- WALK AWAY FROM STRESS!
- HELP CONTROL YOUR WEIGHT!
- EXPLORE THE LOCAL AREA!
- SPEND TIME WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY!
- IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH!
Download a summary of the Impact of Get Walking Keep Walking (PDF), or find out more about how Get Walking can help promote physical activity locally in our commissioners' leaflet.
Get Walking Keep Walking started in 2007 as a £5million project funded by the Big Lottery Fund and Ramblers Holidays Charitable Trust working to encourage everyday independent walking in selected inner city locations. The project is centred on a 12-week walking plan to support everyday, independent walking, supported by customised materials which can either be used as a standalone pack or in community based faciliiated walking programmes.
An independent evaluation has found Get Walking has been highly successful in reaching challenging target audiences including those in deprived communities and black and minority ethnic groups, with a significant impact on walking that returned £3.61 of benefits from every £1 spent. The World Health Organisation has selected Get Walking as an example of best practice in physical activity promotion. Read more about the evaluation on our page about the Get Walking BIG-funded project.
Meanwhile Get Walking Keep Walking has evolved, with an online version of the pack, new variants of the original model being delivered in other areas and an adapted version targeted at families. With the original funding coming to an end in 2011, the Ramblers is developing Get Walking as a broader based family of walking interventions, but keeping the focus on the insufficiently active who could most benefit from doing more walking.
Although staff led, Get Walking projects have volunteering at their core. Volunteers are involved in leading walks, acting as Walking Ambassadors by motivating participants to keep walking and ensuring they have the information they need, and in developing short and easy walking routes that meet the needs of the participants. Get Walking is building ever closer links with established Ramblers Local Groups and supporting participants to set up their own Groups in order to continue walking.
Get Walking projects also integrate closely with established programmes of Health Walks in partnership with Natural England. Staff are accredited trainers of health walks leaders and the projects have been instrumental in setting up health walks groups. In parts of London the Ramblers is now delivering Health Walks in the Royal Parks as part of a partnership project, offering a seamless experience for participants from Get Walking programmes through health walks to shorter walks run by the local Ramblers Groups.
To see what Get Walking Keep Walking looks like from a user's point of view, see www.getwalking.org.
Get Walking Keep Walking supports the Change4Life movement to help people move more, eat better and live longer.
