Our Scottish Health Walk Network (SHWN) supports the delivery of nearly 800 Health Walks across Scotland. Health Walks welcome those who would benefit most from being more active and meeting others. This includes people who haven’t been active for a while and would like to start again, people recovering from ill health or who are managing a long-term health condition.
In a special guest blog for Green Health Week, we hear from Mike Woolvin, Volunteering Manager at the Cairngorms National Park Authority. Mike shares how a network of Health Walks delivered in the National Park supports the wellbeing of locals and inspires a vital connection to Scotland’s nature.
It's revitalising, good exercise, and is great for mental health. It's also a good way of socialising. It gets me outdoors, keeping me active and helps me to feel good in myself, I love to walk.
This was feedback from a new walker, who recently joined one of our Health Walk groups.
The Cairngorms National Park is an incredible place for connecting with nature. From woodlands (we are home to more than half the surviving Caledonian forest); to wildlife (25 per cent of the UK’s threatened animal, insect, fungi and plant species can be found here) to our mountainous landscape (with four out of the five highest mountains in the UK).
And we know that engaging in Green Health activities has a huge variety of benefits to us, including:
- Improving our mental health and wellbeing through aiding concentration; relieving acute stress and improving self-esteem;
- Improving our social health through helping tackle loneliness;
- Improving our physical health through lowering blood pressure; aiding recovery from illness or injury; and managing diabetes.
The National Park can help us all improve our health and wellbeing through connecting with nature, but it’s not all about scaling mountains with a rucksack full of equipment.
Did you know you can gain all these benefits from simply walking out of your front door?
There is a growing network of 13 Health Walks taking place across the National Park walking each week, all offering the opportunity to walk in your local community. They often make use of the extensive community path network in the National Park and this Green Health Week is the perfect opportunity to give joining your local Health Walk a try.
Health Walks are short, safe, social, local, led walks which are free to attend. Our walks are all about walking together and feeling better. No matter if you feel able to walk for 10 minutes or an hour, we’d be pleased to welcome you this Green Health Week.
If you’ve not considered a Health Walk for a while, now is a great time to explore with two new groups recently established:
- Our first ever evening Health Walk, taking place in Tomintoul each Tuesday. This walk offers the chance to walk for those who may have commitments during the day, and in the winter celebrates the areas’ Dark Sky Park designation by walking beneath the stars.
- A new daytime walk walking each Friday morning in the busy town of Aviemore.
Joining your local Health Walk group might just be the start of something amazing, helping you connect with nature outwith the group too. As one of our walkers recently put it: “Being part of this group gives me confidence for me to walk in the woods and around my local area at other times of the week.” - Feedback from a new walker, recently joining one of our groups.
You can find out more about Active Cairngorms Health Walks, or contact the team directly at healthwalks@cairngorms.co.uk if you’d like any more information.
If you live outwith the boundaries of the Cairnforms National Park, explore our Health Walk map to find a Health Walk near you.
If you are interested in joining the Scottish Health Walk Network, you can contact our dedicated team at SHWN@pathsforall.org.uk.