Health Walks

Britain on the Move
ITV's current national initiative, Britain on the Move, aims to inspire everyone to become more active in their daily lives to combat the serious health problems associated with inactivity, including increased risk of heart disease and stroke. The campaign encourages people to walk more and has a dedicated website, www.britainonthemove.com, which contains information about upcoming walks, walking schemes and groups and organisations that can offer advice and support.

Following the success of the Red Rose Forest Health Walks Festival and recognition of the pivotal role that Red Rose Forest Community Network member organisations play in providing walking opportunities to Greater Manchester's public, ITV's regional arm, Granada, invited Red Rose Forest to be among a group of organisations invovled in the development and delivery of the campaign over the Northwest region. This has resulted in an invaluable online document being produced - the "Granada Walking Directory" - which features many of the walks currently being offered by Countryside Warden Services, community groups and health promotion organisations (the Red Rose Forest Community Network) in Manchester, Salford, Trafford, Bolton, Bury and Wigan. The Walking Directory is available to view and download on the Britain on the Move website.

National Walking Day - Get Involved!
The initiative will reach a climax on Sunday 19th September, which has been designated as National Walking Day and will be celebrated throughout the United Kingdom. Red Rose Forest will be in the thick of the action in the Northwest and will be providing a whole selection of walks over Manchester, Salford, Trafford, Bolton, Bury and Wigan through members of the Community Network. There are plenty of opportunities for the whole family to get involved - from joining in health walks to longer charity rambles to wildlife walks. All the walks celebrating National Walking Day in Red Rose Forest will be listed on the Forest website and the Britain on the Move website. For more information about walks within Red Rose Forest, please contact the team on 0161 872 1660 and check the website and local press for details
Organised by Red Rose Forest in partnership with the Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service, the Health Walks Festival has been getting local people stepping out in their hundreds across the Forest area.

Health Walks are short, organised walks, often led by volunteers from the local community. Designed with health in mind they can improve both mental and physical health by offering a safe, relaxed and sociable atmosphere in which to walk.

Health Walks are perfect for beginners, or those who would like to become more active and perhaps lack the knowledge about where to walk in their local area. Walking is one of the easiest, cheapest and most effective ways of exercising. Walking for 1/2 hour, 5 times a week can:

• Halve the risk of coronary heart disease
• Cut the risk of suffering a stroke by one third
• Reduce the risk of developing Type II diabetes
• Maintain weigh loss
• Ease depression and anxiety
• Improve co-ordination, flexibility, stamina and energy levels

The Health Walks message has now spread far and wide across the Forest area and whilst Red Rose Forest no longer holds an annual Festival, the large number of local schemes that have been set up ensure its still easy to get walking!
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PDF of NUFU Health Walks case study

The Health Walks Festival ran for three years between 2000 and 2002. During this time the Festival:

• helped to significantly raise awareness of the health benefits of walking. By the end of the Festival, walking for health was a top priority in the campaign to increase activity levels among communities. Two out of the six Local Authority areas involved in the Festival appointed Health Walk Co-ordinators during 2002 and a further Local Authority went on to appoint a Co-ordinator in 2003.
  
• provided an important focus for regional health initiatives: Organisations from Bolton, Bury, Wigan, Trafford, Salford and Manchester participated in the Health Walks Festival and were able to promote many other aspects of Healthy Living in addition to walking for health. This, essentially “added value” to the initiative.
  
• enabled new partnerships to be formed with organisations from the Health Sector: The Festival offered tremendous scope for networking, skill sharing and joint working across sectors.
  
• acted as a catalyst for the development of new health walk schemes across Greater Manchester: Thirty two regular health walk schemes were established or planned as a direct result of the Festival.
  
• showcased established local health walks schemes to a regional audience and facilitated the development of new walks. The support package provided the necessary resources for individuals and organisations to develop guided, safe and accessible health walks: the number of walks organised during the Festival rose from 21 in 2000 to 53 in 2002.
  
• provided an invaluable tool for community engagement within Red Rose Forest and helped to attract new audiences into local countryside and urban greenspace: the number of walkers taking part in the Festival almost tripled between 2000 and 2002, from 177 to 520 (figure 1). Co-ordinated local, regional and national media coverage ensured that the Health Walks Festival was promoted as widely as possible.
  
• provided an opportunity for empowerment and capacity building within communities. Over 45 people were trained as health walk leaders and were able to take the lead on health initiatives within their own communities, (figure 2).
  
• Significantly raised the profile of local countryside and urban greenspace
  
• promoted the physical, mental and social benefits of Community Forests to a regional audience
  
  

Health walk Images


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