In England, health walks used to be promoted mainly by an organisation called Walking for Health (WfH), a scheme which during its 20 years of existence trained more than 35,000 volunteers to be walk leaders. Throughout the years it's been run by various entities including Natural England, The Ramblers and Macmillan Cancer Support. Today, The Ramblers have renamed the scheme and it's now known as Ramblers Wellbeing Walks. There is no doubt that walking is good for your health (both physical and mental) and this has been backed up by various studies. The NHS consider walking as an exercise and as they put it:
“Regular exercise has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, stroke and some cancers."
What kind of health walks?
In Bingley and surroundings, we are very lucky because there are many volunteer walk leaders organising regular health walks throughout the year. These walks usually last for 1 to 2 hours and have various level of difficulties. This is a good sign because there will be something for every one at the end of the day! And most importantly health walks are usually FREE. If there is a charge, it should only be to cover additional services such as tea and biscuits after the walk, so even so it will never be expensive and can't be compulsory.
All walk leaders are given a thorough training and will know what to do in case of accident or emergency. They would usually wear high visibility jackets for additional security against road traffic and there are at least two walk leaders for any given walking group, one at the front and one at the back of the walk. So rest assure, you are in good hands!
Well Together Service
In the Bradford District an organisation called “Well Together Service", formally known as “Champions Show The Way" is responsible for coordinating and organising most of the health walks. It is part of the Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust and as such is one of the organisations that initially supported the constitution of Bingley Walkers are Welcome. They are not associated to the Ramblers Wellbeing Walks. In Bingley and surroundings there are currently running different heath walks which you can join:
| Walks | Description (Updated 26th November 2023) | When? |
|---|---|---|
| Bingley Walkers | Bingley walkers walk different one hour circuits starting outside Bingley Arts Centre. Some walks are reasonably flat but they also will walk uphill to the Twines, up Beckfoot Lane, past Canalside into the estate. Come along and try it! Meet at: Bingley Arts Centre, Main Street, Bingley, BD16 2LZ Contact Well Together Service before you join: Some walks are either restricted or limited in numbers (see contact details below) | Tuesdays 2:00pm to 3:00pm |
| Bingley 2 hours Walks | Meeting place varies between Bingley (Market Square), Eldwick (The Acorn Pub), Gilstead (The Glen Pub), East Morton, Haworth, etc.. This is a "medium-paced" walk. There will be some uphill walking gradients, suitable footwear is necessary. Contact Well Together Service before you join: Some walks are either restricted or limited in numbers (see contact details below) | Thursdays 1:00pm to 3:00pm |
Before joining a walk, it is recommended that you contact them:
 | Find out more by emailing welltogether@bdct.nhs.uk |
 | Give them a ring on 01274 259190 |
 | Like the Well Together Service Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust at www.facebook.com/WellTogetherBDCFT/ |
 | Visit their website at www.bdct.nhs.uk/services/well-together-service/ |
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