Walking for the over 60s.

Thank you. I'm about to download it now, it will be interesting to discover if I am more active or lazier than I had supposed.

It's free. It works by GPS. Yes, you have to actually carry your mobile with you so it knows where you are.
It will also link to your computer/laptop/tablet so you can read it in a larger screen if you prefer. It provides interesting data such as showing you the routes in various map forms (street, terrain, hybrid), calories burned, elevation.
Just google Map My Walk.

How much is it Aka? And how does it work? Do you have to carry your mobile with you everywhere?

Just installed the free 'Map my Walk' app on my mobile. I'm surprised to find I walk an average of 4 miles a day outside the house. Nothing like the glorious alpine walks Greatnan talks of or the sands of Anglesey just to the shops, or the allotment or walking the dogs.

Jess; you mean you missed us mess up the baton change again ....

Grass of Parassus also known as the Bog Star. Getting very rare these days Jess a good find. They were once found in dune slacks in the Birkdale hills but I think have died out there since they build a road through the dunes.

Long walk today. About 3 hours around Newborough sands. Lovely to see that dune vegetation that I grew up with in south wales. Came across a little white flower that was new to me. Looked it up later : Grass of Parnassus. No close relatives. Like a stately white buttercup, growing in the dune slacks. The last half hour was tough though as walk rather longer than anticipated and only a few handfuls of dewberries to keep us going. Even harder on DH who had previously done a 31 mile cycle ride. Bless him, many men would have got tetchy with the person with the map..

All paths in pine forests look the same, don't they? I have taken to making a triangle of sticks or stones at each junction, pointing back in the right direction. I have found French drivers to be very kind - I have had to flag them down on about four occasions, when I have entered a forest by one path, and come out in a completely different place. At least I now know enough to make a note of the exact location of my car!

Very useful post Greatnan I particularly liked the part about noting the position of the sun. Having got lost for hours in a pine forest, in the days before GPS, that was something I learned the hard way.

My daughter and her husband were all set to walk the G10 from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, (leaving the younger children with me when I lived in the Pyrenees), but then they emigrated to NZ. However, they do lots of walking there in the lovely Nelson Lakes area. When I stay with them each year, I have worked out a one hour circular walk from their house which I can take while she is doing her chores, feeding the animals, etc. In the afternoons, she takes me on much longer walks and at weekends the whole family joins in. Last year, she and her husband and the two adult children who were staying with her kayaked along the coast and I walked the coastal path with the two younger children. We met up after a couple of hours and they produced a huge picnic.

I think it was seeing how fit she is (she is a grandmother herself) and knowing that her family share so many outdoor activities - walking, camping, cycling, kayaking and riding - that inspired me, as well as the beauty of my surroundings.
When I emigrate, I will miss just one thing - the freedom to roam which I have found all over France. Apparently, in New Zealand you have to stick to public footpaths, except in the national parks. Quite hard for a lone maverick like me!

I think any walking is good whether it is a mile or two or a day long hike!

One further tip - loose chippings (scree) can act like ball bearings and a sideways-on pine cone makes a good skate.

Super post Greatnan, thank you.
There is a really good walking group called Kinross and Ochil Ramblers. They are a very friendly bunch and meet every two weeks. The walks are of varying lengths as are the ages of the walkers!!!

Keep on trying Tegan you must have been unlucky with your local U3As. They're meant to welcome everyone Good luck with your Ramblers group; the one I was in in Norfolk were wonderful and each walk ended at a pub, which you could either join in or not for lunch with no dicrimination!

I'm not having much success with my local groups eCJ. Have emailed the two local ones but have had no reply. Annoyingly we have a friend who runs the a Borders u3a walking group, but we're not up there very often. The local Ramblers group seems to do walks quite close to where I live. When I retire I'm planning to find out more about the u3a groups as I very much want to join them.

I wonder if your local U3A has a walking group Tegan. They are sometimes a good way to start and very sociable too. Some of the groups have Stollers, Wanderers and longer distance groups. The blister plaster in you back pack tip is extremeley good as these modern ones really work until they fall off months later!!
As to walking in the winter in the snow in the Alps there are areas with walking paths prepared every day, just like pistes and there are superb walks to be had. The one in the shadow of the Eiger is always very cold but bracing and there are no skiers or tobogganers paths to cross either. You need the correct clothing (I wear the same merino wool shirts at +30C' and -20C') as Wainwright says there's no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.

A friend [who can map read] and I did a long'ish circular walk in the Peak Districict years ago and we did get slightly lost. I couldn't believe how much extra energy I got from eating a banana and having some water. I have read that lots of small sips of water are better than one long drink every so often as it also gets oxygen into your body as well. I've also found that wearing tights is good if you're prone to blisters [no good in the summer, of course] and it's also good to have an insectipen with you and a few ready cut plasters in case of blisters. I have a very small leather bag which I carry with me on very short walks. As Greatnan suggested one of my best buys has been a lightweight waterproof jacket that folds into a tiny bag but I also sometimes take one of those use once plastic ponchos; they're so small they fit into a handbag if you're going out for the day. And I never walk through fields with cattle in, especially if I have the dog with me.

I walk my dogs every day but only do about two miles. I'd love to go further but with a two acre garden to manage I just don't have the time (or energy)

My son's MIL and sister are walking the coastal path in stages over the past few years. They walk on average 12 miles a day. both are in their mid-sixties. Last year the three of us walked along part of the Stour River walk - which is a local walk - starting in Hengistbury Head on the first day. Due to work commitments I could only do 2 days of the walk but the other two reached just outside Blandford on the 3rd day. Again on average 10 miles a day. Most of my team at work are in their 20's and all said they would find the walk really hard. We always follow the countryside and walkers code.

I am in a walking group so found your list very useful and have written down you tips and will pass it on to my friends. So thank you very much for your useful information

Great thread, thanks greatnan for your list of hints. I live in the north west, and we have great open countryside on our doorsteps, yet Manchester only 12 miles away if we feel a bit of culture coming on. I love to walk with loved ones / friends, and catch up on our lives. I do enjoy solitary walks though, for quiet reflection on life in general. My solitary walks always involve dogs, so aren't as solitary as yours Greatnan. I can never completely lose myself in thoughts, as one of my dogs can smell a sheep or deer from a long distance, so needs an eye kept on her. I have orthotics made by the rheumatology team, and what an improvement they have made to knee, hip and low back pain. Walking is free, what could be better

5 miles is a good start, Tegan! I love map reading but I have actually found that getting lost is a good way to get to know an area.

5 miles is a good start, Tegan! I love map reading but I have actually found that getting lost is a good way to get to know an area.

I'm planning to join The Ramblers soon mainly because I love walking but can't read maps so need someone to show me which way to go. I'm going to start on the 5 mile walks and work my way up.

First morning in Wales we went for a walk along a rocky shore with a stunning view of the North Wales mountains, the Llyn and Caernarfon. Low tide. Wading birds. And a spectacular, huge, skeleton of a seal on the high tide line with massive neck vertebrae.

You are quite right, Moomin - I think the tranquillity and beauty of the mountains have helped me to deal with my anxiety about one of my daughters.

Greatnan - there is nothing quite like walking in beautiful surroundings is there? I envy your Alpine views, but I'm fairly sure I wouldn't have the stamina you have developed! Here in Northumberland most walks include one or two stiff hills and that's enough for me!

Like you, I enjoy walking alone with our dog and my thoughts to keep me company. OH and I walk each afternoon after lunch, but often I go out again for some "me" time . There is nothing quite so de-stressing as being outside in the open air.