Voices of the Walk

Clear you head and boost your mood by taking a walk while listening to this calming meditation. Narrated by Scottish DJ and presenter Edith Bowman, this podcast will help you relax and support you to take time out for yourself.

Looking for listening for your daily walk? Or something to transport you outside into nature when you can’t manage to get out? Take a spring walk with our Paths for All staff and hear about the sights, sounds, and smells of nature that they encounter on the way. Listen to their reflections on why they try to walk every day, and the benefits that walking and connecting with the nature around brings them. Hear about the special moments of connection, peace, and wonder that walking has brought them.

We recently commissioned a national opinion survey on walking and wheeling, the 'attitude survey', which examined the walking and wheeling behaviours and opinions of adults in Scotland. As well as identifying the population’s walking and wheeling behaviours and habits, the survey looks into what motivates people, what barriers and challenges people face to walking or wheeling more, and what people would they like to see in their local area to make it more accessible and appealing for walking and wheeling. The research was conducted by market research agency 56 Degree Insight and surveyed 1000 adults in Scotland, using a representative sample of the population. But why is it important to carry out research and collect data such as this? What is the value of this research and having this data? What barriers and challenges do different people in Scotland face to walking more? And what do people want to see for the future in their local areas? In this episode of Voices of the Walk, we’re joined by Duncan Stewart from 56 Degree Insight and Ewa Monteith-Hodge, our information and data monitoring officer, to discuss some of these topics. They also discuss some of the findings that stood out for them and some of the changes from the survey results in 2019; as well as how the data can be used for our work at Paths for All and wider contexts of planning, health, active travel, communications campaigns, housing, and path networks. You can read the full report here, and see a summary infographic of the results here. If you want to find out more about 56 Degree Insight you can visit their website here. You can contact us at Paths for All here.

In this episode of Voices of the Walk, Kayleigh Lytham talks with Paths for All’s artist-in-residence Alec Finlay about their collaborative work to renovate two hospital gardens at Murray Royal Hospital in Perth. Kayleigh and Alec discuss the artwork and poems that were created for the gardens and the inspiration behind them, including the Perthshire gardener, biologist and mountaineer G.F. Dutton. They talk about creating a partnership between NHS Tayside, Paths for All and a team of designers to carry out the project. The discussion also considers how this work could be replicated in other healthcare settings and what Alec has planned for his residency in the year ahead. Blog post on Paths for All’s website with photographs of the artwork in situ at Murray Royal Hospital and a video interview with Alec here. You can see more of Alec’s artwork on his website and Day of Access blog. Previous Voices of the Walk podcast episode with Alec. News story on the launch event for the opening of the gardens at Murray Royal Hospital.

In this episode of Voices of the Walk, Valerie Carson from Paths for All’s Walking for Health team speaks with Mandy Williams, Volunteer Coordinator at SWAN Autism (Scotland), previously known as SWAN (Scottish Women’s Autism Network). SWAN Autism (Scotland) was established in 2012 and is an autistic-led charity delivering services, information and support for and by autistic women, girls and non-binary people across Scotland. Paths for All and SWAN Autism (Scotland) have been working in partnership over the past year to look at ways of making walking more accessible for people who are autistic. This conversation was recorded in February 2024 in Stirling at Paths for All’s office. Mandy and Valerie discuss the work of SWAN Autism (Scotland), the challenges faced by autistic people accessing opportunities to be active as well as own Mandy’s personal experiences of joining sports clubs. Mandy and Valerie also talk about the Health Walk group that SWAN Autism (Scotland) established with support from Paths for All and Valerie, and the toolkit that has been produced to inform and support other Health Walk groups to be more inclusive and welcoming to autistic people. You can find out more about the work of SWAN Autism (Scotland) here and you can contact them directly at info@swanscotland.org You can download the Step by Step: Creating Autism-Inclusive Health Walks toolkit here

