Walking For Health

All Our Walks Are Led by Qualified Walk Leaders.

If you are interested in volunteering to lead walks with Charnwood Borough Council, please let us know.  We require all volunteers to have either already attended, or agree to attend, a walk leader training course (provided free of charge) and also have, or undertake to do, a first aid qualification.  Please contact Nita on 01509 634594 for further information.

The Benefits of Walking

It's easy to get started:

• Almost anyone can do it, and you can do it anywhere at any time.  96% of adults in the UK can walk, and walking is vital to a workable sustainability transport policy.
• You don't need special equipment although a good pair of shoes are a worthwhile investment 
• It's free and easy and all our walks are graded into levels of difficulty from level 1 bronze (beginner walks) through to level 3 gold (more advanced walks)
• You can start slowly and build up gently. If you can only walk for about half an hour  and then you need to rest that's OK. Where you start from isn't important - it's where you're going that counts!

Some top reasons to walk

• Walking can help prevent type 2 diabetes.  US studies suggest that walking just 150 minutes per week and losing just 7% of your body weight can reduce your risk of diabetes by 58%
• Walking strengthens your heart. Studies suggest that mortality rates amongst retired men who walked less than 1 mile per day were nearly twice that among those who walked more than 2 miles per day.  In women, an American study of nurses who walked 3 hours or more per week showed a 35% reduced risk of a heart attack or other coronary event compared with women who did not walk
• Walking is good for your brain.  In a study on walking and cognitive function, researchers have found that women who walked the equivalent of an easy pace at least 1.5 hours a week had significantly better cognitive function and less cognitive decline than women who walked less than 40 minutes per week.
• Walking is good for your bones.  Research has shown that postmenopausal women who walk a mile a day have higher whole-body bone density than women who walk shorter distances, and walking is also effective in slowing down the rate of bone loss from the legs.
• Walking helps alleviate the symptoms of depression.  A recent study showed that walking for 30 minutes 3 to 5 times a week for 12 weeks reduced symptoms of depression as measured with a standard depression questionnaire by 47%.
• Walking can help reduce the risk of breast and colon cancer.  American studies showed that women undertaking brisk walking for the equivalant of one hour and 15 minutes to two and a half hours per week had an 18% decreased risk of breast cancer compared with inactive women.  Many studies have shown that exercise can prevent colon cancer, and even if an individual person develops colon cancer, the benefits of exercise appear to continue both by increasing qualify of life and reducing mortality.
• Walking improves fitness.  Walking just 3 times a week for 30 minutes can significantly increase the fitness of your heart.
• Walking in short bouts improves fitness too!  A study of sedentary women showed that short bouts of brisk walking (3 10 minute walks per day) resulted in similar improvements in fitness and were at least as effective in decreasing body fat as long bouts (one 30 minute walk per day).
• Walking improves physical function.  Research shows that walking improves fitness and physical function and prevents physical disability in the older adult.

Walking can bring added benefits:

• Led walks are a chance to meet people and make friends - they can be fun.  Walking adds to the sense of community as individuals come into greater contact with each other, have the chance to look at parks, buildings, investigate rural settings and towns and improve knowledge of the local area. 
• It's a gentle exercise and its suitable if you are recovering from heart trouble, a stroke or other illness
• Walking schemes such as ours, which have the Walking For Health accreditation, can help improve your local environment by clearing/maintaining local paths and increasing the number of safe areas to walk

NEWS

We now have regular monthly walks in Shepshed.  Please have a look at the information below as to dates and times.

The National Forest Walk Festival programme is now available to download from their website.  This runs from 19 - 31 May 2012.  Please see http://www.thenationalforestwalkingfestival.org.uk/

The walk originally advertised last year as taking place on 15th March 2012 from Swithland has been changed to Hoton.  Please see the list of walks in the related links below for full details.

Active Travel

We all know that the environment could do with a helping hand, and by swapping your car for your feet, you'll be doing just that.  Walking, as well as being one of the cheapest ways of getting around, is also the smartest for our planet.  You won't leave a carbon footprint behind, just your own. 

Did you know that if we all swapped one car journey a week for walking instead, car traffic levels would reduce by at least 10%.  By changing some of our travel behaviour, we all have the power to contribute and act on climte change.  Local shops are easy to reach on foot, and using them helps to support local business and save food miles.  Less busy roads will also give us saver and quieter streets.  You can also think about car sharing.  There are various organisations dedicated to helping people do this.

Charnwood Borough Council and Fusion-Lifestyle actively encourage people to walk to work, school and job where possible, as this not only improves health, but also reduces CO2 emissions and promotes an active lifestyle.  If you are unsure of a safe and quick route, or want to find out more about walking routes in the borough, please contact Sport and Active Recreation on 01509 634594 for help.  We also have information about other walks in the area that you can try yourself, so give us a ring and have a chat.

For more details on the Local Transport Plan for Leicestershire, please go to  www.leicestereshire.gov.uk/ltp3_chapter06-3.pdf

DEFRA walks details

Please visit the Natural England website for details of DEFRA walks. 

Accessibility for all

As part of our walks programme, Charnwood Borough Council in partnership with Fusion-Lifestyle offer some walks which are accessible to wheelchair users and buggy walkers.  These walks are identified in the text to that particular walk.  If you are disabled or wish to access a walk with a buggy, and are in any way unsure whether the walk is suitable for you, please contact us on 01509 634594 and we will be able to answer your query.  We also have details of other walks (for example walks around the Loughborough University campus) which are wheelchair friendly.

More Information

Use the Green Navigation Panel on the left of this page and the related documents links below for more information on walking and local walks.

Public Footpaths, Bridleways and Byways in Leicestershire

For details about access to public footpaths, bridleways and byways in Leicestershire visit the County Council's Website.

You may also be interested in some of the walks listed below:If you are interested in the ,  access to nature walks or , please see the links below.

• Charnwood Peaks walk (15 miles)
• Access to nature walks   
• Family walks in Charnwood 

If you are interested in walks in the Sileby area, please go to http://www.leicestershirevillages.com/sileby/parish-walks-2010-and-sileby-wal.html where you will find details of the Sileby Parish Council walk programme for 2012.

 

South Croxton Village Hall Committee are currently offering walks to raise money for village hall funds.  Please contact the village hall for further details.