It’s official: walking is good for you- it boosts your memory, lung capacity and sense of wellbeing. It prevents cancer, cuts the risk of heart attacks by half and strokes by a third. Walking an hour a day adds up to 1000 miles in 12 months.
But those frosty winter mornings, shorter daytimes and early darkness make us all feel a little more sleepy. Resist the urge to hibernate! Instead, pull on your furry boots, pack up the waterproofs, energy bars and hip flasks and walk yourself warm. Whether you’re up for a short stroll in your lunch hour, an energetic trek at the weekend or just long for some fresh air hygge, Britain’s got an endless choice of great wintertime walks and wanders, from forest tracks to urban ambles, hilly byways to waterside towpaths.
Try the enchanting illuminated stroll through Isle of Wight’s Electric Woods, a sound and light spectacle set amidst glowing glades and trees. Witness early Spring as it’s sprung, with a fragrant walk around Sussex’s West Dean Gardens or Surrey’s Winkworth Arboretum, with its 1,000 different trees and shrubs and 10,000 snowdrops. Late spring brings the glorious British bluebell season and a chance to experience the special magic of bluebell woods. Think blue and violet perfumed floral carpets, sweeping through ancient woodlands adorned with birds, butterflies and winding paths. Try the bluebell woods of Ashridge Estate in Buckinghamshire or a guided bluebell walk on Norfolk’s famous Blickling Estate, once home to Anne Boleyn’s family.
Whatever the season, Britain offers some of the most exhilarating coastal walks imaginable. Sample, for instance, the stunning castle-to- castle walk along Northumberland’s coast, with an optional boat trip to seabird and seal sanctuaries of the nearby Farne Islands, or follow in the footsteps of Ross and Demelza Poldark, with a bracing stroll along Cornwall’s scenic Southwest Coast Path.
If social walking is your thing, consider joining that very British institution known as the Ramblers Association, or new kid on the block, Walk Unlimited. Both feature annual winter wanders, walking weekends and free guided walks as well as advice, training and maps galore. Walk London has seven beautiful walking routes covering 390 miles across all 33 London boroughs. Check out Walk4Life to find a UK walking group, or make use of their incredible “Walkfinder”. Here you can source over 100,000 (yes, really) walks, or create your own to suit individual wander-wishes and needs. Walk4Life also encourages GPs to ‘prescribe’ a local walk to patients using its ingenious Dr Maps prescribing pad and invite you to join one of hundreds of groups like the Wishful Walkers, BodyBlitz Walk Fit, Dog Trotters, Walking Wobblers and Clothes Optional Walking.
Further information: www.ramblers.org.uk www.walk.co.uk www.walk4life.info
Image: Californians Walk London: Eric, Rikki, Toni, Pete, 2016
Article by Judith Schrut, email Judith at judith0777@gmail.com