Buckinghamshire residents walk their way to a healthier lifestyle

From school children taking part in walking buses to residents enjoying one of the many and varied Simply Walk guided walks or those taking part in Active Communities activities, there have been a variety of opportunities for people to take part.

National Walking Month takes place every May and encourages everyone to get active, incorporating walking and exercise into their everyday lives.

Councillor David King, Deputy Cabinet Member for Transport Delivery joined schoolchildren from Widmer End Combined School in High Wycombe today (Friday 27 May) to take part in a walking crocodile as part of their Platinum Jubilee celebrations but also to promote walking to school.

Walk to School Week took place earlier this month. Organised nationally by UK charity, Living Streets, the initiative aims to encourage all parents, children, and young people to make walking to school part of their daily routine. Their vision is that every child who can walk to school does so.

Councillor David King said: “It’s been a pleasure to walk with parents, pupils and teachers from Widmer End School today. Walking is such an easy and enjoyable way to exercise and it’s important that we emphasis the benefits from a young age so that it becomes a regular and normal activity for us all. It is so easy to jump into the car, but walking has so many benefits for our own health, our finances and also the environment so I would encourage everyone to make the effort to walk more!”

Buckinghamshire Council works with schools in lots of ways to promote walking to school and road safety. Schemes including the Modeshift Stars encourage schools to look at ways of introducing more sustainable ways to travel. For more information on Modeshift Stars and other schemes and initiatives visit the website.

The Council also runs its popular Simply Walk programme - open to people of all ages and abilities with free guided walks taking place all over the county. Another scheme, Active Communities, has a range of initiatives including park walks which encourage people to get out and about more.

For more information on Simply Walk visit our website where you can also find information on the Active Communities initiative.