Walking to Health - Banchory
Would you like to join a small group for a walk near to Banchory?
We offer a programme of short walks on a weekly basis to enable people to enjoy some gentle exercise in a friendly group.
The walks are led, level, local - short, safe and social.
We meet on Thursdays and on Fridays, meeting at Banchory East Church Hall at 9.50 am for a 10.00 am start.
We normally have a tea/coffee at the finish.
The walks are short and steady, and are designed for those without any experience of walking. Walks last for about 45 minutes at an easy pace.
Anybody is welcome to join the group. Please contact Mark Hagger beforehand, or come along to the start in good time.
Walkers are asked to complete a health declaration before joining the group. Sorry, no dogs please.
Contact:
Mark Hagger
Tel: 01330 -823418
Email: collonach@yahoo.co.uk <mailto:collonach@yahoo.co.uk>
Walking to Health is a project managed by Banchory & District Initiative Ltd with funding from the Scottish Community Foundation.
Walking to Health Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail to view a larger image. Click on the close button to close it.
Walking to Health - Banchory - Annual Report December 2009
Health Walk groups have been operating regularly in Banchory since October 2008.
The group meets at Banchory East Church Hall at 10.00 am each Friday and then walk for about an hour. From June 2009, a second group was established from the same base at the same time on Thursdays.
There are about 10 people involved with each group, though on any one day there are usually between 5 and 8 walkers. The average turnout for both groups is 6 walkers. 30% of the walkers are male, age is between 60 and 76, and many have had heart or other health problems. Feedback from the walkers is very positive.
The groups meet in the Hall after the walk for a cup of tea. This provides a valuable social function.
On very rare occasions there is no walk due to inclement weather. Walkers are informed by phone. It is usually possible to re-orient walks on gritted paths for frosty conditions, and to avoid muddy paths for wet conditions under foot. But pouring rain is not welcomed.
A team of 4 volunteer walk leaders has been recruited and trained, with one aspirant leader awaiting training. The leaders have proved highly effective in: recruiting and motivating walkers, identifying walk routes, managing the walk groups. They are an extremely valuable part of the project.
As a special project, we carried out the Deeside Way Challenge in October/November, walking the Deeside Way in weekly stages from Aberdeen to Banchory and from Ballater to Aboyne. We use the public bus for transport, thus minimising the ecological footprint. The walkers were very stimulated by this experience, which extended their physical range, sometimes quite challenging, and added memorable experiences - the sun shining through the frost encrusted birch trees beside the river Dee in full flow.
The project was started on very limited funding from NHSGrampian, which ran out during the summer of 2009. We were fortunate enough to gain further funding from the Scottish Community Foundation for the Deeside Way Challenge and have now been promised funding from Paths for All. A small grant has recently been notified from Cycling Scotland to support a parallel project Banchory Pedallers which will encourage people to cycle. We have an application in progress to the Forests for People fund for resources that will stabilize the twin projects over a two year period. In addition Paths for All have given further support in kind in various forms.
Mark Hagger
Project Leader
December 2009