Employers are facing new challenges and opportunities around how to reduce sedentary behaviour and prolonged periods of desk time. The Office for National Statistics found 44% of people reported home or hybrid working, with 56% travelling to the workplace. 46% of those returning to working in the office were reportedly unable to work from home, with the remaining 10% choosing to work from the office, but able to work from home if they wished. The UK Chief Medical Officers' physical activity guidelines recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per day for adults. However, many of us don’t yet meet this target. Promoting physical activity during the working day can offer incredible benefits to both employer and employee including improved physical health and mental wellbeing, reduced sick days, and increased productivity. Importantly, encouraging activities around movement can boost social cohesion amongst staff, and alleviates stress and anxiety. Launched in 2018, our Walk at Work Award is an accreditation scheme which recognises and celebrates the hard work and efforts of employers across Scotland to encourage physical activity in and around the working day. We offer support to workplaces who want to make positive changes in their working culture around three key themes - a healthier workforce, a greener workforce, and an active workforce. In this episode we welcome Sarah Turner, Development Officer in our Workplaces team. Sarah, who manages the Walk at Work Award scheme and our national Step Count Challenges, offers valuable insight into what the Award involves, and how to take part. We're also joined by Katrina Schofield, Sustrans Workplace Engagement Officer for NHS Grampian and Morven Sambrook, Physiotherapist whom together with the Healthy Working Lives group at Royal Cornhill Hospital, Aberdeen achieved their own Walk at Work Award by encouraging staff and patients to find new ways to stay physically active throughout the day. They explore how the Award has benefitted the physical, mental and social wellbeing of staff at the Royal Cornhill Hospital. Find out more about our Walk at Work Award here.

This Christmas may feel a bit different for a lot of us, with the cost of living crisis and other pressures. So, we thought we’d ask some of the people we have worked with over the past year to reflect on how walking can help bring peace of mind during what can be a busy and demanding time of year. We caught up with Dr Gemma Ryde, a researcher from the University of Glasgow, our artist-in-residence Alec Finlay, Shirley Gleeson, who delivered our expert lecture on connecting with nature, Kate Lesenger from Sustrans and Mandy Clement, who won our National Walking Month competition. We hope you enjoy this special festive episode and we’ll be back in the new year with more episodes of Voices of the Walk.

Active and sustainable travel is gaining momentum in line with Scotland’s ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions to net-zero by 2045. We continue to improve our health, create safer communities, and reduce environmental impacts by supporting more people in Scotland to walk, wheel, and cycle for everyday short journeys, or combine these with public transport for longer trips. To enable and empower communities to choose change travel habits, we need good infrastructure, coupled with encouragement, support and guidance on how to change attitudes and behaviours around how we travel. But what is active and sustainable travel? What are the benefits of being active? And how can we, at Paths for All, support Scotland to change travel habits? In this episode of Voices of the Walk, we’re joined by members of our Smarter Choices, Smarter Places team who share with us how our Open Fund is supporting organisations and community groups across Scotland to design, plan and deliver a wide range of projects to get people walking, wheeling, cycling and using public transport. In 2022/23 with an uplift in funding and support from Transport Scotland, we’re awarding £5Million to projects which encourage active and sustainable travel in local communities. Our dedicated Smarter Choices, Smarter Places team provide the information, guidance and support to help with your application through our Open Fund, from discussion and design to delivery and evaluation. We’ll hear from Emma Hutchison (Senior Development Officer) and James Gray (Development Officer) who share with us what active and sustainable travel means, and the incredible benefits communities can enjoy by being active. They’ll also discuss stand out projects supported by our Smarter Choices, Smarter Places Open Fund.

Every year, thousands of people from workplaces across Scotland take part in the Step Count Challenge, an online walking challenge where teams of five record their walking activity over eight weeks, compete on a virtual leader board and hopefully have a bit of fun with their colleagues along the way. The challenge has been running annually for over 10 years and more than 30 billion steps have been recorded in that time. But, as we’ll hear from our guests, the challenge is more than just a leader board. In this episode of Voices of the Walk, five participants in this year’s spring Step Count Challenge tell us why they are taking part and what they hope to get from it. We hear from ACOSVO’s Pat Armstrong, Scotways’ Richard Barron, Paths for All’s Emma Anderson, Parkinson UK’s Lorna Fraser and Joe Hamill from Bells Food Group. They talk about how walking has helped them connect with their colleagues, provide space to think and clear the head, and challenge themselves to build walking in and around their busy working day. www.stepcount.org.uk

