Beat the Street is coming to the Somer Valley!

A popular interactive game that makes exercise fun is set to launch across Paulton, Radstock, Midsomer Norton, Westfield, Peasedown St John and Timsbury.

Beat the Street was created by GP Dr William Bird to encourage people to explore their local areas and to make exercise fun. It has been played by more than 1.6m people in more than 120 locations in the UK and increased levels of physical activity among adults and children.

The game is open to anyone of any age who would like to take part and takes place in the Somer Valley from Wednesday, 17th May to Wednesday, 28th June. Children use a card and map which will be provided by participating primary schools, and adults can pick up a free card from one of the distribution points listed on the Beat the Street Somer Valley website at www.beatthestreet.me/ somervalley

Alternatively, players over the age of 13 can download the free Beat the Street app to play the game with their phone.

There are prizes for the teams that walk, cycle or wheel the furthest with vouchers for books and sports equipment on offer. There is also a leaderboard for individuals, as well as a total points leaderboard and an average leaderboard so opportunities for teams of all sizes to win prizes.

Once the game is underway, players find their nearest “Beat Box” – or sensor - which will appear on lampposts around the Somer Valley. There will be 55 sensors that record each players’

point tally. These sensors are contactless so that you don’t need to touch them – simply hover your card over the Beat Box and it will beep and flash to record your points. Visit two Beat Boxes within an hour and collect 10 points for each Beat Box, then keep going!

Beat the Street Somer Valley is being delivered by Intelligent Health and has been commissioned by The Active Way. The Active Way is led by Bath & North East Somerset Council and funded by Active Travel England. Additional funding has been provided by the National Lottery via Sport England.

Rebecca Reynolds, Director of Public Health, said: “It’s free to take part in Beat the Street and it’s open to everyone regardless of age, ability or background. It’s an inclusive and compelling game that encourages you to exercise in a fun way with friends and family, plus it’s a great way of getting to know your local area.

“The Beat the Street game has been played nearby in Somerset and has been extremely successful in terms of encouraging people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to get active as a community. We can’t wait to see how many miles people clock up.”

More information will be available at www. beatthestreet.me/Somervalley and on social media at @BTSSomerValley