What is a health walk?

Above: a brief description about health walks provided by ITN. For a longer video about Walking for Health, check out our 10-minute film 'A guide to health walks', which is available on DVD.

Note both these films were produced when Walking for Health was still hosted by Natural England.

A short definition of a health walk might be: 'A purposeful, brisk walk undertaken on a regular basis.'

Any walk which is specifically designed and carried out to improve one's health is a health walk. The impact on health will depend on the person, how often and how intense the walk is.

Brisk, purposeful walking (i.e. more than just  a stroll) is proven to have a benefit to cardiovascular health (the heart).

Organised walks, such as the Walking for Health walks, offer the chance to get outdoors (often in a natural environment) and meet people. We hear time and time again about walkers who have greatly reduced stress and made lasting friendships because of the social element of our health walks.

Imagine the scene...

You reach your destination, breathing in deeply the fresh air, and taking in the amazing landscape around you. You look around you and congratulate your fellow walkers with a warm smile.

You can feel you heart beating and you feel alive. Once upon a time you never thought you could do this. Your walk leader comes over and gives you a pat on the back and you feel a real sense of achievement.

This is a health walk.