New weekly evening walks starting in August

Inspired by an existing walking group in Medstead, we’re excited to launch our own weekly evening walks starting this August!

Beginning Thursday 7th August, meet us at 6:30pm (for a 6:45pm start) in the lower car park at Alton Sports Centre (//evolution.recap.knees). These walks will be between 2.5 and 3.5 miles long, lasting about 1 to 1.5 hours, with a moderate to brisk pace (sorry, no dogs to keep the pace steady). No need to book — just turn up ready to enjoy friendly company and fresh evening air. We’ll be meeting at the same time and place each week, but switching between two routes to keep things interesting.

Why evening walks? Well, we know how busy you all are and how hard it can be to make time for walking. Our recent Five to Ten Group survey showed that around 80% of you want to walk more often than you currently do – and we can see from the popularity of evening walks during the Alton Walking Festival that the appetite is there for a post-work stroll. The Long Distance Walkers Association also offers some longer evening walks, as do the Alton Ramblers, so worth keeping an eye on our calendar for those. Our Alton Women Walkers group has also increased their weekend walking programme to twice monthly walks to help more people get outside, whatever their schedule.

Remember: although it’s tempting to stay inside on hot days, regular movement – even a gentle evening walk – is great for both body and mind. So why not join us and see how it feels to walk into the cooler, quieter evenings?