08 February 2012Sevenoaks District Council's Chairman, Cllr Keith Loney, will be joining Otford residents next week on the latest successful health walk.
The first walk took place last month with 17 local people present, one of the highest number for the first outing of a District health walk. Like all local health walks, it is run by local people for local people.
The Otford is the latest health walk initiative which now has seven walks in and around the Sevenoaks District. The Walking for Health Initiative aims to bring people together to take part in gentle but effective exercise through their local area. The walk starts at 10.30am on Monday mornings at the Otford Memorial hall and is open to walkers of all ages and abilities.
The walk will last an hour, taking in views of the rolling hills, nearby forest, and follows clearly marked footpaths. It's a gentle walk, with no steep hills, although there are some exposed tree roots and some stiles. Sturdy walking shoes are recommended. The walk is lead by trained volunteer health walk leaders. The walk is free with no need to book, just turn up and start walking. Participants are requested to arrive a few minutes before the walk begins.
Cllr Pat Bosley, Sevenoaks District Council's Cabinet member with responsibility for healthy living, says: "I take my hat off to the organisers of the Otford health walk, whose time and effort made this walk one of the most popular in the District. We want to encourage more people to take advantage of this free, healthy initiative as taking part in short, regular exercise can make you feel better both physically and mentally."
Sevenoaks District Council is keen to get more people involved with the health walks scheme and is looking for volunteers to be trained as health walk leaders in a free course that will be available within the coming months.
For more information on health walks in the area, visit www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/healthwalks. To find out about health walk leader training call 01732 227000.
