Autumn is upon us, judging by those clouds outside. All the more reason to get out and enjoy the changing of the seasons as the leaves turn brown and thoughts turn to Halloween, Bonfire Night and our other rituals marking the passing of time.

As mounting research shows, it’s good to be amongst nature; you’ve got two opportunities to explore the incredible Abney Park nature reserve with Hackney Tours this month. Some of you reading this may have attended the Green Party walk last month or the biodiversity exploration of Abney Park and the Stoke Newington East Reservoir with me on behalf of Hackney Council.

You can see on the Tours page that we’ve got a Hackney Wick walk this weekend through Hackney’s industrial past and Olympic future. Birkbeck University held a recent series of interesting talks asking who culture is for in East London and what it means. I really do think this is the most interesting part of London right now and after the tour I think you will too. Hackney Wick is fascinating, but you do need a guide to open it up for you to really appreciate what’s going on behind (sometimes) closed doors.

Further west, a radical Stoke Newington walk later this month focuses on the lives of Hackney’s strong female characters, climaxing with the celebrated gender equality pioneer Mary Wollstonecraft. From the invention of plastic to the invention of modern Feminism, there’s plenty to see and talk about.

But if you want something new, different and energetic, then come on the monthly running tour of Abney Park cemetery. Hackney Tours has combined with Hackney Fit (I also work as a personal trainer) and the Trust at Abney to bring two fun things together – exercise and exploration. The pace is your pace, so there’s no need to worry about not being up to it. Find out what the latest is on the Sainsbury N16 saga and why places like Abney are crucial to the city’s wellbeing.

Don’t forget you can follow Hackney Tours on Facebook or Twitter. The Hackney Women walk will also finish up at the launch of the Newington Green Market, so what more reason do you need to get out and about?

I’m continuing with the pay-what-you-want experiment so that the walks/runs are accessible to all. Hope to see you on a walk – or even a run – soon.