A new survey has shown that people in the UK are taking fewer journeys by foot than ever before. Professor Nanetter Mutrie, chair of physical activity for health at the University of Edinburgh, explained that we have lost about 80 miles of walking per person per year, in just a decade. Car journeys and public transport now account for most short journeys that we take, but Nice has issued guidelines designed to encourage people to view these commutes as an opportunity to walk more.
In light of these new figures, we took to Twitter and Facebook to see how many people still try to walk regularly.
1. @An33ka: I can't sit in an office for 8 hours a day, I walk home to de-stress and breathe non air conditioned air!
2. Rosalind Ellen Piggott Davies: The famous Tulse Hill Rambling Society, every Sunday, hangovers permitting, doing the London Loop...BRILLIANT. Half an hour on the tube to trees! And space! And EVERYTHING!
3. @simonperks: Two hours a day with the dog equals eight to ten miles. Then about 20 miles a week running. Exercise + fresh air = happy me!
4. Danielle Walker: I'm a Walker by name and by nature... I walk my dog in the woods everyday and love watching her enjoy her outdoor time. I mainly work at home, so getting out with Frank is as good for me as it is for her.
5. @blethers: Walk every day if poss; 4-7 miles is usual; feel out of sorts without fresh air and exercise. Live near sea and country walks.
6. Robert Macala: I live in South Beach, Miami Beach Florida...walking here is always an adventure and more importantly I can walk to all my neighborhood stores and restaurants...I think the problem is that most people in the world live in isolated communities, in order to enjoy your daily walking, your walking environment should be engaging and stimulating..."just walking" is not enough without a daily adventure that motivates and animates your walking experience.
7. @ArianaYakas: brisk walk everyday in the morning for one hour! Gets the brain cells working then am ready for work! It's great!
8. @motorhometrips: Sociable,people talk to you,countryside great,keeps you fit,better views than the gym,saves fuel ,doesn't cost you anything
9. Cordula Klein: I love commuting by walking, because it gives me freedom (I can easily change my route and there is often more than one way to get somewhere), it exercises my muscles (legs, heart, brain) and I see and experience little things that might otherwise escape me. I am lucky that I live in a city covered by e.g. walkit.com: any distance that takes an hour or less I will walk.
10. Wez Beard Coombes: I live on an island where cars are banned, so I either walk to work, which is lovely, or I take my bicycle and trailer (on which I can fit my lawnmower, strimmer, hedgecutter, rakes, bags, fuel etc). I love walking. I probably walk/cycle between 30-40 miles a week (which ain't bad for an island 3 miles long by a mile and a half wide!).
11. @Assad_Jan87: theatre technician so I'm often up ladders, walking across large venues or up/down several flights of stairs. I'm hardcore.
12. David Pye: I walk because I made a conscious choice not to learn to drive. I don't think my convenience should take priority over the wellbeing of mother earth and future generations.
13. Owen J. Powell: I love walking, my legs carry me almost everywhere I go and I am all the healthier for it. Walking allows me to take more notice of everything around me; keeps me in touch with my environment; and allows me to engage more fully with the other beings (human or otherwise) that inhabit my community, society and world.
Tell us whether you still regularly walk places – and if so, where and why.
