Merrell brought a piece of the wild to North London last week, teaming up with Flock Together founder Ollie Olanipekun (@ollie_ranger) for an urban hike proving the capital’s green spaces are hiding in plain sight.
The event, staged in Muswell Hill and Finsbury Park, forms the latest chapter of Merrell’s Outside In The City campaign, a global initiative using community experiences, public art, and creative partnerships to challenge what “going outside” means in 2026. It lands as urban nature access and outdoor mental wellbeing continue to dominate conversation across the wellness and lifestyle space.
Londoners joined Ollie for a guided hike through Parkland Walk, a disused railway line turned nature corridor that cuts straight through the city’s grey. From there, Ollie ran an urban birdwatching session, spotlighting wildlife most residents pass every day without a second glance.
The day closed at Substation Studio in Finsbury Park with a t-shirt customisation workshop and a drinks reception, turning a morning hike into a full community moment.
The activation is a hyperlocal expression of Merrell’s wider Outside In The City platform, which argues that the benefits of the outdoors, mental wellbeing, human connection, creative inspiration, and access to wildlife, don’t require remote landscapes. They start the moment someone steps outside their front door, whether that’s a city street, a riverside path, or a local park.
Ollie Olanipekun, founder of Flock Together, said: “Yesterday’s hike and birdwatching session was a perfect example of the natural beauty we can access right here in the city. It was part of a wider movement to make the outdoors a more inclusive and accessible space, showing that the benefits of being outside, whether that’s mental wellbeing, human connection, creative inspiration, or spotting new wildlife, are just as real close to home as they are far away. It’s all about making the most of our own environment and truly experiencing everything it has to offer.”