In this special episode of Voices of The Walk we revisit the highlights from our Expert Lecture Series for 2022. The lectures were held over three days in February, with each session exploring one of the key themes of our new Step It Up strategy – that walking is for everyone, everywhere and every day. We were joined by three engaging speakers, well-known for their expertise and fantastic work to empower communities to walk more for physical, mental and social well-being. Bronwen Thornton, CEO of Walk21, tackled the everywhere theme, exploring how we can make our towns and cities more walkable. Bronwen delivered a summary of the work of Walk21, with global insight on walkability, measurement of walking and translating national strategies into delivery. Bronwen was followed by Backbone CIC founder and Director Pammy Johal who focussed on inclusion, diversity and equality and how we can take steps to involve everyone in activity. Pammy spoke passionately about her personal experiences and of her groundbreaking work bringing wider access to the outdoors to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups. Finally, our Expert Lectures closed with Lisa O'Keefe, Director of Insight at Sport England, who explored challenging social norms to build physical activity into everyday life. Lisa gave attendees an inspirational insight into the challenges and research behind the impactful This Girl Can campaign. If you’d like to find out more about events hosted by Paths for All, be sure to visit the ‘What’s On’ section of our website or sign up to our e-news at www.pathsforall.org.uk/subscribe. Watch Bronwen Thornton's lecture, or to view the presentation, click here. To view Lisa O'Keefe's presentation, click here.

In this episode we are joined by Orla and Jeff, who featured in our 2021 Humans of the Walk exhibition. They share their reflections on the huge impact walking has made to their health, work and everyday life. Our Humans of the Walk exhibition shared life-changing stories and powerful portraits exploring why walking is so important to the people of Scotland and how it can help us live happier, healthier and greener lives. You can view the full exhibition of portraits in our online Humans of the Walk gallery and share why walking is important to you on social media using #HumansoftheWalk

In this special festive episode, we hear from members of the Paths for All team to hear why walking is so special to them at this time of year. Listen to the memories that have been made and the moments of peace and quiet that have happened thanks to winter walks.

In this episode, we look at how walking and public transport can be safer, more accessible and more welcoming for people with disabilities, long-term conditions and those with dementia. Our Senior Development Officer Carl Greenwood and guests Andy Hyde and Hussein Patwa explore what constitutes an inclusive journey, and how design of our transport services can be more inclusive. Our experts discuss the challenges that face people with disabilities when making journeys, and the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the way we access and experience travel and transport. We also look at what opportunities COP26 has created around establishing a low-carbon public transport system that works for everyone. To find out more about Andy or Hussein, or learn more about the issues discussed, check out these useful links: https://twitter.com/upstreamscot https://twitter.com/mrhyde https://www.upstream.scot/ The Drawing from Experience comic book mentioned in the podcast https://www.upstream.scot/dfe https://twitter.com/hussein_patwa https://www.linkedin.com/in/hussein-patwa-4ab1551b/?originalSubdomain=uk

In this episode we find out how our Smarter Choices, Smarter Places (SCSP) programme is supporting partnerships to deliver social prescribing projects. SCSP Manager Graham McQueen chats to three guests who have used our funding to deliver interventions that are improving social, mental and physical health and wellbeing through active and sustainable travel and being outdoors. Inverness GP Dr Katie Walter explains what social prescribing is, how it attempts to break down the barriers people face to improving their health and wellbeing, and how she prefers the term "patient empowerment". She also discusses her own project which has so far helped 400 patients to get active and improve their health. Dr Viola Marx, from NHS Tayside, gives an overview of how her project reinvented the traditional medical prescription by turning it green and prescribing an activity rather than a drug. Forth Environment Link's Emma Thomas talks about how social prescribing worked with a select group of cancer patients in the Forth Valley and what effect the introduction of an ebike had on their recovery and outlook. All our guests discuss the many benefits of social prescribing including its role in the climate emergency. For more information on SCSP and how to apply for a grant, visit www.pathsforall.org.uk/scspopenfund.

