Various organisations have been formed with the aim of promoting walking for health and to protect the environment.
Listed below are a few which you may find interesting;
Walk Eden - Kirkby Stephen nestles in a corner of Cumbria often missed by visitors to the county. The attractive and friendly market town sits on the upper reaches of the River Eden, before it winds its way through the Eden Valley towards the Solway Firth.
There is plenty of walking on offer, from challenging fells to quiet riverside strolls.
Walk England
Walk England has been established as a social enterprise to work in partnerships across the country to create local opportunities for people to choose to walk, to walk more often, to walk to more places, and to feel safe while doing so.
Walk England promotes walking as a way to be healthy, travel and relax – by bringing together and inspiring people who want to walk more, with those health, transport and environmental professionals responsible for supporting their choice.
The Walk England website is one of a portfolio of projects being delivered by a Consortium of the leading walking, cycling and health organisations in England.
The Consortium is delivering fifty practical projects that will encourage people to travel actively for their health and well-being. It is hoped that two million people will become more physically active by walking or cycling as part of their daily lives by 2012. The Consortium is lead by Sustrans and includes:
- British Cycling
- CTC
- Cycling England
- Living Streets
- London Cycling Campaign
- Sustrans
- The National Heart Forum
- The National Obesity Forum
- The Ramblers Association
- The Campaign for Better Transport
- The Department for Transport
- Walk 21
The Big Lottery Fund Well-being Programme is supporting the consortium to help them achieve their target.
The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. The Programme provides funding to support the development of healthier lifestyles and to improve well-being.
The Department for Transport has specifically supported the Walk England website as part of the government’s commitment to Walking and Cycling published in their Action Plan.
Walk London
Take a walk around London, and see what the Capital has to offer there’s lots to explore and some great walks connecting them.
Funded by Transport for London Walk London has worked with the local authorities to develop an impressive network of quality walking routes so whether you are looking for a place to feed the ducks, a short stroll in your lunch hour, or an energetic walk to make you feel more alive – Walk London!
The Jubilee Walkway
The Jubilee Walkway is England’s capital’s premier walking trail and one of London’s six designated Strategic Routes. Designed to connect the majority of London’s key attractions, it is well managed, easy to follow and provides an ideal way of getting to know London.
The Walkway was designed so that anyone walking it would have “travelled through areas of London noted for entertainment, assembly, ceremonial, and open-air activity, passing many historic sites” (Max Nicholson 1977).
The Walkway was first developed for The Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 and The Jubilee Walkway Trust was then set up in 1978 as a charity to look after its interest in partnership with strategic and local authorities.
