10 dippers and swimmers into the water from 2pm. 🌊

The dip and swim are free too, but booking is required. I’ll pop the details in the comments below.

What might we create together? 🐚

Image below created by AI of what together we might create. We can do better than this, I think!

19/08/2026

And if you can't make our women only e-bike taster session 27 August 18:00, there are other sessons you could book yourself on.

All funded places so FREE!

🚴‍♀️ Don't miss out! Join the Safe, Sustainable Travel Torbay team tomorrow and take an e-bike for a spin. ⚡

📅 20 August
📍 Locations in both Torquay and Paignton

Come along and discover how easy, fun and sustainable travelling by e-bike can be!

18/08/2026

One for those of you who'd like to help make Torbay more accessible and easier for everyone to enjoy. 💛

Some of you may know that alongside What's Next? For Women, I also founded and chair 'Access Torbay'.

It's a very informal, unfunded group bringing together people with lived experience, businesses, charities, community organisations and public services to share what they know and, hopefully, help turn some good ideas into action.

Our next meeting is Wednesday 23 September, 10:30am–12:00pm at Rowcroft Hospice, and the invitation is open to you too.

We'll be talking about things including:

🏖️ Improving beach access and equipment
🚌 Transport and powered wheelchair battery charging
ℹ️ Better accessibility information for residents and visitors
🎪 The idea of a Festival of Accessibility

And anything else people think we should be talking about.

You don't need to have a disability or work in accessibility to come along.

Maybe you've helped a parent, partner, child or friend navigate somewhere that wasn't as accessible as it could have been.

Maybe you've experienced this yourself.

Or perhaps you simply think about the future.

Most of us don't know what our own needs, or those of the people we love, might look like in 5, 10 or 20 years.

A big thank you to Mark Hawkins, CEO, and Rowcroft Hospice for hosting us and showing us some of the accessibility improvements they've recently made too.

If you're curious, would like to contribute, or simply fancy coming along to listen, message me. You'd be very welcome. 💛

++++ And if it's not for you but you know another woman who might have something valuable to contribute, please share this to reach her. ++++

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗯𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲.

18/08/2026

🚲 FREE e-bike taster session | Thursday 27 August 18:00 to 20:00

Meet next to Parkfield Skatepark, Paignton (next to Colin Road Car Park)

A quick update...

For this session to go ahead, we needed at least 6 people booked by the end of Thursday 20 August.

We now have 7 women booked and due to some of us bringing our own e-bikes and helmets, there are still 2 bikes left... 🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️

Would you like to come with us? 😊

I recently attended one of these sessions myself and learnt so much from it. It even boosted my confidence cycling on the roads.

So much so, I've since been out a few times on my own bike with my husband and family.

We've also been umming and ahing for years about getting an e-bike, and finally bought one! I'll be very pleased to bring it along to this session and hopefully smash some of our Torbay hills. 🚲⛰️

Whether you've never tried an e-bike, haven't cycled for years, or simply want to build your confidence, this is a great opportunity to give it a go and Beth's a great teacher.

📅 Thursday 27 August
🎟️ FREE
👩 Women only
🚲 6 x E-bikes available for hire (2 left)

It's really easy to book your free place. I'll put the link in the comments below. You'll also find it in the image below, and if you scan the QR code with the camera on your phone, it'll quickly take you there too.

And if you discover this is something you'd like to do more of with others, Cycle Torbay runs a weekly session every Monday at the Torbay Leisure Centre Velopark, 18:30–19:30, for just £1.

Bikes and helmets are available to hire too if you don't have your own.

But first... if you'd like to book on this 27 August bike confidence session, you have until Thursday 20 August to book. You'll find the link in the comments below. 👇

17/08/2026

Hands up if you're glad the temperature has dropped a bit? 🙋‍♀️ Sad face if you wanted it to stay hot forever? 😢☀️

It looks like the heatwave is over. Now we can get back to being active without immediately needing a cooling shower. 😀

And currently Saturday is showing bright spells and around 21°C. Lovely. 🤞

Just in time for our What's Next? For Women Beach Day this Saturday at Goodrington South Sands. 🏖️

I'll be there from 9am until around 4pm, so feel free to drop by at any point.

Here's what's happening:

🏄‍♀️ 10.00am – 12.00pm | Paddleboard or Kayak

A two-hour guided session with the brilliant Reach Outdoors.

💛 £20pp
🏄‍♀️ 2 paddleboard spaces left
🛶 UPDATE: No kayak spaces left

First come, first served, and you only have until tomorrow (18/08) to book. So be quick if this takes your fancy!

🏖️ 12.00pm onwards | Beach crafting & shared picnic

Come and go as you please.

We'll get creative with what we have around us on the beach, have a bit of fun and share a picnic. Bring something for yourself and, if you have a little to spare, something to share.

I'll post more about this separately.

For some, it'll be a chance to celebrate having just paddleboarded or kayaked, perhaps for the first time. For others, time to relax before getting into the sea later. Or simply come along for this bit.

🌊 2.00pm | Group sea dip/swim

Meet at 2pm, aiming to be in the water from 2.30pm.

Our group will be guided by qualified swim coach Suzi Kitley from Swim Aquatics, with a maximum of 10 women. UPDATE: 6 booked so far. 4 spaces left. **

Dip or swim, depending on the conditions and what you fancy.

If you choose to dip or swim separately from Suzi's organised group, you do so independently and at your own risk.

👭 The organised paddleboarding, kayaking and sea dip/swim are for women only.

👨‍👩‍👧 Children, partners and men are very welcome to join us for the beach crafting and picnic.

