• Keep walking: age is no barrier
• Many people don’t realise where they can walk and what is on their doorstep
• Make sure the pub is open!
• Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot…
• Take a hat, go with friends, share your chocolate
• “We aren’t going on a walk children. It’s an adventure…”
• Never trust your dad if he says it’s a short cut
• If you want to go faster, go alone. If you want to go further, go together

We want to hear your best bits of walking advice, whether from childhood,  wisdom you’d pass to your own children, quotes from books, TV, radio, magazines, gems from friends…

We’ll publish the best. Keep it short and sweet if you can – maximum of 20 words.

Send your bits of walking advice to: jeanette.cole@ramblers.org.uk

Of course it’s essential to take sensible precautions to avoid getting sunburned, de-hydrated or even sunstroke, and here are some helpful tips:

• apply sun screen (minimum of Sun Protection Factor 15)
• avoid being out when the sun is at its hottest – 11am-3pm
• wear a hat
• carry water
• wear lightweight, loose clothing

But, a stroll on a sunny day can do our all-round health and well-being a power of good. As well as lifting the spirits, sunlight boosts vitamin D levels, a deficiency of which can cause rickets and can be a major factor in the development of type 1 diabetes in children. There is also evidence that some cancers are less common in sunnier climes due to the protective factor of vitamin D.

As with so much in life, the key is to be sensible, getting the right balance. Take the measures we’ve suggested, and  enjoy walking in the sunshine say 30 minutes up to 3 times a week.

Don’t forget to use sunscreen and wear a hat if you’re  out on a longer walk, even on an overcast day, as some of the sun’s radiation will still get through the clouds.

Here’s to a fabulous summer!

(Information on vitamin D adapted from a recent article in the evening Standard by Dr Christian Jessen)

Useful links

Check the NHS website for further advice on summer health including protection against the sun.

Useful links

There are bound to be various groups set up around the country with mums, babies, toddlers and healthy activity in mind. Some may charge a small fee per class, or offer membership subscriptions. Look on the Internet or check your local library. Here are   a few to give you an idea of what’s on offer:

Buggyfit

Pushy Mothers

 Turn it into a shoot… Bring a camera and let each child look out for the artistic shot, such as moss on a tree or dew on a spider’s web. The photos can be turned into picture postcards using a printer and a pack of photo postcards, and notes written about it in a walker’s diary.

From a feature by Ronnie Haydon in the spring issue of the Ramblers walk magazine

Useful links

walk magazine has loads more ‘top tips’ to get children walking

• Be prepared – even though we’re in British Summer Time, it can still be pretty chilly, so wear layers, or at least take extra layers with you
• And don’t  pack away the hat, scarf and gloves just yet
• Although splashing through puddles can be fun, take a brolley in case of April showers
• Re-discover your neighbourhood in all its re-newed floral glory – you’ll be surprised just how quickly the daffs and primroses  emerge from their winter sleep – guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a spring in your step!
• Have fun out walking with the kids during the Easter hols. It doesn’t have  to be a fully planned day out, but a stroll to a friend’s, the shops or the dentist via a park or playing field. It’s a great way for them to burn off some of those Easter eggs as well as spending time with their mum and dad!
• Most of all, enjoy it  - walking’s a great way to lift the spirits and blow away the cobwebs, especially if you’ve been hibernating all winter!

Useful links

Check the weather forecast in your area

Of course, walking is also one of the slowest forms of transport there is. But it may still be your quickest option, taking into account all the other factors that make up your journey. We tend to over-estimate  the speed of a car or bus journey, and under-estimate how quickly we walk. Add in the time spent parking the car or waiting for a bus, and walking is often the best choice for short trips.

That’s the key. No-one seriously suggests that you sell the car and tear up your travelcard; but on average about a third of all journeys are less than a mile. Is it really sensible to drive the short trips that you could walk in just a few minutes?

From an article by David Foster in the autumn 2009 edition of  the Ramblers walk magazine.

Useful links

walk magazine site

Here are some ideas for making walking fun for kids – and you’ll enjoy it too!

• Don’t suggest ‘going for a walk’, but, an outing or adventure to a park, playground or pond, a friend’s house, the shops, the cinema…
• Make it a treat – take things to eat and drink or even a picnic
• Give children a small knapsack to pack and carry
• How about a treasure hunt? Collect leaves, fir-cones, feathers, pebbles…. And pop them in the knapsack
• Go to places connected to things that interest your children: films, TV, pop music, books, sport
• Play games along the way such as I-Spy, animal spotting, learning numbers or spelling, identifying shapes, counting different coloured cars or front doors….
• Go walking in the rain with wellies and brollies – enjoy the puddles!
• Keep walking diaries or scrap books – start with the logbook from the Get walking pack
• Write a letter to someone special together and post it on your walk
• A great way to make new friends is to join a local Ramblers family walking group
• Get the kids walking to school

Useful links

• Ramblers family walking groups
• Walking to school

Remember too, the Get Walking programmes we run in and around Birmingham, East London, Manchester, Sheffield and South London are free!

See the savings you can make

Emma from South London commutes to work near Oxford Circus. Her weekly travelcard costs £36.80 and the journey takes an hour by rail and tube. She works out 3 times a week at her local leisure centre for around 70 minutes a time at a cost of £8.20 a week.

To save money, Emma bought a weekly season ticket (£25.90) to Victoria Station and now walks the 2 ½ km (1 ½ miles) to her office. Although it takes 10 minutes longer than the tube, Emma enjoys her daily walk through green Park and has cancelled her gym membership.

(From an article by David Foster in the autumn 09 issue of the Ramblers’s magazine, Walk)