Gympanzees

Gympanzees The inclusive world of fun & fitness. Bristol based award-winning charity. When the environment works, everything changes.

"I dare anyone to watch a child use the Innowalk and not be motivated to do a bit of walking themselves." 💜 That's Paul ...
03/09/2026

"I dare anyone to watch a child use the Innowalk and not be motivated to do a bit of walking themselves." 💜

That's Paul Spicer, long-standing Gympanzees supporter, explaining why he's taking on 186 miles of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path this September.

Paul's shared his own story in a new guest blog, why he chose this walk, his personal connection to Wales, and the "bottle of Pop Up joy" he's carrying with him for the toughest miles.

From 16th–27th September, every mile helps open our new centre and fund concessionary places for families in Wales.

🔗 Read Paul's story: https://bit.ly/4zV7VUv
💜 Support the walk: https://bit.ly/4xtRCvE

Image description: A man wearing walking gear and holding two walking poles stands on a countryside trail, surrounded by grassy hills and woodland under a partly cloudy sky.

02/09/2026

Have you visited a Gympanzees Pop Up? We’d love to hear from you 💜

We’re looking for parents and carers to take part in our health research and share their experience of Gympanzees.

It involves a short survey and a 45-minute interview online throughout September.

As a thank you, you’ll receive a free ticket for your child or young person to one of our exclusive pre-opening sessions at the new Gympanzees centre next year.

Your feedback will help us understand the impact of Gympanzees and shape our future research.

📧Interested? Email [email protected] to find out more.

Video description: Rebecca explains how parents and carers can take part in our health research, including what’s involved and how their feedback will help.

28/08/2026

Different ways to communicate. One place to belong. 💜

Communication doesn’t look the same for everyone. Inclusion means having different ways to express yourself, connect with others and be understood.

At Gympanzees, we want disabled and neurodivergent children and young people to feel able to take part in their own way, whether that’s through speech, signs, symbols, gestures or something completely different.

So today, we’re celebrating the power of communication to bring people Together. 💜

Video description: A person using the Makaton sign for “Together”.

24/08/2026

An ENORMOUS thank you to everyone behind the scenes of Summer Pop Up number 10! 🙌🏻

It takes an incredible team of people, organisations and local businesses to make a Pop Up happen, and we’re so grateful to everyone who supported us this summer. 🥹

A very special thank you to:

* Ilminster Avenue Nursery School & Children's Centre for welcoming us and hosting our Pop Up this summer. Ilminster Avenue Nursery School
* Cakesmiths for all the wonderful cakes they provided for our café.
* Bristol Twenty Coffee Companyfor supplying all our teas and coffees.
* Hobbs Bakery for the extra sweet treats.
* Park Community Centre on Daventry Road for making our sandwiches.
* Pearce Brothers for lending us the hoists.
* Care Spaces for providing the Changing Places beds.
*Smirthwaite for lending us some of their wonderful specialist equipment.
* The brilliant Lexie, who handmade an incredible number of bracelets and raised more than £200 for Gympanzees by selling them!
* Today’s volunteers from SR2 , Enterprise and the University of Bristol, who helped us complete our quickest pack-down yet. Thanks to their hard work, all our equipment was packed safely and sent on its way, while every room was cleaned, tidied and returned to normal for the school.
* Every member of our Pop Up team and all our other wonderful volunteers who gave their time, energy and enthusiasm throughout the summer.

Without your support, we wouldn’t have been able to provide these vital services and opportunities for so many disabled children, young people and their families this summer.

You all helped to make our tenth Pop Up such a special one. We truly couldn’t have done it without you. THANK YOU 💜🩷🩵

Video description: A compilation of video clips captured in and around the Gympanzees Summer Pop Up over the past few weeks, showing the different spaces, specialist equipment, activities and some of the people who helped bring Pop Up number 10 to life.

Ilminster Avenue Nursery School Enterprise

23/08/2026

“Fun, exciting and EPIC!”, G on one of his last ever Pop Up sessions 🥹

And what a way to finish! 💜

Our 10th Summer Pop Up is officially DONE! ✨

Our final day was absolutely brilliant, with everyone on top form and so much fun, laughter and amazing moments shared across the sessions. What a way to bring Pop Up number 10 to a close!

