What are health walks?
Physical activity can have huge benefits on your health and wellbeing. Walking is a free, easy and fairly accessible activity that almost anyone can enjoy.
Lots of people walk as part of their everyday lives to get to and from places, but to walk for your health is different - it's about raising your heart rate and breathing slightly so you are getting a work out, whilst exploring your local area, enjoying the outdoors and making new friends.
The Walking to Health project tries to make walking even easier by organising everything for you, such as, where to walk, where to start your walk and how to get there. Walking as part of a group can also make you feel safer and allow you to explore areas you may not feel confident to do on your own.
Since 2008 Walking to Health in South Gloucestershire has been accredited by the national WHI, which means that we:
- provide walks for people of all abilities, including beginners
- meet health, safety and insurance standards set by the national initiative
Walking to Health is all about helping people to become more physically active; therefore we provide a range of walks to suit different walking abilities. To make it easier to find a walk that suits you we have graded our walks from A - D:
| Walk Grade |
Walk Length and Description |
| A |
- Up to three quarters of a mile in length.
- Uses flat and paved surfaces.
- Suitable for people who are new to exercise, returning to activity after injury or who use a wheelchair and/or mobility aid.
|
| B |
- Up to 1 and a half miles in length.
- Uses paved, firm surfaces, may include some small 'ups and downs'.
- Suitable for people who are new to exercise, returning to activity after injury or who use a wheelchair and/or mobility aid.
|
| C |
- Up to 2 and a half miles in length.
- Uses rougher paths, which may be uneven underfoot and include 'ups and downs'.
- Suitable for walkers wanting to increase their fitness.
- Only suitable for people that use a wheelchair and/or mobility aid when stated in the Walks Programme.
|
| D |
- Up to 4 miles in length.
- Uses rougher paths and will be more uneven underfoot. More likely to include hills, steps and more challenging terrain.
- Suitable for fitter walkers and those wanting to increase their fitness.
- Only suitable for people that use a wheelchair and/or mobility aid when stated in the Walks Programme.
|
The dates, times, start venues and details of our walks are listed in the Walks Programme which is produced three times per year. A PDF version of the current programme can be downloaded in the 'Read More' section to the right of this page.
Where possible our walks start at places offering toilets, parking and somewhere to go afterwards for refreshments and a chat. All walks are led by trained Volunteers and are organised by the project team, which consists of a co-ordinator and two staff.
You are welcome to bring a dog(s) as long as they are kept on the lead. Very occasionally we may ask people not to bring their dogs, however this would only happen if we were planning a special walk, like a nature trail, or if the walk may be unsuitable for dogs due to cattle, conditions, etc.
When and where do the walks take place?
With the help of our Volunteers, we currently offer 5 health walks per week across the district, which are held on the following days:
- Monday mornings in Filton, Patchway and the Stokes
- Wednesday and Thursday afternoons in Kingswood and surrounding areas
- Friday mornings in Yate, Sodbury, Dodington and Thornbury
We also offer monthly Saturday walks, evening walks (during the summer) and occasional special events, e.g. wildlife walks, local history and other similar activities.
How do I join?
Once you have chosen a walk that sounds suitable for you just make a note of the date, time and venue and simply turn up - there is no need to book.
All walks are free of charge, although we do ask for a small fee (currently 20p) for refreshments. If a walk starts from a venue such as a cafe, the price of refreshments may vary.