Did you know May is National Walking Month? It’s designed to encourage people (and pooches) of all ages to get outside and embrace the joy of walking. Organisations like Living Streets and the Ramblers get involved and charities like the British Heart Foundation are running challenges like ‘Walk for Hearts’ where participants can raise money by committing to walk for 20, 31 or 50 miles in the month.
Why Take Part?
Walking has a range of benefits for physical and mental health. It can reduce stress, anxiety and depression, improve cardiovascular fitness and improve sleep. If you get out in nature for a picturesque walk it can have even stronger benefits, with some studies showing increased improvements in mood and wellbeing. However we know that walking can be boring by yourself. One solution is to take your pup out - or borrow if you don’t have one! If you take your pooch, it’ll benefit them as well - and makes it even more of a social occasion. There are also fun activities to make walking even more rewarding and enjoyable.
Ways to Get Involved
Walk with a Dog
One great way to get involved is to take your dog out and finish up in a pub or cafe. The National Trust has a great list of walks with dog friendly cafes. If you love the great outdoors, Forestry England has an app called Forest Walkies, featuring fun, interactive Wallace and Gromit themed trails. The organisation also offers £5 activity packs, making it fun for all the family!
Play Ingress
Made by Niantic, Ingress is Pokemon Go’s edgier, older cousin. It’s a walking app and augmented reality game. The idea of the game is to pick a side in an intergalactic war, and capture portals on behalf of your side. It’s a lot of fun, and a great way to find interesting features and landmarks in your area. While yes, you will discover a lot of postboxes, you’ll also find local artwork, hidden parks, shortcuts and venues. You collect power as you walk and can track your distance in the app.
Ramblers Wellbeing Walks
The Ramblers offer free, short group walks, as a great way for you to get started. It’s a great way to unwind, meet new people and explore your surroundings. The shortest walks are just ten minutes long, and all routes are accessible. It’s an ideal route into hiking for anyone who has health or mobility issues, with a walk leader in each group. You can find your local Ramblers group on their website. They also offer WalksNWags in some areas, where you can bring your furry friends too!
Walk With a Doc
Walk with a Doc is an international nonprofit that was set up by cardiologist Dr. David Sabgir. It was originally set up to help patients get more physical activity, but has expanded to anyone who wants to join in. Each health walk is run by a retired or practising medical provider. As well as community and exercise, the idea is to make health more accessible - sessions include a brief discussion on a relevant topic. It’s a great initiative, and fantastic for anyone, especially people recovering from illness. Well behaved dogs are very welcome, but it’s worth checking with the group leader first!
Geocaching
Geocaching is a game using GPS or maps, which has been likened to a real world outdoor treasure hunt. Players hunt for caches, which are usually waterproof containers with a logbook inside. They can then sign the logbook or mark it as found on the official app. Some caches contain fun tokens with sentimental value - Lego mini figures are a popular choice! Some caches can only be found with a UV torch - others require the player to solve a puzzle, fulfil a challenge, or complete a specific route. Some can be discovered on an afternoon stroll, while others are more challenging. Players have reported finding caches in shipwrecks, fire watch towers, atop mountains, in abandoned hospitals, at the bottom of caves, underwater - there’s even a geocache in space!
Challenges
Try 20
Living Streets offer a #Try20Challenge, encouraging people to walk or cycle for just twenty minutes a day. It comes with handy tips to get you moving and a challenge checklist so you can tick off achievements, which can be as simple as walking to your local shops.
Walk to School Week
Whether you’re a teacher or a parent, Walk to School week could be the challenge for you. It takes place 19-23 May, and is designed to reduce congestion and encourage happiness! Living Streets have age appropriate resources, info packs and posters to download including family activity sheets and flyers for schools.
MacMillan Dog Walking Challenge
MacMillan run regular dog walking challenges, where participants raise money for the charity via sponsored walks. Ideally participants commit to distances of 50, 75 or 100km. You can track with a fitness app or paper tracker. You can walk alone or maybe join one of your local dog walking groups.
Walk for Hearts
The British Heart Foundation are running a Walk for Hearts event throughout May. Participants can raise money by committing to walk for 20, 31 or 50 miles in the month. The charity will send you a free t-shirt and they have a Facebook group to support you. If you’re wondering how to track miles walked, try Strava or Fitbit.
Walk 100 Miles in May
Country Walking magazine are running a Walk 100 Miles in May challenge, as a larger part of their ‘Walk 1000 miles in 2025’ initiative. They offer a progress chart, where one mile = one county to colour in.
At BorrowMyDoggy, we believe every walk is a chance to spread a little happiness – for owners, borrowers, and most importantly, the lovely dogs who bring us together. So even when the month draws to a close, we encourage you to keep up the wag-tastic habit. Because every walk leaves a trail of joy, one pawprint at a time.
High paws for taking the lead – and here’s to many more waggy adventures ahead.
If you want a furry walking buddy this month, click through to learn more -
