A silent disco hike club in Bury returns to Holcombe Moor this month, promising a fun and healthy way to dance and sing while experiencing the outdoors.
Based in Bury, the Sunnywood Project has been running for six years. The not-for-profit organisation works with young people and the community to provide outdoor experiences and enrich people's lives through exploring nature.
Regular events include hiking expeditions and a 'colour dash' with up to 500 people in Burrs Country Park, while autumn events feature a 'terrifying' zombie hike close to Halloween.
The project also offers all levels of the Duke of Edinburgh Award and has a youth group called Kindling Kids.
In order to fund the outstanding community work conducted by the Sunnywood Project, they also run commercial events, such as the silent disco hikes, which are heading back to Holcombe Moor on Saturday, June 13.
Organiser Marc Young explained that the silent disco hikes offer an alternative for people to socialise and let off steam, without going out drinking.
He said: "It's something different. They’re getting fresh air and exercise, they’re having a dance in the middle of nowhere while the sun’s setting behind them, so it’s a real feel-good opportunity for people to get involved and do something a little different.
"By the time you get back to the car park, you’ve been out for a couple of miles hike on the moors, seen the sunset, had a dance and a sing, and even better – you wake up in the morning feeling absolutely fine."
Marc said that the silent disco hikes had been running for two years, having built up a good relationship with the National Trust, who manage many of the locations of Sunnywood Project events.
After piloting the events with volunteers at Holcombe Moor, the hikes were opened up to the public and quickly gained interest.
"It got a lot of interest on Instagram and socials", said Marc.
"We then started this year, venturing to different places, like Tatton Park, and that was a very successful event.
"We’re going back there in November; I think Lyme Park wants us over there. We’ve already done Dunham Massey as well, and Rivington, which was a beautiful place to go.
"Over the summer months, it feels slightly different to the winter because it’s light and you’ve got the setting sun. In the winter months, you’ve got your glow sticks, and it’s dark, and it feels a little different. Both work wonderfully well; it’s just a different kind of feeling."
Hikers attending the silent disco events are provided with headsets, glow sticks and light poles, with three different music channels to choose from.
Whether you prefer cheesy pop tunes, 90s rave classics or rock and roll, there's something for everyone to listen to.
Marc said: "It’s nice throughout the evening that people constantly keep switching between channels. My colleagues and I are constantly trying to battle to keep people on our channels and get people to dance and have a bit of a dance-off.
"Ultimately, it’s about getting people outdoors. We’ve always been about getting people outdoors for their health and wellbeing. Since doing this, we now work with Bury Council and have events in Radcliffe, where the idea is to get people moving in Radcliffe.
"We’ve done the silent disco hikes in Close Park. We’ve got another, bigger event coming up in October called Let’s Do Light Night in the Burrs Country Park, and there’ll be silent discos there for people to attend for free as part of a big festival that we’re going to do in October."
Alongside the silent disco hikes for adults, the Sunnywood Project has also started offering the events to primary schools, and recently helped a Year 6 group celebrate the end of their SATs exams.
With space for up to 90 people, the adult hikes typically see groups of around 50 heading out into nature.
"The demographic is very varied", said Marc. "We take people out in a very safe, controlled way, se we can facilitate that wonderful experience where you feel comfortable enough to dance and sing and not really care what you look or sound like. Because you’re out there in the middle of nowhere, enjoying the fresh air and just being active."
"I think if you turn up for one of these silent disco hike events, it feels a little bit strange for the first 5-10 minutes of it, because you’re kind of consumed with what you’re listening to.
"But as soon as you get out onto the moors and embrace what you’re actually listening to, you kind of accept it’s a very different event from a typical hike.
"Most people just totally get on board with it within those first few minutes, then they’re waving their glow sticks around and having a great time."
The next event, on Saturday, June 13, at Holcombe Moor, starts at 6pm, and ends around 7.30pm. The meeting point is the Lumb Carr Road car park in Ramsbottom.
Tickets cost £15.50 plus booking fee, and can be found on the Sunnywood Project website.
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