To mark National Walking Month, we take a listen back to some memorable moments from the first series of Voices of the Walk. Thank you to all our guests from the last 12 episodes who all believe so passionately in the power of walking.

During our six-week Walking with Nature campaign, we encouraged everyone to appreciate their natural surroundings on daily walks. From listening to and observing birds to performing small acts of kindness that keep our walking routes safe and pleasant for everyone, the campaign aimed to help people unwind and enjoy the small, simple things. In this episode, we talk to University of Derby lecturer Caroline Harvey and PhD student Lea Barbett to explain why we can benefit from connecting with nature. Our guests explore the history of the connecting with nature concept, human beings' innate affinity with nature, and the research behind why it can improve our physical and mental wellbeing. We also find out more about the five pathways to connecting with nature. They also suggest ways in which people can notice and connect with nature every day, either when out on walks or staying indoors.

Joyous, therapeutic, invaluable, connection - just some of the words used by our podcast guests to describe Health Walks. In this podcast episode, we hear from walkers and volunteer Walk Leaders who explain their relationship with walking during a turbulent year. Our seven guests tell us what Health Walks meant to them pre-Covid, what they felt about walking during lockdown, and how it felt to be with others again when restrictions started to ease. We hear from walkers who say Health Walks have enriched their lives, parents who joined Buggy Walks and found vital peer support, and those who lead walks for people affected by dementia. Our guests also share their thoughts on why everyone should consider walking as part of their everyday life as we enter 2021.

Following on from his keynote at the Paths for All 2020 Expert Lecture, we caught up with renowned neuroscientist Shane O'Mara to revisit the highlights from his presentation and put the audience's questions to him. During this episode, Professor O'Mara explains the ways walking can help protect us this winter, and his thoughts on walking for wellbeing. He also answers questions from delegates who attended our online Expert Lecture including Dr Fiona Wynde, Senior Evidence and Influencing Officer and Life Changes Trust and Sam Evans from Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority. To listen to the full presentation from 27 October, which also features a short presentation from Dr William Bird and a panel discussion with our Chief Officer Ian Findlay, click here.

We've all felt the effects of Covid-19. Our routines have been disrupted and restrictions have separated us from friends and family. Through our Humans of the Walk campaign, we have been able to shine a spotlight on what the wonder of walking has meant to people across Scotland through lockdown. In this special Voices of the Walk episode, we hear how walking brought solace and comfort to people challenges during lockdown, from job losses to being isolated or separated from family and friends. Listen to how walking alone, walking the dog, walking as part of the Step Count Challenge, walking with family or walking to help others made all the difference during difficult time. We hear from Ann and Ged, two volunteer Walk Leaders who have found new ways to bring physical activity to their local community. Our next guests, Mairi and Angie, both completed our Spring Step Count Challenge, despite lockdown separating them from their respective teams in Shetland and the Highlands. Finally, we welcome Terry and Jenni, who reflect on what making use of their local paths and greenspaces has meant to them over this challenging period. For more stories about how walking helped people to cope during lockdown, have a look at our new campaign Humans of the Walk at www.pathsforall.org.uk/humans

Thanks to video conferencing, we caught up with renowned physical activity champion, Professor Nanette Mutrie MBE. In this podcast episode, Nanette shares with us her how she likes to keep active, her career highlights so far and the new projects she’s involved with. We also learn more about the role she played in the creation of the new Chief Medical Officers Physical Activity Guidelines published in September 2019 and what’s happening now to make sure these recommendations are communicated more widely than ever before. We also discuss one of Nanette’s favourite topics – Strength and Balance – and find out her thoughts on what’s being done to make sure older adults take part in exercises that strengthen muscles and improve coordination twice a week both at home and outdoors. We discuss our own resources - such as our new Strength and Balance panels which can be used in all health and social care settings - and also what Nanette herself has done to make Glasgow park goers more aware of the exercises. Nanette also shares with us her views on why the Coronavirus pandemic could be a “game changer” in terms of physical activity and offer us the chance to find the real barriers facing people trying to be active everyday.