Walking Forum
Main Boards => General Walking Discussion => Topic started by: Lee in Doncaster on 11:49:58, 18/06/18
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Here's my personal list...and comments:
http://peakwalking.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-benefits-of-walking.html
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You list is fairly comprehensive.
And, of course, I agree with you about the physical and mental benefits.
But, I suppose, for me the "deciding factor" is that it's such a pleasurable way, to spend large-ish amounts of time. There would be a big gap in my week without walking's ability to make large chunks of day enjoyable.
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For one of my neurophysiology assignments at uni I had to present a paper on the beneficial effects of physical exercise on the brain. The outcome was that the number of minutes exercised each week (rather than the number of sessions or the duration of each session) was positively correlated to hippocampal volume. This is good because the hippocampus is responsible for converting short term memories to long term memories as well as our location awareness and memory. It's the part of the brain that is affected by dememtia, so it's thought that exercise has a beneficial effect on helping to prevent neurodegeneration and associated conditions such as Alzheimer's.
On a personal level, I find walking in the countryside helps keep me emotionaly bouyant, probably due to the quiet calm open space and greenery as much as the heart-pumping effects. It doesn't even matter what the weather is like, I love it :)
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On a personal level, I find walking in the countryside helps keep me emotionaly bouyant, probably due to the quiet calm open space and greenery as much as the heart-pumping effects. It doesn't even matter what the weather is like, I love it :)
Couldn't agree more, rain, wind etc makes no difference to the enjoyment I get O0
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One benifit for me is I can rant and rave out loud, I can shout at the sky, I can talk to sheep who say "baaaa" to everything I say, I can curse cows for standing in my way and I can even solve all sorts of problems. Sometimes talking to yourself out loud can be a wonderful experience.
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walking gives me space away from everything else on my own with no one relying on me, no time to keep to, no one keeping score, just me, my boots and a trail
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Couldn't agree more, rain, wind etc makes no difference to the enjoyment I get O0
So true late for our walk last Sunday, so spent the day on Dartmoor in P soup fog and drizzle thinking I would join up with the group at some point. Finally bumped into them in the car park at 3:30pm LoL. Any way my point is, it was still a great day walking the moors.
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walking gives me space away from everything else on my own with no one relying on me, no time to keep to, no one keeping score, just me, my boots and a trail
defo agree. its a chance to unwind away from the stress of my professional life. i leave my stress and worry in the van and wander off into the wild and take in the scenery and get some fresh air away from the hustle and bustle of civilization
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So true late for our walk last Sunday, so spent the day on Dartmoor in P soup fog and drizzle thinking I would join up with the group at some point. Finally bumped into them in the car park at 3:30pm LoL. Any way my point is, it was still a great day walking the moors.
I love
Dartmoor. I spent many hours yomping round there. Got lost ones or twice. Picture the Scene walked over a tor and found a big field of rocked as far as the eye could see. Then the mist came down while I had my lunch. So i got disoriented and couldnt think which way i'd walked in from. It looked the same in all directions. All roads lead to knowhere. So walked in one direction till i found a stone circle with a colum of stones and found my way again. Keep calm and collect yourself think of a plan. It's walks like that u remember
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I was walking on the Yorkshire moors with a mate of mine, then the mist rolled in. No problem, he had his map and compass, we knew that we had to cut to the right, we knew that there was a fence and it didn't matter exactly were we joined it, we just had to turn left.. As we were walking he was keeping a check on his compass but to me it felt as though we were turning to the left all the time, but we trusted the compass, and came out just were we wanted to be. Forwards to another time, same place different mate, same conditions, no map , no compass, we'd ditched them with a mate of ours who was following on a car ride out, seeing as I knew the way, done it dozens of times, I said, we make a right along here, we heather bash till we reach the fence then turn left. Well that was the idea, but I reckon we turned left in a few hundred yards, heading in exactly the opposite direction till we reached a road and begged a lift. It is so easy to get it wrong, mind you, they've got all of these fancy gadgets to get lost with now.