A huge THANK YOU to all of our wonderful volunteers who have helped make this summer so special, and especially today’s team from Bristol Brunel Lions. We couldn’t do it without you! 🙌🏼

And, of course, the biggest thank you goes to all of the incredible families and visitors who have joined us throughout the summer, whether you’ve been coming back to see us time and time again or discovered Gympanzees for the very first time. Seeing so many familiar faces, meeting so many new families and hearing just how much these sessions mean to you has been truly incredible. 🩷

Pop Up #10, you’ve been AMAZING! 🎉

And now… the countdown is on! ⏰

Our final centre is on the horizon, with Gympanzees due to open in Spring 2027! 🏡

From pop-up sessions to a permanent home for inclusive play… BRING IT ON! 💜🩷🩵

22/08/2026

One more sleep until our Summer Pop Up comes to an end! 🥹

What a day we’ve had at Gympanzees! From big adventures to little moments of achievement, today was another reminder of just how special our Pop Ups are. ✨

We’ve loved welcoming so many families through our doors this summer, some visiting us for the very first time, and others coming back to enjoy more inclusive play and make even more memories. 🥰

But we’re not quite finished yet… tomorrow is our FINAL DAY! 🎉

So if you’ve been meaning to join us, this is your last chance to experience our Summer Pop Up before we pack up! 💜

Make sure you book your session for tomorrow before the remaining spaces fill up - https://gympanzees.org/our-services/pop-ups

We’d love to see you there for one final day of summer fun💜🩷🩵

22/08/2026

A huge thank you to every volunteer who helped make our 10th Summer Pop Up happen 💜

Over three weeks, volunteers gave their time to welcome families, staff our café and reception, support sessions and help keep the Pop Up running each day.

From the first hello at the door to the end of each session, their support helped families feel welcomed and looked after throughout their visit.

This year's Pop Up wouldn't have been possible without Oakland Construction, Digby Associates, Ghyston, First Class Comms, Avantis Education, Fuzzy Insurance, Sweet Projects, Moai Wealth, SR2, BaseKit B Corp, UWE Bristol, Container Team, Lloyds Bank, Boujon Bakery, JLL, Irwin Mitchell, Snap Analythics, Brain Injury Group and every individual volunteer, friend and family member who gave their time alongside them.

And, of course, Ilminster Avenue Nursery School for hosting us!

We simply couldn’t run our Pop Ups without people willing to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in. Thank you for being part of number ten. 💜

Video description: A compilation of clips showing volunteers helping out at the Gympanzees Summer Pop Up.

21/08/2026

OUR FINAL FRIDAY AT SUMMER POP UP! ✨

What a way to round off our final Friday! 💜

Today we’ve had a little bit of everything, from our Leopards 🐆 and Gorillas 🦍 to our Butterflies 🦋 and adventurous Jungle sessions 🌿🐒

It’s been another brilliant day of families playing, exploring, trying new things and making memories together, and we couldn’t do it without our incredible volunteers.

A big thanks to the wonderful volunteers from Irwin Mitchell, SR2 and the Brain Injury Group for giving up their time and helping make today so special. 💜

And just like that… we’re heading into our FINAL WEEKEND of Summer Pop Up! 😭

We’re open for one last weekend before we finish this Sunday, so if you’ve been meaning to visit, now is the time! 🥰

🎟️ Book your session and join us for our final weekend: https://gympanzees.org/our-services/pop-ups

We can’t wait to make these last few sessions ones to remember! 💜

21/08/2026

Sneaky Peek 👀 A brand-new video update from Aust!

You might remember seeing the first wall structures going up in our last update, but take a closer look at how much has changed since then.

More walls are now in place, and as the camera moves through the building you can really start to see the different rooms and spaces of the Gympanzees centre taking shape. 💜

Every new wall brings us another step closer to opening in Spring 2027, giving disabled children, young people and their families a permanent place to stay active, play in their own way and spend time with their families.

There’s still plenty to do, but week by week, the centre is becoming easier to picture.

🎥 Take a look at our latest video and see the progress for yourself.

Please help us spread the word by sharing the video, leaving a comment or donating to help us open the doors to the Gympanzees centre.

🔗 gympanzees.org/appeal

Video description: A video update from inside the new Gympanzees centre at Aust, showing wall structures going up and the different rooms and spaces beginning to take shape.

20/08/2026

The Pop Up was in full swing today. 💜

Alongside our usual sessions, we welcomed Special Friends Club for a group visit.

From bouncing and swinging to sensory play, music and time to just explore, disabled children and young people made the Pop Up their own.

That's always been the magic of Gympanzees: you don't have to enjoy it in the same way as anyone else. You just need the space and freedom to find what feels right for you.

And with only three days left of our 10th Summer Pop Up, we're soaking up every last bit of it. 💜

🔗 There's only a few spaces available, so book your session: https://bit.ly/4z9Ck0M

Video description: Video compilation of moments from the day.

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