Walking

I'm lucky that although I live in the city there are wonderful paths alongside canals and river so that I can easily do a 5 mile walk and only spend about 5 minutes on a "road".

However, I can't walk in the cold/wind/rain etc during the winter so I then go to a local gym and use the treadmill. Always have a nice audio book to listen to through earphones and the time goes very quickly. It isn't as good as being outside in the fresh air though, I think that is much better for my brain.

Get a dog! Then you can revel in their sheer love and enjoyment of life on walks. Make lots of friends as well. The miles easily get eaten up.

I do 10000 just chuntering about really. Corner shop to get paper and back 1200 steps. To local supermarket and back 2000 steps. Post letter 2000 steps Into local town library/bank etc 8000 steps. Every little bit adds up.
Iron and take things up stairs one at a time 2000 steps!
Wander around house looking for lost keys 1000 steps at least!!!!!

You are not alone Kacee. I loathe walking unless there is a purpose to it and agree it's boring. I did enjoy walking when I had a dog though. There's nowhere around here that's pleasant to walk to - a car is needed to get anywhere decent unfortunately. I have mobility problems [not serious but enough to put me off] which don't help although I really should walk more in reality. However I do go up and down stairs a lot as I'm always forgetting something, looking for something or fetching something!!!

Do you have a bus pass?
There probably some surrounding areas that are only one or two stops away that would be great to explore.
We have local villages and small towns with lovely little shops and parks that ordinarily only the locals use.
When you go for your walk along the river take some bird food and bread.
And then take some photos of the lovely wildlife.

I'm another that finds walking boring. I always feel I should be doing something useful or productive instead. I live in a rural area with no public transport but some maniac drivers so it's not even safe to walk on the road.

I also have a problem with one foot that makes walking in shoes painful.

I don't carry my phone around the house with me but perhaps I should, to see how many steps I do around the house.

And no, I'm not getting a dog! We have two cats and tbh, I don't want the extra responsibility or cost of a dog, even though I like them.

I walk a lot and never get bored! You see so much on foot. Even when I walk the same route there is always something changing - new buds on trees, gardens coming into bloom, other pedestrians to nod and smile at ... Sometimes I walk along and hop on a bus for a stop or two, change my route back, endless possibilities.

I live in a busy village near Oxford. I got the Ordnance Survey out and mapped the local foot paths. I then plotted half a dozen walks sticking to the footpaths and avoiding the roads. I then walk a different one every day. Some of mine take me up to the local hill. Others are around the village and along the local brook

Just take notice of everything around you. The change in seasons and weather. On a recent snowy day I went right to the top of the hill, well wrapped, but, oh boy was it cold. It was exhilarating and I could see to the edge of the downs 5 miles away. Three days earlier I had heard the first sky lark of 2018. I see voles and rabbits, wild flowers and birds, I watch the crops grow. I pick blackberries and greengages in season and would pick apples if I didn't have so many apple trees in the garden.

In the village I look at the houses their architecture, what it tells you about the area, then there are the gardens everything from the uncared for to the immaculate. When I do that I often talk to people wandering arous or doing gardening

I can't be bothered having pets. I walk fast and get out of breathe. Dog owners seem to amble and let their dog do all the rushing around.

We are also lucky enough to have lots of quiet rural walks straight from our front door. It was one of the reasons we moved to this house. However, I find walking much more pleasurable if I have someone to talk to. The miles go faster. DH doesn’t have a lot to say when we’re walking. Neither does he notice or hear things. He doesn’t seem to hear bird song, or buzzards calling, and a woodpecker could be drumming on top of his head before he took notice of it. I know he’s slightly deaf, but he can’t be that deaf!!

Just back from a lovely 6mile walk in the Staffordshire countryside with a group of rambling friends. Perfect! 15k steps to boot.

You could always borrow a dog. Loads of people who are working pay for someone to walk their dog. Health and and income!

Thanks for all your suggestions. I would love a dog but don't want to be tied down.
I have Amazon music on my phone and have just got a free trial of audible books. I've bought myself a pair of Bluetooth earphones so I am hoping it might inspire me to walk more.

I've just realised that since the dog died, quite a few years ago now, I've never been out for a walk without a human companion. I don't really know why. There's no real reason not to walk on my own. Maybe I'll give it a try.

DH finds walking boring - he just sees it as pointless unless we are walking to or from somewhere.
He is active but trying to persuade him to go for walks is more trouble than it's worth.

If we needed to go blackberrying or picking sloes etc he would see a point to that, but we have blackberries in the garden so there's no need to go for a walk. Perhaps I'll persuade him to go sloe-picking later in the year.

The only 2 forms of exercise I actively enjoy are swimming and walking. I find it difficult to advise, but would just like to share in the hope that it may help. I was brought up to take an interest in the natural world and like M0nica, always find something to notice and delight in when I am out walking.
I prefer not to walk in a group, but there are a number of walking groups in my area - from short 'health walks' to longer rambles. I know some folk prefer walking in a group, and the discipline of turning out at a certain time.
I now have to use 'Norwegian poles' to go more than a mile or so, and wonder if that might suit you.
I'd suggest looking around for some exercise that does suit you if walking doesn't.

I enjoy walking, and often set off on my own - DH prefers to get his exercise gardening and swimming, though we do occasionally go for longer walks together. I'm lucky that we have some decent walking routes round here, though if I had a bus pass I'd have a lot more choice (only three years to go ). I've twice been told recently by complete strangers that they were surprised to see someone out walking without a dog. People can be very odd!

MaggieMB, I get that response. But after 20 years other villagers have got used to seeing me striding away while they dawdle with their dogs.

This thread has inspired me to walk more. I go everywhere by bike and find that walking a few hundred yards is very strenuous. Especially up and down stairs or hills. Now I just have to remember to get up 20 minutes earlier as it takes me 30 mins to walk to work and 10 mins on my bike. I'm sure it would do my sciatica good, too.

I always listen to BBC podcasts when I'm out and about, so it wouldn't be boring, and as I pass through an area of natural beauty to get to work, there's lots of nature to watch as well.

Another way to counteract the boredom would be to go with someone else. I often see two or three ladies walking together on my way in to work in the mornings, smiling and chattering. With sticks and all. Having a fixed time to do it and committing yourself to going with someone else would also be a good incentive to go out, whether you feel like it or not, and in all weathers.

Greyduster your DH sounds like mine. He likes long walks which I can’t do but when he comes on a short walk around the farmland near us he seems to treat it as an exercise to get from a to b! I like to stop and admire the view, look at trees and plants etc. Since our old dog died last year I have had to be really strict with myself and try and keep up with the regular walking.

Some people walk for exercise and some to immerse themselves in the environment. I have a friend who likes to walk but by her own admission, she is not good at noticing what is around her. I will point out some plant or bird or birdsong or other thing, and she, like my DH, will be completely oblivious to it. She will often say “How do you know all this stuff?” Because I rejoice in it and have done from an early age. Each unto his own ?.

I would probably walk more if a) I didn't work from home and could get out more and b) there was somewhere to walk to other than the local shops/post office which is about 10 mins there and back. When we had a dog we did used to walk quite a lot but she's long gone and my husband isn't fit enough to walk far.

Is there a Walking for Health Group near you? I meet up with a friend once a week and we natter constantly during 3 mile walk so don't even notice the distance! There are many walking groups in most areas and you may even make new friends.

Hey, this idea sounds really great and will help to socialize and make new friends.

Just back from a two mile stroll through our local bluebell woods and meadows near the river Stour. Beautiful. We live on the fringe of the Black Country which I think may have an image problem? But there are some lovely parts.