Rambling on: why the young love to walk
Ready to swap trains for trainers?
Type "young people rambling" into Google and it asks if you meant "young people gambling"... but walking in the great outdoors is currently catching on with the younger generation.
Forget the Welly-clad walker, squelching through marshland, hugging a Thermos. Walking is an urban stress-reliever that's green, cheap and healthy. It also improves mental health and needs no special clothing or fancy equipment. Unfit novices can join in and urban dwellers needn't miss out - in fact, cities are a hotbed of hidden paths, vast parks and riverside walks
Britain's walking charity, re-branded Ramblers, is at the forefront of this youth revival. 20 and 30-somethings are seeking simpler pleasures and groups specifically targeted at this age group are burgeoning, as more people open up to the social and physical benefits.
Catering to the busy urbanite, the London group Metropolitan Walkers, for example, offers two walks a day at weekends, (one long and one short for the time-pressed walker), plus midweek get-togethers. A recent route went via the artworks of Banksy; others are film-themed and on New Year's Eve, pubs were conveniently en route.
Eleanor Harris from Metropolitan Walkers told Sideways News: "20 and 30-somethings are turning their backs on the gym in favour of keeping fit outdoors. Many people spend hundreds of pounds on gym membership only to give it up in the first couple of months. In contrast, walking is easy to fit into your life and all you need are comfortable shoes and clothing. And it doesn't put a strain on already-tight purse strings in the credit crunch.
"Our walking group is going from strength to strength. It's a great way to meet new people in London. All the walks are free, organised by someone else so you just turn up. They vary from easy half-day and evening strolls to mountain hikes. We also organise weekends away and social outings to restaurants and pubs, theatre and cinema trips."
Their latest project from Ramblers is Get Walking Keep Walking; its objective is to encourage 90,000 people to take up walking. Ramblers is run by 12,000 volunteers and the charity helps to build and maintain Britain's 150,000 miles of footpaths. Are you ready to swap trains for trainers?
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