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What's the most popular sport in the UK - walking!
Walking is the most popular sport in the UK, topping a recent Sport England survey of the sports most often participated in around the country, with 20 per cent of adults having been for a walk of over 30 minutes duration.
Brisk walking is enjoyable, accessible and a great form of aerobic exercise, using up to 300 calories per hour. The British Heart Foundation recommends walking 10,000 steps per day for a healthy heart and reduction of body fat – this works out to about five miles a day. This may seem a lot, but if everyone were to walk part of their journey to or from work, or left the bus a stop early, it would go a long way to achieving the recommended amount.
In many urban areas it can be difficult to find spaces suitable for walking, meaning that many people struggle to walk during the day. This is not a problem in Buckinghamshire. The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an ideal environment for walking, with its many woodland trails and variety of scenery and wildlife. A third of the county is taken up by the Chilterns, making it accessible from all parts of Buckinghamshire.
In Wendover Woods the bluebell season is just finishing, but remaining streaks of lilac-blue can still be glimpsed throughout the forest. Mid-spring and summer are also the best times to catch a glimpse of the elusive Firecrest, which is Europe's smallest bird (only 9cm long and weighing as little as a 10p coin) and is distinguished by a fiery orange crown on the female and a deeper orange crown stripe on the male. The Red Kite is another spectacular bird which can be seen in the southern Chilterns. Amongst the flowers visible around the Chilterns over summer are orchids and the rare Chilterns gentian.
Walking in the Chiltern Hills has been a popular activity for thousands of years, as the Icknield Way and Ridgeway Trail, routes used by Romans and Iron Age residents of Buckinghamshire, prove. The Forestry Commission and Chilterns Conservation Board ensure that the woodlands and trails are kept in good condition, and that they are easy and enjoyable to walk along. There are spectacular views across Aylesbury Vale from these trails, with plenty of local pubs and places of interest to add a bit of variety to walks.
Bernwood Forest has a fantastic medieval history and is an Ancient Hunting Forest, running many hands-on activities for walkers and visitors. Whiteleaf Hill Nature Reserve has many butterflies and wildflowers and provides stunning panoramic views over Princes Risborough. Buckinghamshire County Council's Rights of Way team also work to provide walkers with the best possible facilities and routes, and to create as many walking routes as possible.
However, there are routes closer to Aylesbury – the 'Round Aylesbury Walk' is a 12 mile route which can be broken down into two or three mile stretches, with accessible routes for the less able-bodied, and linked to Aylesbury town centre by a number of connecting footpaths. Passing many local places of interest, the walk is easy and a great activity for families. A map of the route can be found on the Aylesbury Vale District Council website.
Aylesbury Town Centre is one of the most pedestrian friendly towns in the region. Kingsbury and Market Square provide large open spaces ideal for walking, and the traffic restriction bollards mean that cars are a rarity during the day in the High Street. This has created a culture of walking in Aylesbury where people feel safe and confident walking into and around the town centre. Buckinghamshire recently took part in 'Walk to Work Week', with many local employees attempting the pedometer challenge to see how many miles they could clock up by walking to work. Almost half of all journeys are less than two miles in length, ideal for walking, yet today the average person walks 50 miles a year - less than they did 20 years ago from 250 to 200 miles.
In Buckinghamshire, however, we are seeing more people choosing walking as a form of transport, in particular to town centres.
Ed Gurney, Walking Policy Development Officer at Buckinghamshire County Council, outlined his vision for walking in the county: "We are working towards making walking as enjoyable, easy and convenient as possible for residents of Buckinghamshire through a network of connected walking routes.
"Walking is the most enjoyable form of transport, and on my regular walk to work I can relax and prepare myself for the day ahead."
The council are currently developing a connected network of walking routes which link popular destinations, providing a direct and joined-up series of routes to make walking much easier and useful.
Pedestrian crossings are important to encouraging walking, Aylesbury being well provided for with many zebra, puffin, pelican and toucan crossings to cater for the different needs of different people. These help to increase the presence of walkers in a town and show that walkers have priority over cars at these points. Buckinghamshire County Council is keen to improve its crossing facilities, and anyone with suggestions or ideas about crossings, or where a new crossing could really benefit a walking route, they should contact walking@buckscc.gov.uk
Walking is also a great way to socialise with friends or meet new people. 'Heart and Sole' walks are run for local people to get together and take part in some gentle exercise in partnership with the local Primary Care Trust. Walking not only combines socialising, exercise and transport, but is also great for the heart, lungs, joints, and for losing weight.
Finally, by walking to work, school or town you are doing your bit for the environment, helping to reduce carbon emissions and contributing to keeping air and noise pollution down in Buckinghamshire. It also allows you to explore areas of Buckinghamshire which are unreachable by car, often being the most scenic areas of the county.
Take some time this summer to walk around a part of the county that you have not been to before; it will be healthy, enjoyable, beautiful and fun.
For more information on any of the walks in this article please see the Leisure and Culture section on www.buckscc.gov.uk and www.forestry.gov.uk or on www.chilternsaonb.org
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Weather for Aylesbury
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -3 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
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