Walking
It’s the easiest mode of travel, there’s no initial costs, running costs or maintenance, walking is the best way to make those short journeys. Walking is accessible to all ages and almost all levels of fitness. It’s a great way to get fit and keep healthy, meet people and explore your local area. Walking is great for your health and well-being; it helps reduce stress, improve sleep, increases energy, reduces blood pressure and keeps your heart strong. Because walking is low impact it’s also the best way to exercise without risking injury.
Walking meets exercise guidelines
The current recommendation for physical activity is just 30 minutes a day of moderate activity, such as brisk walking. A brisk walk is when your pace of walking makes you feel warmer and have a slightly faster heart beat. You don’t even have to walk 30 minutes all in one go, to build your fitness you can start with three sessions of 10 minutes or two of 15 minutes. The most important thing is to start where you are and build your walking up gradually.
How to build walking into your life
The easiest way to walk more is to build it into your daily routine:
- If it’s less than a mile leave the car at home and walk it – to the local shop or post box
- Get off the bus a stop earlier and walk the rest of the way – you may save a bit of money on your fare too
- If you must drive, park the car further away from your destination e.g. the supermarket entrance and walk the rest of the way
- Use the stairs instead of the lift
- Go for a lunchtime walk or better still organise a walking group
- Get children into good habits by walking them to school
What to wear
You don’t need any special clothes for walking, just some comfortable shoes and dress in thin layers:
- On a hot day – shorts and T-shirt and a thin long sleeve top and hat for sun protection. Also include water and sunscreen in your bag
- On a cold day – Dress in layers with long sleeve top and trousers and warm jacket plus hat and gloves in winter
- On wet days – Dress in layers with waterproof top and bottoms. For city walking you could wear a stylish raincoat and use an umbrella. Don’t forget to wear water-resistant shoes
Useful links
Walking the way to health – national body promoting health led walks
The pedestrians association – campaign to encourage more people to walk and create better streets and public spaces
National walk to school initiative
International walk to school initiative
Walking to work - part of Living Streets work in encouraging people to walk
The Ramblers Association – information on walking in the countryside
Visit Lancashire tourist information walking pages
If you like walking you may also be interested in cycling