With the weather finally making an event to persuade us outside, although I’ll be packing my fleece at the very least, The Ramblers Association, as part of the Government backed Britain on Foot campaign, has organised a week of short walks right across the country. A great opportunity to experience what the outdoors on your doorstep can offer.

There are hundreds of free group walks on offer to give everyone the chance to discover for the first time, or rediscover, the elation of exploring your local area on foot. All the walks will be under five miles, and local Walking For Health schemes, (run jointly by The Ramblers and Macmillan Cancer Support), will be assisting by offering strolls across England which are specifically designed to get people out walking for the first time, and more importantly to keep them walking. There are more than 600 routes available across the UK so there should be one near you.

This festival is being launched by four flagship events based at Cardiff, Hillingdon, Broxtowe and Swindon to get the week underway.  The event in Swindon for example is a three mile walk, following a footpath around Lydiard Park taking in woodland, a lake, the edge of a walled garden and open fields. At the end of the walk there will be refreshments available (always welcome as far as I’m concerned) and there will be the opportunity to obtain additional information about walking locally. In Wales family activities will be available through the Big Welsh Walk which is taking place all over the Bank Holiday Weekend, from a walk around Bute Park in Cardiff which is suitable for buggies (approx 4miles) to a walk around Swansea Bay (approx 5miles), and similar events are being held all over the country.

The Ramblers want to get people enjoying walking as part of a healthier lifestyle and it is something that research has shown too, that people benefit from regular walking. So why not treat yourself to a new fleece from the range we have on offer and get out there, and begin to see what the locality can offer. Let’s see how far it can take us. This year, a three mile strolls around the local park, next year Snowdon! (No cheating by taking the train to the summit either).