Here are 10 tips to improve your walks:

1. Setting step goals can be a great way to stay motivated and to challenge yourself. 10,000 steps and 5km walks are amongst the popular challenges people are taking on.
2. Meeting a friend, socially distanced of course, can be a great way to connect and catch up with everyone we’ve been missing lately.
3. There are some beautiful trails, routes and paths that are waiting to be explored. New scenery can inspire us and will make for a good picture or two along the way.
4. Get up early and walk to see the sunrise, or if you’re not that much of a morning person, find a nice location to enjoy the sunset instead.
5. Learn more about where you live by incorporating the history around us into your walks, for example, Margaret Thatcher’s blue plaque located in Colchester or the Memorial Garden located in Clacton-On-Sea.
6. Include podcasts and music into your walk, they can energise and encourage us- which could make that 10,000 step goal a lot easier to reach!
7. Making a list of things to find, bird spotting or games like I spy can allow for you to: engage more with your surroundings, notice new things and feel a sense of accomplishment.
8. For people that love to game, apps like Pokemon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite give you the reward of completing challenges on your phone whilst gaining all the benefits from being outside.
9. Make a trail mix or your favourite food to nibble on the go and accompany you along the way.
10. Take a dog with you! If you don’t own a dog, offer to walk a friend’s dog or head over to sites such as BorrowMyDoggy- where you help people who are unable to walk their dogs.