DISCOVER THE JOYS & BENEFITS OF WALKING, SAYS BRIGG COUNCILLOR

Brigg's Coun Carl Sherwood says walking can bring many benefits

FROM KIRSTY WESTFIELD, NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE COUNCIL

This September, people in North Lincolnshire are being invited to take part in a range of short walks during the Walk About Festival led by the council’s Walking the Way to Health scheme.
Walk About Festival is the ramblers' biggest ever free national walking event that runs from Saturday 3 to Sunday 11 September, offering a walk to suit everyone.
There are six walks as part of Walking the Way to Health in North Lincolnshire for you to enjoy as part of the festival. There will be something for all abilities.
Walking the Way to Health is an initiative that aims to encourage you to walk in your own community.
Being physically active on a regular basis can significantly improve your health and fitness, and walking is ideal for building exercise into your everyday life. It is also a perfect way to see the natural environment around you.
The following short group walks will be taking place during the festival in North Lincolnshire:

• Three-mile walk on Tuesday 6 September at 10.30am in West Halton, meeting at the Village Green.
• One-mile walk on Tuesday 6 September at 11am and Wednesday 7 September at 11am in Scunthorpe meeting at Central Park car park, Kingsway. This walk is suitable for wheelchair users.
• Three-mile walk on Thursday 8 September at 10.30am in Wrawby meeting at Black Horse pub, Melton Road.
• Three-mile walk on Thursday 8 September at 2.15pm in Scunthorpe meeting on Henderson Avenue near Sainbury’s.
• A one-, two-, or three-mile walk on Friday 9 September at 10.30am at Normanby Hall Country Park meeting in the mail car park. This is suitable for wheelchair users.

Walking the Way to Health in North Lincolnshire is part of Walking for Health, England’s largest network of health walk schemes, run by Ramblers and Macmillan Cancer Support. Walking for Health aims to provide everyone with access to short, free and friendly walks within easy reach of where they live, helping them to become and stay active.
Councillor Carl Sherwood, from Brigg, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing at North Lincolnshire Council, said: “We all know walking can do wonders for our health and wellbeing, which is why we want to get people in North Lincolnshire on their feet and taking part in the Walk About Festival. There are some fantastic walks planned around North Lincolnshire for people of all abilities.   Walking is good for our health and our minds, and we want everyone to be able to experience the many benefits and joys it can bring. Many of the people who take part in the Walking the Way to Health walks are amazed at the amount of green spaces that they did not know existed until they joined.”
People don’t have to wait until September to get started. The Ramblers want to encourage people to get active in advance of the festival so the organisation has also launched a free online tracker that allows people to log their walking activity and make the most of everything the festival has to offer.
The tracker lets people log all their walking activity and monitor their progress. It provides people with the opportunity to build up their activity levels, which means that by the time the festival comes around they will be able to step out on a longer walk.
Designed to suit both someone taking their first steps and the seasoned walker, there are lots of badges and rewards for walking regularly, completing long distances and reaching particular milestones. For example, it could be walking every day in a month or completing the equivalent length of the Cotswold Way.
Anyone can take part by visiting www.ramblers.org.uk/walkabout and starting to log their walking trips – whether short or long, in the town or the countryside, alone or with friends.
Walk About it supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery to help everyone, everywhere enjoy walking.
Clara Govier, head of charities of People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “We are delighted that players of People’s Postcode Lottery are able to support the Ramblers with their exciting new walking festival, which we know will help thousands of people discover the joys of walking.”

To find out more details on Walking to Health, visit www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
For more information on the Ramblers, visit www.ramblers.org.uk/walkabout
To find out more details on Macmillan Cancer Support, visit www.macmillan.org.uk
For more details on the People’s Postcode Lottery, visit www.postcodelottery.co.uk