Come for one thing. Come for several. Or just pop down and say hello.

I'm looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and hopefully meeting some new ones too. 💛

I'll put the link to the previous post with details of how to book the paddleboarding, kayaking and sea dip/swim in the comments below. 👇

And remember, if you want one of those last three paddleboard places, you need to let us know by tomorrow (18/08)!

16/08/2026

I don't think these simple heartfelt messages are just for the little people.

They are for all of us. 💛

If you like this, maybe you could share this with others.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1KZT3UyH2u/

15/08/2026

For anyone who wants more than a gentle dip with us at our Beach Day on Saturday 22 August, you could consider this, with Suzi Kitley from Swim Aquatics. 🏊‍♂️ 🏃‍♀️

I'm thinking about it... I completed 2 x Marie Curie 1k breaststroke swims in a pool 8 years ago. And in 2009 I finished the Great South Run (well... walk, run, walk... the point is I finished it! 🏆)

Can I remind my body of what I am capable of?

How would I feel if I could even get half-way?

And what else would this give me the confidence to try? 🤔

Do you fancy trying this together.

Message me if you do. You might be the nudge I'm waiting for, and me for you? 💛

14/08/2026

🌊 “Take me to the sea…”

There are lots of reasons why some of us are drawn to the water.

For the challenge, the friendships, the feeling afterwards, to quieten our thoughts, or simply because being in or near the sea can make a day feel a little different.

And the smiling woman in the wetsuit in these photos is Suzi Kitley from Swim Aquatics, who's joining us to lead a FREE women-only sea dip/swim as part of our What's Next? For Women Beach Day on Saturday 22 August.

📍 Goodrington South Sands
🕑 Meet at 2.00pm, aiming to get into the water from 2.30pm
👭 Up to 10 women (a women only event)
FREE

Dip or swim? That's entirely up to you.

Depending, of course, on the weather and sea conditions on the day, you might just want to get in, have a dip and float around. Or, if you're a more confident swimmer, you may want to swim.

Suzi is a qualified swim coach and will be there to offer support, encouragement and advice about sea conditions, swim gear and swimming safely.

The organised session is the dip/swim with Suzi. If you choose to go into the sea separately from the group, before, during or afterwards, that's entirely your choice. What's Next? For Women doesn't provide insurance for independent swimming or dipping, so you do so entirely at your own risk.

A quick update on booking...

We've had feedback that the link we shared previously takes you through the process of downloading an app and setting up an account before you can book.

That's absolutely fine if you'd like to become one of Suzi's many followers, join her training sessions at Teignmouth Lido or take part in her swimming expeditions across the Bay and further afield.

But you don't need to do all that just to join us for this session.

📨 Simply message the What's Next? For Women page privately with:

💛 Your name
📧 Email address
📱 Mobile number
👍 Confirmation that you're happy for me to share these details with Suzi.
With 'Swim' or 'Dip', or 'Swim Dip' if you think you might fancy both!

Your details will only be shared with Suzi and used for this event. Further details will be shared with those who book.

If you enjoy it and would like to do more with Suzi afterwards, you can sign up through her Wix link, which I'll put in the comments.

Suzi can work with up to 10 women, so it's important we know who's coming. Places are first come, first served.

Never dipped in the sea before? Haven't been in for years? Already swim and just fancy some company?

You don't have to prove anything, swim any particular distance or stay in for a certain amount of time.

Maybe you'll discover why so many of us keep being drawn back to the blue, and all year round! We live in such a beautiful place. 🌊💛

Your dip. Your swim. Your choice.

🥵 For those of us who have been melting in the recent heatwave, next weekend the outside temperature is going to be cooler, hurrah! The water temperature will be the same as it is now. 😁🛁

13/08/2026

Do you enjoy photography? 📷

I loved the BBC Great British Photography Challenge (still on the BBCiplayer) series in 2021... did you watch it?

We live in such a great part of the country, I'd love to have something similar hosted in Torbay.

Not a competition, but a way for local people to get out, with each session learning, exploring, and improving our photography skills (landscape, portrait, animals, action, macro) while seeing familiar places differently.

I’d love to test the idea with a What's Next? For Women (WNFW) photography taster session, led by a local photographer.

No fancy kit needed... DSLR or smartphone is fine. It’s about the person behind the camera. 📱📷

We could head out to the beach, countryside, harbour or town, try a few simple challenges, and explore different styles together.

As we often support a charity, I think for our taster session we could support Devon In Sight. They support people with sight impairment.

I’m not planning to run a full programme, but I’d happily support someone who wants to develop it. WNFW could be a great place to start with a taster session.

So over to you... tell me would you come to a WNFW photography taster? 👍 Like this post if you would.

Let us know the type of photography you'd most like to learn and practise in the comments. 👇👇

And are there any local photographers who’d like to lead one? Feel free to share this post or message me via this page if you'd like to talk about this. 💛

As some may have got to see the solar eclipse tonight, it seems fitting I'm sharing a post abiut capturing special moments. 🌗

12/08/2026

Do you have the same sense of humour as your spouse, partner or closest friend?

We don't.

My husband shared this.

It made me laugh out loud. 🤣

You too?

We don't always laugh at the same things. We definitely don't always see things the same way either.

And maybe that's part of why we work.

A good partnership isn't about finding someone who thinks like you. Who completes each others sentences (we don't).

Maybe it's about enjoying what you share, making room for where you differ, and valuing what each of you brings.

Different doesn't have to divide us. Sometimes it's what makes us stronger together. 💛

🤔 What do you think though? Do the best partnerships need us to think alike, or do our differences keep things interesting?