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Newsletter May 2024

Since our last newsletter in early March Spring has sprung, daffodils have given way to bluebells and the sun has occasionally made an appearance.

We have seen lots of new walking and cycling routes given a boost, hundreds protested the charges at Cirencester Park, the National Trust have told us that children want more time in nature and we learnt that walking 5000 steps in a day, three times a week could increase life expectancy by three years – plus lots of other walking news, personal challenges and fundraising.

We are now well into May – National Walking Month. The first of the May Bank Holidays was a bit of a wash out for many – though lots of walkers found a gap in the weather (or carried on regardless). Have you got walking plans for the month ahead? There is a huge range of walks, walking festivals and other walking related activities to keep you busy.

Photo: Wildlife Trusts, Donald Sutherland

Rother Valley Way

Guest Blog: After 70 years there are plans to turn the nine-mile Petersfield to Midhurst stretch of former railway line into The Rother Valley Way. See article

Don’t Walk!

At Walking Pace we love walking. We create walks and write, read and talk walking – a lot! But, if you don’t want to walk, then that’s fine with us. See article

Walking in the New Forest

The New Forest National Park covers 220 square miles of woodland, heathland and coastline – walking here is brilliant and so much to choose from. See article

Country Parks, Commons and Nature Reserves

Are local country parks, commons and nature reserves the unsung heroes of the outdoor world? See article

Right to roam: paths to 2,500 public areas are being blocked by landowners due to outdated laws – see more and areas of outstanding natural beauty have on average poorer footpath access than rest of England – see more

Cirencester Park – Hundreds of people joined the protest against charges to access Cirencester Park – see more and even more

5000 steps in a day three times a week could increase life expectancy by three years according to Vitality and the London School of Economics – see more

Two Steps Back – Canal and River Trust launched their #TwoStepsBack campaign to help children stay safe near by water – see more

Munro Bagging – Anna Wells has became only the fourth person (and first woman) to complete a Munro round in winter – equalling the record of 83 days – see more

Scotland Outdoors Podcast – A new era at Mountaineering Scotland, Rachel Stewart meets the women making history at Mountaineering Scotland – see more

Children want more time in nature – The National Trust published survey findings as it calls for youngsters to be no more than a 15-minute walk from green spaces – see more

Nordic Walking – Dr Michael Mosely investigates the added benefits of Nordic walking – see more

Walking in the footsteps of the ancients – BBC Countryfile met Mary-Ann Ochota on the Marlborough Downs on the Ridgeway National Trail – see more

A good read – Ramblers’ Head of Paths, Jack Cornish, has written a book, The Lost Paths: A History of How We Walk From Here To There – see more

Enabling active travel can improve the UK’s health – There is an urgent need to improve the nation’s health, active travel is a “best buy” for improving health – see more

Safer pedestrians in New York – ten years after New York became the first US city to adopt the Vision Zero traffic safety model there is progress and frustration – see more 

Freedom in Dartmoor – Rosie Jewell shares her childhood freedoms in Dartmoor and reflects on how these now being trampled on – see more

Stroke rehabilitation – The Kirkby walking group giving stroke survivors a ‘lifeline’ – see more

Stay local – Great inspiration from Alastair Humphreys on scaling the 7 summits – of your local area – see more

Active Travel England to give more than £1 million to KCC and Medway Council for more walking, cycling and wheeling – see more and even more

Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple – A walking and cycling route that follows a former railway line has now been completed – see more

Taunton and Wellington in Somerset could soon be connected by a new walking and cycling route which celebrates the area’s industrial heritage – see more

North East Somerset, Bath and Bristol – Plans to make it easier to walk, cycle and take public transport between rural areas of Somerset could be about to move forward – see more

Durham – A new walking and cycling route is set to be installed on a key road in Durham, after a £2.5m grant was secured – see more

Shropshire – More than £174,000 of government funding is to be invested into walking and cycling schemes in Shropshire –see more

Penrose National Trust – A series of social walks has been rolled out at the Cornish site to improve wellbeing – see more

Women Who Walk – A free female walking group is hoping to expand to other towns and cities to help women “find their tribe” – see more

Welcoming Walkers – Walkers are Welcome is a nationwide network of accredited towns and villages that are ‘welcoming to walkers’ – sign up to their newsletter here

Wharfedale Greenway – overwhelming support for the development of a traffic-free route from Pool-in-Wharfedale to Bolton Bridge via Otley, Burley, Ilkley and Addingham. See more

Steve Brown TV presenter and former captain of Team GB’s Paralympic rugby team talks to the Ramblers – see more

Diversity outdoors – Study examines access and use of greenspaces and the countryside by diverse communities – see more

Free nature walks to help neuro-divergent people – see more

Sight loss obstacles – council officials wearing glasses simulating sight impairments have walked through a busy city centre to experience the danger of pavement obstacles – see more

Fun and funding – An author is walking 150 miles for charity, Scotland football fans walking 1,000 miles to the Euros in Munich, an 87 year old Youlgreave woman walked a mile a day for the village church, a Flintshire woman is walking 15 peaks in husband’s memory, NHS workers are walking Hadrian’s Wall to raise money for a mental health football team, a group of blind footballers from West Bromwich walking from Wembley to The Hawthorns, a mother and daughter are walking 100km across Guernsey to raise money for Ovarian Cancer Action, grandparents have walked the coast of the UK for charity, people dressed as food items are walking to raise money for foodbanks and a 3.5 metre giraffe puppet is being walked from Grimsby to Skegness.

Living Streets Walking Month

This year Living Streets are inviting you to discover the #MagicOfWalking and celebrate the many health and happiness benefits of walking and wheeling. See more

Make Ways

Make Ways is a new pilot citizen project to share good paths and draw wishes for new ones. Add good ways, bad ways, wishes and wins in your neighbourhood. See more

British bothy guide

Countryfile explore the best bothies in the UK, their history, what you need to bring with you and how to stay within the bothy code. See more

Sparky Walking Guides

Two long-distance walkers re-imagine trail guides and focus on ‘nuggets’ of information on the maps to enlighten and entertain and enrich the walk.  See more

Coast Path Challenge

Join this Every Mile Matters fundraising walk in South Cornwall for rockpools, shipwrecks and smugglers on this scenic walk to Polperro. See more

River Coln Trail

A new 33-mile route linking Winchcombe and Fairford. From the Coln’s source to the Thames, the walk connects the Cotswold Way and Thames Path national trails. See more and get the guidebook

Paws on the Wharf

A fun and free art trail by Guide Dogs
and Wild in Art. Follow the trail in Canary Wharf and discover 25 larger-than-life decorated guide dog sculptures. See more

Faskally Forest walk, Perthshire

This wheelchair-friendly walk through Faskally Forest (or Faskally Woods) near Pitlochry in Scotland follows the shores of beautiful Loch Dunmore. See more