Social prescribing

Social prescribing connects you with local activities and services to help improve your health and wellbeing.

Community Hub - GP Practice Bristol City Centre

What is Social Prescribing?

Social prescribing is an NHS service designed to support your mental and physical health by linking you to community resources, such as:

  • Gardening groups
  • Fitness and walking groups
  • Art, mindfulness, and creative workshops
  • Volunteering opportunities
  • Nature-based therapy sessions

By engaging in these activities, you can improve your health, meet new people, and build confidence.

How to Access Social Prescribing

A social prescribing link worker will:

  • Help identify the right activities and support for you
  • Guide you to local groups, events, and resources
  • Work with you to improve your overall wellbeing

You can get a referral to a link worker from your GP, local charities, or social care services.

Learn more on the NHS website:

NHS Resources

For more information about social prescribing in England, visit:

Patients working in community kitchen - GP Practice Bristol City Centre

Explore Local Groups and Activities

ActiveBeing

  • Focus: Mental health for women through nature-based activities.
  • Programmes include:
    • ActiveTalk: 1:1 walk-and-talk support
    • CreativeBeing: Outdoor creative arts sessions
    • WildWomen: Campfire cooking, whittling, and more
  • Contact: 07764 744609 | Visit Website

All-Aboard Watersports

  • Focus: Making watersports accessible for all, including sailing, paddleboarding, and kayaking.
  • Based in Bristol City Harbour with fully accessible facilities.
  • Contact: 07458 091427 | Visit Website

Alive Wellspring Settlement Gardening Group

  • Focus: Gardening in Barton Hill to grow fruit, vegetables, and flowers, while sharing skills and social time.
  • Sessions end with tea and cake!
  • Contact: 07379 498764 | Visit Website

Avon Wildlife Trust

  • Focus: Nature-based activities like crafting, wildlife walks, and mindfulness.
  • Includes making bird feeders and gratitude practices to support mental health.
  • Contact: 07458 091427 | Visit Website

Changes Bristol

  • Focus: Mental health support, offering free weekly outdoor groups like:
    • Keep Going Keep Growing: Gardening and wellbeing sessions
    • Walk and Talk Groups: Held in Bristol’s parks and green spaces
  • Contact: 0117 941 1123 | Visit Website

Forest Bathe

  • Focus: Guided forest therapy (Shinrin Yoku) sessions in the Forest of Dean.
  • Gentle walking practice to improve mental and physical wellbeing.
  • Contact: 07774 695589 | Visit Website
Patient, walking in the woods - GP Practice Bristol City Centre

Additional Local Organisations

Here is a full list of other community groups and services:

  • Bristol Horn Youth Concern: Support for young people (11–19) from East African backgrounds, offering sports, leadership skills, and employment advice.

  • Friends of Brislington Brook: Community group preserving St Anne’s Woods and Nightingale Valley through clean-ups and maintenance.

  • Henbury Walking Group: Organised walks around Bristol’s parks, harbourside, and green spaces. Suitable for all levels.

    • Contact: 0117 377 6247

  • Mud Pie Explorers: Forest School sessions and outdoor activities, especially for children with additional needs.

  • Speedwell Allotment Project: Weekly gardening group offering social connection and outdoor activities.

    • Contact: 0117 955 6098

  • Soul Trail Wellbeing CIC: Nature-based wellbeing walks and workshops to lower stress and build confidence.

    • Contact: 07719 400431 | Instagram: @soultrailwellbeing

  • St Werburghs City Farm: Activities connecting people to nature, including placements for those with learning difficulties and mental health challenges.

  • The Birch Collective: Free land-based activities for 16–25-year-olds, including residential camps and weekly sessions.

  • The Ernest Cook Trust: Education charity offering outdoor learning programmes for groups and communities.

  • Your Park Bristol and Bath: Conservation and outdoor wellbeing programmes in parks like Eastville and Hartcliffe Millennium Green.