Walking for Health

Walking is good for our health.  Increasingly, evidence is showing that many aspects of our physical and mental wellbeing benefit from walking, particularly if this activity takes place in green spaces. 

In this page we shall be examining the relationship between walking and health; whether it's all good news, whether some of us can benefit more than others, whether the benefits can be enhanced and much more.  Please feel free to contribute.  The Paths Project co-ordinator would appreciate hearing from you about your opinions on and experiences of walking. 

This link contains much useful information about the health benefits of walking, some perhaps surprising - for example, did you know that as little as 30 minutes of gentle exercise most days can demonstrably improve our health?  Some of the individual walking anecdotes are really interesting too.   

Just out!  MIND has launched a major new report, entitled Ecotherapy - the green agenda for mental health.  The report outlines the positive impact of walking, amongst other forms of exercise, as a cost-effective and natural addition to existing treatments.  Interestingly, outdoor walking in the park was measurably superior to the equivalent amount of exercise indoors in the supermarket!