Use these guidelines to plan your walking routes for safe and enjoyable walking.

If you are new to walking it can sometimes be tricky to get the length of your walk right – because this will vary according to your fitness, general health and weight.
Also the actual time you have available for your walk.

If you have a variety of routes at different distances you can choose one that suits how you are that day.
A few short routes are good for starting out on a walking routine and/or for when you just don’t feel up to coping with a longer walk or you have work piling up.

One problem which many people are concerned about is access to toilets on their walks. Walking in a mall provides you with facilities and is a safe environment plus you can create your own routes. It is good level walking. Go walking in the early mornings and avoid weekend busy periods.

If you are walking outside, get to know where any facilities are – check out your local maps.

Find out whether schools or colleges will let you walk around their tracks or playing fields – check the local parks to find out what facilities are available and whether they have walking groups which you could join.

Although sidewalks and pavements are good level surfaces for walking it is best to plan your walk avoiding those beside routes which have a lot of traffic and therefore a high risk of breathing in polluted air.

Your mood can affect how you feel on your walk, so have a selection of routes planned – do you want to be surrounded by people or want the peace and quiet of a park or country lane?

If you opt for the countryside or even a park, do check what the ground is like underfoot – dirt tracks, bridlepaths, walking on sandy or muddy paths use much more energy than walking on a flat level surface and can often be hazardous underfoot.

You don’t need to have a large selection of walks planned (unless of course you want to!)

• Try planning a couple of short ones
• Two medium ones
• Two longer ones.

The distances will depend on yourself. Check out the number of steps to walk or Step One of the Walking Plan.
If you are just starting out then short walks could be 500 to 1000 steps, medium walks 1000 to 1500 steps and a longer one could be 2000 steps. (2000 steps = one mile). Try joining up with a friend and plan some walking routes together.

Planning your walking routes helps to build a walking routine into your life and leads to less agitation about going out walking and therefore more actual enjoyment of your walks.

Enjoy your walking