Ramblers Wellbeing Walks take place across England and Wales and are open to anyone who wants to improve their health and wellbeing whether you are recovering from illness, living with a long-term health condition or just want to get more active and meet new people.
Why was Ramblers Wellbeing Walks created?
Sport England’s Active Lives report 2022 shows that in England 63% of adults in England were ‘physically active’ (doing 150 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity a week); meaning 37% of people are not.
People (especially women) from the Asian, black, and ‘other’ ethnic groups were less likely to be physically active than the national average.
Walking is simple, free and one of the easiest ways to get more active, lose weight and become healthier.
A brisk 10-minute daily walk has lots of health benefits and counts towards your 150 minutes of weekly exercise.
Studies show that walking 10,000 steps a day could lower the risk of dementia by 50% and walking for 20 minutes a day, or 2,300 steps, reduces the risk of heart disease.
So Ramblers Wellbeing Walks were created to help people take the first step towards better health, wellbeing and happiness.
How did you know what people wanted?
With decades of experience in organising Ramblers group walks we know that a good walk is so much more than just stretching your legs. It’s a chance to unwind, meet new people and to spend time in nature.
But when getting started with walking, sometimes there can be concerns about fitness levels, speed, cost and safety so Ramblers Wellbeing Walks have been established to address these concerns:
- Fitness level doesn’t matter: walks are over easy terrain and at a steady pace to suit everyone.
- Mobility limitations aren’t an issue: routes are open to all
- Walks are short: starting at 10 mins
- Walks are led by an experienced Ramblers Wellbeing Walks leader
- Everyone stays together, so you don’t need to worry about being left behind
- There’s at least one planned walk a week, starting at the same time and place every week meaning it’s easier to build the habit of getting out walking
- At the end of each walk there’s the chance to stay on for a chat and refreshments.
- All Ramblers Wellbeing Walks are free and all you need is a comfortable pair of shoes.
Some walks are specifically aimed at people who may not feel that other walks are suitable for them. These include women-only walks, menopause walks, dementia-friendly walks, audiobook walks, mental health walks, cancer support walks and refugee walks, to name just a few.
How do you promote your activities?
All Ramblers Wellbeing Walks are listed on the Ramblers website: Wellbeing Walks.
Simply enter a location or a postcode into the search box to see full details of upcoming walks, including the start time, location, length of the walk and type of walk.
You’ll also see the Walk Leader’s contact details who you can contact if you have any questions about the walk.
Ramblers Wellbeing Walks also advertise their walks locally. For example, on community notice boards, in doctors’ surgeries, churches and libraries.
Testimonials from Ramblers Wellbeing Walks participants:
Since the creation of Ramblers Wellbeing Walks, we have grown the programme to deliver truly national impact. With partners across England, we’ve trained 8,000 walk leaders and deliver 52,000 walks every year to thousands of walkers.
And beyond these headline figures, we’ve collected countless inspirational stories from our walkers expressing the impact that Ramblers Wellbeing Walks has had on their lives:
Dee, Wisbech
“I knew I needed to lose weight. But I didn't know how to. Walking was the only thing I could do so I got myself a fitness watch and I did 1000 steps every other day.
I saw a post about a new Ramblers Wellbeing Walk and that they were looking for walk leaders. I thought I should put myself forward.
I want to join a walking group, I might as well make my own group. I’m now leading walks and have 20 to 25 people that come in each week. Walking and leading walks has given me the confidence that I had before I gained so much weight.”
Paul, Wisbech
“My weight got up to 20.5 stone and the doctor’s surgery got in touch with me to say, you’re very, very close to getting type 2 diabetes, you must do something about it. It was suggested I came and join a Ramblers Wellbeing Walk.
The people were so friendly, and I thought, right, I’ll try it again next week and then I started going on a fairly regular basis. I’m feeling a lot, lot better, having lost the weight. My back doesn’t hurt, I feel much livelier than I did before. Psychologically, I feel a lot more positive than I did before.”
Joy, London
“I joined Ramblers Wellbeing Walks after seeing a poster in my local church. I really like that we have a walk planned every week with Ramblers Wellbeing Walks.
It feels safe, walking with a group, and it’s also a great way to socialise. Getting out in the fresh air is wonderful and with the walk leaders, we’ve discovered parts of the local area and amazing green spaces that we’ve never seen before."
How did you overcome barriers when launching Ramblers Wellbeing Walks?
As mentioned, we are particularly keen to support those who face the greatest barriers to walking outdoor, including women from Global Majority and LSE backgrounds.
To engage these groups we’ve worked to put on walks that provide tailored support for their needs be those needs such as women-only walks, menopause walks, dementia-friendly walks, audiobook walks, mental health walks, cancer support walks and refugee walks.
Key to making these walks successful has been identifying community champions who are willing to train as walk leaders, promote the walks and build trust within their community.
What are you plans moving forwards?
Our ambition is to ensure there is a Ramblers Wellbeing Walk within easy access of every front door across England.
So as we look ahead, we’ll redouble our efforts to spread the word about the programme and make new connections and partnerships in places we are yet to impact.
And to make sure this growth is sustainable and future-proofed, we will make sure our expansion is allied to recruiting new volunteers and that our partners have the resources they need to deliver impact locally.
One way we will seek to achieve increased awareness is by improving and expanding the evidence we collect on the impact of our walks.
This is not just about data, although that will be a focus. We also want to share and champion the personal stories and testimony of those who have benefitted from our programmes, and whose lives have been changed by getting out, getting active, and joining a new community.
We will also continue developing Ramblers Wellbeing Walks to ensure it is available to anyone who would like to take part.
We recognise we’re not yet reaching some of the communities where the impact of our walks would be the greatest.
Top Tip for groups looking to do something similar:
Many Ramblers Wellbeing Walks groups end their walks at a local cafe – it's a really nice way for people to continue their conversations beyond the time spent walking together.
How does Ramblers Wellbeing Walks embody the action areas?
Ramblers Wellbeing Walks embody all 4 areas: Safe, Self-Affirming, Social and Suitable. If we had to pick only one, we’d say Social because all the participants seem to really enjoy the social connection the walks create.