Event has best Wee Walks... by a mile!
National Park week encourages daily fitness
People from Perth and Kinross are being encouraged to get their walking boots on for the Cairngorms’ Wee Walks Week.
Following on from the success of last year’s event, Wee Walks Week will run in the national park from Saturday, September 16-23.
Throughout the week, organisers the national park authority will be celebrating the best short walks in the area and try to encourage as many people as possible to pledge to go on a short walk in the Cairngorms, or to join a ranger-guided walk.
The project aims to help people understand the health benefits of being active daily, and the authority adds they hope people will start to make short hillwalking part of their daily or weekly routines.
Adam Streeter-Smith, one of the authority’s outdoor access officers, said: “Wee Walks are a great way to get outdoors - they are fun, free and help you to feel great. A Wee Walk can be as short as you like, but usually under four miles on good paths and gentle slopes. You don’t need special equipment so it’s easy to head out on your own or with others.”
Peter Argyle, authority convener, said: “The Cairngorms National Park is the UK’s biggest and has the best Wee Walks by a mile! Wee Walks Week is all about helping people discover the health benefits of being active daily.
“Through Active Cairngorms we would like residents and visitors to enjoy and use the National Park for physical activity on a daily basis and in doing so improve their general health and wellbeing.”
David Clyne, the authority’s recreation and access manager, added: “The Cairngorms National Park attracts 1.7m visitors per year with 44% of them enjoying low-level walking while they are here - the park is also home to 18,000 residents.
“With the excellent path network we have in and around communities, the Cairngorms National Park can definitely help prompt active lifestyle changes for people.
“We were delighted with the response to last year’s Wee Walks Week, with the total miles registered equalling two and a half times round the boundary of the park - it would be great if we could collectively go even further in 2017.”
To take part in Wee Walks Week in the Cairngorms, pledge to walk online at http://cairngorms.co.uk/ weewalks and share photos from the walk on social media with the tag #WeeWalks.