Why walk?

Walking is good for you and much better for the environment than using the car.

Did you know...

• Walking is the closest activity to perfect exercise
• Your feet provide the most sustainable means of transport
• Walking is Britain’s most popular outdoor recreation by far
• The most popular reason for walking is to go shopping (23 percent), followed by personal business or accompanying another person (21 percent) and leisure or social purposes (20 percent)
• One in four car journeys are under two miles, contributing to congestion and pollution. These distances can easily be walked in around 30 minutes
• Walkers endure three times less fumes than people in a car
• Walking a mile a day significantly reduces risks of coronary heart disease (by 50 percent) and a stroke (by 66 percent). Although a mile sounds a lot, it's only 15 - 20 minutes of walking
• Walking can contribute to the 30 minutes of exercise we should have daily
• Walking is better than low salt diets for lowering blood pressure
• Walking is the cheapest way of getting around. Think of all the short journeys you make by car and what an impact it has on your vehicle, both in the short and longer term.

How can you increase the amount you walk?

Habit is one of the main reasons few of us think of alternatives to the way we travel. We set the alarm to get up just in time to get ready, jump in the car and get to work on time. But could you walk to work? If so, set the alarm a little earlier. Could you walk the kids to the nursery/school instead of driving them?

Heavy things to carry? You could get a back pack or a drag-bag. With shopping, why not walk to the local shops for little bits and pieces and confine a "big" shop with the car to once a week (incorporating it into another journey).

Are you spending a fortune on gym membership, but driving to the gym? Can you choose a gym within walking distance to your home or workplace, cutting out the need to travel there by car?

On Sundays or Bank Holidays you can enjoy a nice walk in the countryside. Try to explore routes near to your home instead of driving to places.

Check out RouteXchange for walk routes with maps in your area or take a look at our walking publications.