When: Saturday 14th January. 2.30pm (for a 3pm start).

Where: Cotteridge Park car park, Franklin Road.

Distance: 1 hour, taken at an easy pace.

This fantastic walk will explore Cotteridge Park and its surroundings and finish at the Wassail at the Park.

What’s a Wassail?

The annual wassail is a party which takes part in orchards on the 12th night and is  a tradition which has taken place over centuries.  This year’s wassail will include entertainment and a chance to sample apple produce such as juice, cider, cakes and more.

For centuries – and probably longer – there has been a tradition of having a party in orchards on old 12th Night. The theory is that you make a noise and light fires to scare away the bad spirits and you encourage the good spirits of the orchard (and the robins) by feeding them bread soaked in cider. All very pagan and probably just another excuse for a mid-winter party.

Bring your friends and family along on this walk and enjoy the Wassail afterwards, with a free warm, spiced apple juice for all walkers.

For more information contact Mohini Howard on 07876 757018

The beauty of walking is that it is free, almost anyone can do it and it’s easy to get started. You don’t need to spend lots of money on joining the gym or expensive equipment; all you need to do to get started is pull on your trainers and step outside.

You don’t need to travel far to get walking. In fact, walking is a great way to explore your local area and there are plenty of attractive places to walk in towns and cities as well as in the countryside. Check out our advice for finding great places to get walking.

Another great thing about walking is that it is a social exercise, you can walk in a group, with your friends or family.

So, start your new year’s resolution today and get walking!

Download the flyer here.

Date: Tuesday 6th December. 4.30pm for a 5pm start

Start Point: Stirchley Working Men’s Club, Pershore Road, Birmingham B30 2XS

Come and join us for a short taster walk in the local area and sing a few carols along the way for a fun winter evening. Please wear suitable clothing for the weather and bring torches if you can as it will be dark, and don’t forget to bring your singing voice! Free fun for all the family and lots of goodies to give away too!

These woodlands make the perfect setting for a short walk, whether you live in the city, town or the countryside so why not explore areas near you? You can take part in wildlife spotting, find activities for children, take a picnic or just enjoy the peaceful setting and unwind.

The Visit Woods website is a great source of information if you are planning to take a walk in the woods. You can search for woodland near you, wildlife resources, activities for children and much more.

The Year 3 pupils at Albert Bradbeer Primary School in Turves Green were treated to a guided walk around Cofton Common as part of a £500,000 project to cut traffic congestion and pollution along the city’s Pershore Road.

Get Walking Keep Walking Birmingham have teamed up with transport authority Centro, together with Birmingham City Council,  to stage a series of walks for schools, firms and local residents as part of the wider Pershore Road Travel Choices Project.

The project, which runs until next March, involves travel advisers working with people who live, work and study in the area to help them make the switch away from the car to cheaper, cleaner and healthier ways of travelling like public transport, walking and cycling.

Helen Osborn, Centro’s project manager for the Pershore Road Travel Choices project, said; “The kids really enjoy these walks but they are also a great way of teaching them about the health and environmental benefits of walking.
“ Ideally, it will help them develop a lifelong habit of walking for short journeys rather than using the car.”
Three similar walks for the community as a whole have now been arranged and if they prove popular Centro plans to stage more. The next walk is:

• University of Birmingham Campus – starting 11am on Saturday August 6 fromWinterbourne House, Edgbaston

Meanwhile more than 3,000 homes along the Pershore Road have signed up for free customised travel advice to help beat soaring petrol prices and get healthy in the process.

Expert travel advisers have spent the last eight weeks visiting more than 9,000 homes to tell families how they can take advantage of the full range of travel options on their doorstep.

One in three of all homes visited have snapped up the opportunity to sit down with project staff and receive free personalised travel advice showing exactly how residents can get from their own front door to their destination without having to jump in the car.

The team of Travel Advisers are set to visit a further 7,000 homes in the between now and the end of the month (July) to discuss the travel options that may be available.

