Spice up your miles
Add variety to your walks to make your miles add up faster and more thrillingly, with some help from Forestry England.
AS WE ALL know, #walk1000miles beats the living daylights out of joining a gym. There is though one similarity – that no matter how much zest and enthusiasm we had when first embarking on this epic challenge, there will be times when many need to find that extra va-va-voom.
With any test of endurance, there’ll be some moments that feel harder than others. Marathon runners have no choice but to just keep going as they were before, but we walkers are luckier. Not only does the easing of restrictions mean we have more places to enjoy, but we can also mix up the ways we go walking to further enhance the variety, and reinvigorate our passion and energy. Happily, #walk1000miles partner Forestry England has the perfect supply of places to inspire you whenever you need to get your mojo back.
Walk for fun Orienteering
This might be an activity you thought you’d left at school, but orienteering is a fantastic way to see new places, as it can lead you along tracks you’d never have thought of venturing. The challenge is to find certain points marked on a map. It sharpens your map-reading skills, while providing the regular thrill of finding each point, and before you know it you’ve bumped up your mileage.
Forestry England has several sites across the country which offer fantastic orienteering courses – and some even offer Gruffalo-themed orienteering challenges for younger explorers. Check the Forestry England website to for a definitive list of what’s happening where, and what restrictions may be in place.
Augmented reality
Sounds a bit scary, but it’s not. It’s essentially viewing a real scene through your phone or tablet that’s digitally enhanced. In the case of The Gruffalo Spotter 2 UK app
(which is free to download), it means heading to a deep dark wood and finding characters from The Gruffalo story on your phone. You are even able to interact with them! Again, check the website to find out what’s happening where.
Geocaching
Billed as the world’s largest treasure hunt, this is a global phenomenon where caches are hidden for you to find. You can download the app at www.geocaching.com and use the map to help you search. Many Forestry England woods have caches for you to unearth, revealing amazing secrets about the forests you’re walking through – and wonderful views too.
Walk to get fit
All 1000-milers know how much healthier we are when we walk regularly – how our likelihood of heart attack, stroke and type 2 diabetes is lower, and our muscles, bones and joints are stronger. And we can change our walking patterns to get that heart racing a little bit faster.
Subtle alterations could be to walk more briskly in sections or incorporate an extra hill or two. Those who are more keen might try power walking or Nordic walking (using poles to propel you forward), which are both great for raising the pulse.
Walk to relax
Studies time and again suggest spending time in a natural setting, surrounded by trees, wildflowers and birdsong, helps us to de-stress and improves our mental well-being. Again, it’s part of why we love the challenge, and we can relax even more with a bit of mindful walking. This is a technique that keeps you in the moment and connected with your place in the world. It’s about focusing on your body, the things around you, the sounds, the smells and the physical sensations. Nowhere provides more of a feast for the senses than a forest.
Walk to expand your horizons
A great way to jazz things up is to pursue another hobby as you walk. This might be birdwatching, identifying trees or wildflowers, fungi, sculptures or woodland mammals. Forestry England has its own wildlife spotter sheet to download for free, so you can tick off flora and fauna as you tick off those miles.
Walk for company
Walking with someone else may be the big motivator you need, especially post-lockdown. Take a friend or family member, or join a local walking group. You can also find group meet-ups via the #walk1000miles Facebook page.
Your companion doesn’t even have to be human, of course. Walkers who have dogs will all vouch for the fact that four-legged friends make the best walking companions. If you don’t have your own, you can always offer to walk a friend’s dog, and see the world from the point of view of an easy-to-please, waggy, slobbery creature of happiness.
Walk for solitude
Conversely, you might be used to walking with someone by your side. Without shutting them out completely, you could try the odd walk on your own so you can focus more on your surroundings, walk at your own pace, and get lost in your own thoughts. Everyone deserves a bit of me-time.
Spending time in a natural setting helps us to de-stress