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I was walking on the Yorkshire moors with a mate of mine, then the mist rolled in. No problem, he had his map and compass, we knew that we had to cut to the right, we knew that there was a fence and it didn't matter exactly were we joined it, we just had to turn left.. As we were walking he was keeping a check on his compass but to me it felt as though we were turning to the left all the time, but we trusted the compass, and came out just were we wanted to be. Forwards to another time, same place different mate, same conditions, no map , no compass, we'd ditched them with a mate of ours who was following on a car ride out, seeing as I knew the way, done it dozens of times, I said, we make a right along here, we heather bash till we reach the fence then turn left. Well that was the idea, but I reckon we turned left in a few hundred yards, heading in exactly the opposite direction till we reached a road and begged a lift. It is so easy to get it wrong, mind you, they've got all of these fancy gadgets to get lost with now.
I like it the old fashioned way.
Map and compass.
There is no substitute.
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I like it the old fashioned way.
Map and compass.
There is no substitute.
+1
Even if people have the tech, they should still carry a map and compass, and know how to use it.
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One of the better benefits of walking alone is getting away from pedants.
There was no such thing as maps or compasses during the existence of most of humanity., someone invented both. Something else was invented that works just as well on normal walks. so what makes one superior to the other. Or was the fact that our ancestors could actually navigate by sun, starts and the moon actually count more than either, so should we acrry nothing?
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+1
Even if people have the tech, they should still carry a map and compass, and know how to use it.
Always carry a compass but no longer a paper map, just at least two electronic ones ;)
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One of the better benefits of walking alone is getting away from pedants.
There was no such thing as maps or compasses during the existence of most of humanity., someone invented both. Something else was invented that works just as well on normal walks. so what makes one superior to the other. Or was the fact that our ancestors could actually navigate by sun, starts and the moon actually count more than either, so should we acrry nothing?
O0
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………….. so what makes one superior to the other. …………….
One rarely suffers from a flat battery, lost signal, or breaking if dropped.
One is easier to use, can be operated with no navigational skills, works in the rain, is (probably) more accurate , gives a visual 'snail-trail' of your track, is lit for reading at night, & can offer reverse-route guidance.
Your choice as to which you use (if not both)
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Your choice as to which you use (if not both)
and the benefit to walking is?
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I love
Dartmoor. I spent many hours yomping round there. Got lost ones or twice. Picture the Scene walked over a tor and found a big field of rocked as far as the eye could see. Then the mist came down while I had my lunch. So i got disoriented and couldnt think which way i'd walked in from. It looked the same in all directions. All roads lead to knowhere. So walked in one direction till i found a stone circle with a colum of stones and found my way again. Keep calm and collect yourself think of a plan. It's walks like that u remember
Alas modern phones and satnavhave taken away some of that fun element. Though the day you rely on one, you can be sure it will malfunction. The simple life with a map and compass is always going to get you home.
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Alas modern phones and satnavhave taken away some of that fun element. Though the day you rely on one, you can be sure it will malfunction. The simple life with a map and compass is always going to get you home.
You could argue the day you rely on a map it'll be blown away ;D
I've never had a GPS fail on me, and they don't blow away, though once on the approach to Pen y Fan I put mine down while dealing with a geocache, thankfully realised before I'd gone too far ;D
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Well, I just like walking. Quite often for the peace it can give when I fancy walking on my own. For the feeling of being part of the landscape. All the physical and mental benefits that go with it. I suppose it's mooching about and taking in the scenery and I'll take a map and compass if I'm out in the country. I can go fast or slow, wander where I want (most times) depending on landowners barriers!; and stop for a cuppa and a bite for however long I want, I can take snaps or not and let myself relax. I can work things out easier, come to terms with things I can't change and learn that I can change the things that I can. I can blow off steam, I can feel content and happy. And the great thing is, if I haven't worked things out enough, I can just open the front door and start all over again.
If I go with a group then, it's good for the company, listening and talking about all kinds of things and walking at a steady, more disciplined pace.And there's no tax on it...yet!
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And there's no tax on it...yet!
O0
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O0
Sussamb - just noticed your signature, are you a Royalist ?
"Where there's a Will there's a Kate"
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Nope, just an optimist O0
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"Always ..." "...should still carry..."
perhaps this is a little too prescriptive ... I'm sure there are routes where it would be silly not to carry a map and compass similarly there are those where its just not necessary.
Part of the benefit of walking for me is to just get out and go and not worry and relax. Sometimes I dont have a map or phone or compass or 'proper' walking trousers and wear sandals rather than boots, dont have a first aid kit or even have a planned route and have no idea where I'll end up - of course that approach while fine in some well marked places that perhaps I know reasonably well and can always turn around and retrace my steps - but would be dangerous in many other places.
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Roger A, I agree with that. It depends where you're going on your walk.