Who’s Involved?

The Walk England website is one of a portfolio of projects being delivered by a Consortium of the leading walking, cycling and health organisations and funded through the Big Lottery Fund's Well-being Programme. The Programme provides funding to support the development of healthier lifestyles and to improve well-being.

The Consortium is lead by Sustrans and includes British Cycling, CTC, Cycling England, Living Streets, London Cycling Campaign, the National Heart Forum, the National Obesity Forum, the Ramblers’ Association, Campaign for Better Transport and Walk 21.


Consortium Partners:

Sustrans

Sustrans is the UK’s leading sustainable transport charity. Its vision is a world in which people can choose to travel in ways that benefit their health and the environment.

Every day Sustrans works for safer roads, cleaner air and a better quality of life through innovative and practical ways to tackle the transport challenges that affect everyone. It is the charity behind the National Cycle Network and its Active Travel team promotes walking and cycling as a way of addressing health issues such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Bike It works with young people, teachers and schools to encourage and enable children to cycle to and from school because more than 33% of them want to cycle to school and only 2% actually do.

Sustrans has also pioneered TravelSmart in the UK - a unique service that gives people the tailor-made information they need to walk, cycle and use public transport more.


Living Streets

Living Streets works to bring our streets to life, with more walking in people-friendly public spaces. They are a national charity whose work spans policy, research, lobbying and advice, and delivers practical, positive solutions to pedestrian issues.

By offering consultancy services to support professionals, campaigning to encourage walking and working to lobby opinion leaders, Living Streets is putting walking issues firmly on the front foot. At its heart, Living Streets aims to ensure that every local street puts people first.


The Ramblers' Association

The Ramblers' Association is Britain's biggest charity working to promote walking and improve conditions for walkers. With 137,000 members and many thousands of active volunteers, the Association works to support everyone who walks, for health, well-being, leisure and transport in both urban and rural areas.

The Ramblers' Get Walking Keep Walking project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund through Travel Actively, helps inactive people in big cities to do more regular everyday walking for health and well-being.


WALK 21

Walk21 is an international organisation which exists to champion the development of healthy, sustainable and efficient communities where people choose to walk. It is an active network of professionals, community activists and politicians who share a common vision: to create a world where people choose and are able to walk as a way to travel, to be healthy and to relax.

Through the annual International Conference Series and the International Charter for Walking, Walk21 generates debates and promulgates new ideas and best practice for enhancing walking around the world.


Other Walking Organisations:

Get Walking Keep Walking

Ramblers offer a 12-week walking plan on one of their free Get Walking Keep Walking programmes or with their DIY pack to get you started. Follow the link to their website to see if there is a Get Walking Keep Walking programme happening near you.


Walking the way to Health

Walking the way to Health is the country’s leading provider of led health walks. There are over 500 local led health walks schemes and projects, often funded by the Primary Care Trust or Local Authority. They all offer short, regular walks in the local area, led by trained volunteers.

The site contains a ‘Walk Finder’ feature which will enable you to find a suitable walk near you. Everyone is welcome on these walks, regardless of their fitness or ability level.


CABE

CABE stands for ‘Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment’. Its mission is to improve people’s quality of life through good design. CABE works with Government, practitioners and their clients to make a difference to buildings and public space.


Centre For Cities

Centre for Cities' purpose is to support positive urban growth and change through research activities and outputs. Its work is designed to be relevant, accessible and of practical use to cities and the policy community.


Walkit

A great website that gives you walking routes from A to B in six major cities - London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Newcastle/Gateshead, Leeds and Derby. Just key in your starting point and destination and it will find the best route, the greener route, calculate distance and approximate walking time and tell you how much CO2 you save by choosing to walk.


Walking Britain

‘Walking Britain’ offers over 8,500 web pages of walking information, including many walk descriptions, maps, tours and treks, a visitor’s book of recommendations, suggestions of where to stay and a photo gallery of some of their walks. ‘Walking Britain’ is a reliable and informative site for any walker. 


National Government

Government has targets to promote walking in at least four of its departments.

The Department for Transport part-funds Walk England and works with us to raise the profile of walking for active travel.

The Department of Health sees walking as crucial in combating the obesity epidemic and contributing to increasing physical activity levels in England where 70% of the population ‘are not active enough to benefit their health’.

The Department for Culture Media and Sport promotes walking as being an activity that most people can do, whereas sport may be too strenuous for some.

The Department for Rural Affairs (DEFRA), through Natural England, works to encourage more people to access and enjoy the natural environment, more often. Developing walks in the countryside and in local green space, as well strategies for the preservation of our footpath network and our national trails, are part of Natural England’s remit.


Local Government

Local authorities have a responsibility to implement Rights of Way Improvement Plans through walking officers, walking policies and strategies. Through local transport plans, school and employer travel plans and joint work with Public Health departments of local Primary Care Trusts, many local authorities are involved in and responsible for promoting and encouraging more walking.

Primary Care Trusts, through health promotion and public health initiatives frequently promote walking within the communities they serve. Health professionals often encourage their patients to walk to improve their health.


International links

Walking Info

This really useful American website is a great source of information and research on walking. In England we can learn from some international best practice – much of which can be found on this site.