Residents wanting further information on the Pershore Road Travel Choices project can contact the travel advisers on Tel: 0121 214 7184 or by e-mail: travelchoices@centro.org.uk

Further details of walking activities and summer community events are available at networkwestmidlands.com/pershoreroad

Get Walking will have a stall at the event to promote walking and give away Get Walking packs.

The festival will feature music from some great local bands, entertainment, stalls, food and drink and loads of fantastic activities which you are your family can take part in. It’s also completely free!

Visit the website for more details.

Tuesday 12th July – 10am – Leverton and Halls Deli and Coffee House – 218 Mary Vale Road, Birmingham, West Midlands B30 1PJ, 0121 451 1246

Saturday 16th July – 11am – British Oak Pub – 1364 Pershore Road, Stirchley, Birmingham, West Midlands B30 2XS, 0121 458 1758

Saturday 6th August – 11am – Winterbourne House – 58 Edgbaston Park Rd, Birmingham, West Midlands B15 2RT. 0121 414 3003.

If you have been walking in Birmingham as part of the Get Walking Keep Walking 12 week plan and would a change of scenery and/or to walk further then these walks are perfect for you.

You don’t need to be a Ramblers member to take part, walks are free and accessible by public transport.

See below for details of the walks:

• Saturday 16th July (9.45am): Halesowen – Romsley. 5.5 miles circular. Meet at 9 bus stop Colmore Row
• Saturday 20th August (9.50am): Hockley Heath. 5.5 miles circular. Meet at Moor Street station for the X20 bus to Stratford.
• Saturday 17th September (9.40am): Bittel Reservoir. 5 miles linear. Meet by the Town Hall for the X62 bus.
• Saturday 15th October (10am): Netherton Tunnel. 6 miles linear. Meet at 87 bus stop Corporation Street.
• Saturday 12th November (9.45am): Cannock Chase. 5 miles circular. Meet New Street Station booking office.
• Saturday 10th December (9.50am): Berkswell. 5 miles circular. Meet New Street Station booking office.

Bring stout footwear, waterproofs, lunch and money for fares etc.

Visit the Birmingham Ramblers website for more information.

Please bring along a picnic and make a day of it at this beautiful site and help us promote everyday walking for everyday people!

Where: Sarehole Mill and Recreation ground in partnership with Shire Country Park Rangers and Sarehole Mill Museum.

Date: 7th May 2011,

Time: 12 noon til 4pm.

There will be stalls with fun activities such as Henna Painting, Indian Head Massage, Planting and Fruit Stalls, Cloud Watching and Pond Dipping with OPAL, “Smoothie Bike Guy”, Healthy Lifestyle information and plenty more.

A short taster walk will be led along the river Cole with Get Walking staff, volunteers and park rangers with an option to walk for a bit longer with a local Ramblers Group member.

All are welcome. Free Admission.

Click here to download a flyer for the day.

Get Walking Keep Walking has just released its third year report showing just how much the project has achieved in Birmingham over since 2008. Incredibly, over 5000 people have taken part in the project (28% of those taking part in led walks and 72% receiving walking packs and pedometers) and the project continues to grow. Below are a few facts and figures from the report:

Diversity
The report found that 29% of beneficiaries are male
The majority of participants are from non-white backgrounds; 57% of Birmingham beneficiaries are from a BME background compared to the City population of 29%.

Children and Young People
GWKW Birmingham has worked with a lot of young people, with 25.7% of those who attended programmes and 22.4% of those who received a Get Walking Pack aged under-25 and 18% aged between 25 and 34.

Wellbeing
Overwhelmingly, beneficiaries reported that as a result of participating in GWKW they were more likely to feel happy, engaged, energised and motivated. They also said they were less likely to feel lonely and depressed as a result of walking.

Keep Walking
On average, beneficiaries were more active after participating in GWKW Birmingham with participants reporting that they walked on average of1.5 days more a week.

Also the study found that participants walked 63.4 minutes more per week from place to place and 69.3 minutes more for leisure.

For more information and to download the full three year report click here