Case stories

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Kicking up leaves on a woodland walk can bring out the inner child in anyone Becoming a walk leader Walk leader Jenny Walker tells us why the woodland health walks are the best:I was born in a wood. Until the age of seven it felt so natural that I thought everyone lived in a wood. I’m a game keeper... January 2012
Woodland walking helped me recover from back injury Health related Walking in woodland helped a walker recover from a serious back injury and beat the weight she gained during her recovery:I started walking for my health after slipping a disc a couple of years ago.... January 2012
Walking helped with post-natal depression Health related Elaine Jeffery has found health walks - with the Shepton Mallet ‘Pram Pushers’ – to be a great help with post-natal depression.I started regular walks after my first child was born. I had previously... October 2011
Brain injury: walking got me through bad times Health related When Mick Smith was in an accident at work in 2006, he suffered a broken neck, brain injuries and a badly damaged left knee.I was a very fit person before my accident, doing martial arts and being a... September 2011
Ramblers host Richmond Active Living Scheme Successful partnerships The Ramblers, Britain’s walking charity, have been allocated £4,000 from Richmond Council’s small grant fund and match funding from NHS Richmond to help maintain Richmond’s Active Living Walking for... August 2011
Partnership success: Tesco Successful partnerships In Autumn 2010, Walking for Health (WfH) teamed up with the global supermarket chain Tesco to promote healthy walking.With the support of designated Tesco staff, known as Community Champions, local... August 2011
Works walks Successful partnerships Howard Griffith recently joined the District Council as Walking for Health Officer for the Derbyshire Dales health walk scheme. He regularly goes along to the Tuesday lunchtime walk, led by work... August 2011
Fibromyalgia: Walking with my fibro buddy Health related Margaret has just celebrated her tenth walk with East Surrey Health Walks (Tandridge Group). Yet only eighteen months ago in January 2010, Margaret was in hospital because she couldn’t walk.... July 2011
Stroke sufferer quit smoking and took up walking Health related (Article by Vicky Robson reproduced by kind permission of Newcastle Journal*) When Andy Robertson suffered a stroke aged 54, he quit smoking and took up walking in a bid to get his health back on... June 2011
WfH Hartlepool hits the streets Managing a walk scheme It’s all systems go as a great new health walk scheme – Walk About in Hartlepool – gets under way. Having already set up and managed a health walk scheme in Darlington, Rachael Pringle had a lot of... June 2011
Walking beyond funding cuts Managing a walk scheme When walk leader Maurice Lipton realised that Braintree District Council would not be funding the local Heart & Sole health walks after March 2012 he took action. Having been a walk leader with... June 2011
Surgery Walks surge ahead Successful partnerships The relatively new GP practice at Maple Surgery, Bar Hill, set up a patient participation group (PPG) last year. Patricia Daniels, already trained as a volunteer walk leader, joined the PPG and... June 2011
12 years of making a difference Health related Since Step Out to a Better Lifestyle began in 1999 it has had a strong medical connection and the scheme now has links with the hospitals' Cardiac Rehabilitation programme, COPD support and mental... June 2011
Sywell Strollers do it right Managing a walk scheme Sywell Strollers, Northants, is an entirely volunteer run group which began in November of last year and, by January 2011, already had 26 members.In March, Sywell Strollers gained WfH accreditation... June 2011
WOW factor makes all the difference Health related After 15 years on a Greek Island, Sandra returned to Harrogate. Living on her own, without a car, she wanted to find a way to meet people and, at the same time, to keep fit and active.That’s when WOW... June 2011
Gaining confidence, losing weight through walking Health related In November 2010, Lorna Ector weighed almost 17 stone and was pretty unhappy with life. She joined a local slimming club and managed to lose almost two stone but, to her surprise, she didn’t feel any... June 2011
An Away Day to remember Managing a walk scheme Volunteers’ Week  (1 - 7 June)  is an annual event which celebrates the fantastic contribution that millions of volunteers make across the UK. One of the best ways to retain and celebrate... June 2011
Walking to lose weight Health related Keen to lose weight, Michael thought he would give walking a try after seeing a leaflet advertising his local WfH scheme, Blackley Forest Nature Reserve Health Walks. Before I started walking I... May 2011
Walk to Work Week worked Progression activity At Nuneaton and Bedworth Leisure Trust – which runs Nuneaton and Bedworth Walking for Health – everyone who got involved was given   a free pedometer to record their steps. There were also... May 2011
Over 250 exceptional leaders! Becoming a walk leader Presented by Natural England, in recognition of the skill, time and enthusiasm that the volunteers have dedicated to health walks, the awards comprised a certificate and a special branded WfH fleece... April 2011