National Walking Month: Discovering local Nailsea walks to help with wellbeing
May is National Walking Month – four weeks dedicated to encouraging people all over the UK to get out and experience the benefits of walking, no matter their ability or fitness level.
Walking is free, fun and great for our wellbeing. It’s recommended that just 30 minutes of walking a day can help to strengthen your heart, help you loose weight and lower your risk of dementia – and give you a boost of energy.
Being Active is one of the Five Ways to Wellbeing, a list of five actions that are said to help improve mental health and well being. We’ll be looking at each action – Being Active, Connect, Take Notice, Learn and Give – next week for #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek (10-16 May).
Whatever your fitness level, being active is more important than ever for our physical and mental wellbeing. Whether you want to walk for 30 minutes – or much longer – there are plenty of walks that you can do in and around Nailsea.
Where to walk in Nailsea
Our blog on 7 Great Walks In and Around Nailsea lists a number of short and medium sized walks on our doorstep. Download this map of local walks in Nailsea or pop into 65 The High Street to get a copy.
A family favourite adventure has to be the magical sculpture trail in the woodland of Towerhouse Wood. The Ty Sculpture Trail was opened in memory of Ty Partridge, who sadly died from Leukemia in 2010 at the age of 21. Secretly dotted around the beautiful woodland are 14 wood carvings of animals and animal footprints, including a fox, a hedgehog and a robin.
North Somerset Walks
With just a short car journey, there are a number of beautiful walks to try out with some stunning views and scenery. Here are a few of our favourites:
Cadbury Camp, Tickenham
An Iron Age hill fort high on the ridge overlooking Tickenham, Cadbury Camp has stunning views across Somerset and towards Wales.
Tyntesfield Estate, Wraxall
A beautiful Victorian gothic house with extensive gardens and woodland.
Poets Walk, Clevedon
This scenic coastal path starts at the top of the hill on Marine Parade and continues upstream by the River Severn for six miles (10kms) to Portishead Lake Gardens. There is a handy map of Poets Walk put together by Clevedon Conservation members featuring all the look out points.
Sand Point, Kew Stoke
This 3-mile quiet circular coastal walk is part of the Mendip Hills with lots of wildlife and archaeological features to explore.
Walking Groups
Go 4 Life, a North Somerset scheme encouraging and supporting people to get more healthy and active in their everyday lives, have a handy list of local walking groups across North Somerset that you can join to suit all abilities. They also have a Health Walk programme that helps people get more active at their own pace, helps them get to know their local area and make new friends.
Local mental health organisation We Are Aware have been running Walk & Talks during lockdown to support those with anxiety. If you, or anyone you know, are experiencing mental health issues or feeling isolated and you want to find out more about these specific walks, email admin@weareaware.info.
Wherever you get to explore this month, we hope that you feel the benefits of walking and being outside.