We’re Still Walking!
Still Walking has responded to the country’s overnight Lockdown culture with a programme that makes the best of our limited opportunity to go outdoors over the next few weeks.
We’ve sought NHS advice and approval to make sure these walks will strictly observe government protocol about exercise allowances and safe distances. Above all these walks will be about our health and well-being.
The walks take the form of accompanied strolls in your area of around an hour, ending where they begin. Essentially they will be an extended walk around the block. Conversation, company and comment will be the likely focus of the walks (while being valuable exercise of course). The walks take place in the afternoon or early evening, or we can adapt by agreement. We’ll communicate with you ahead of the walk about where to meet and where exactly we’ll go. Over the weeks, successive walks will respond to the themes and conversations of previous walks, but will not be recorded. In that sense, this programme is a group walk but isolated by time over an extended period. All the walks are free.
Our range is limited so we have created a map in which the walks can reasonably take place. Apologies if you live outside this area: it is determined by our various respective homes. You may perhaps be able to recommend the programme so someone who lives inside the area.
Please only book if you already live inside this area: don’t travel any distance to attend the walk. We’ll keep a reserve list open so you can contact us if you can’t make the booking.
Please make this walk your allotted single instance of exercise for the day.
All are welcome to book, though you may like to pass on information to anyone you may feel will benefit from an accompanied walk.
We may need to adapt or even cancel walks if conditions and government protocols change.
Please don’t attend if you are feeling unwell or have been advised to self-isolate.
Similarly, if you know you are clinically vulnerable please don’t book. People falling into this group include:
Solid organ transplant recipients.
People with specific cancers:
people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy
people with lung cancer who are undergoing radical radiotherapy
people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma who are at any stage of treatment
people having immunotherapy or other continuing antibody treatments for cancer
people having other targeted cancer treatments which can affect the immune system, such as protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors
people who have had bone marrow or stem cell transplants in the last 6 months, or who are still taking immunosuppression drugs
People with severe respiratory conditions including all cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and severe COPD.
People with rare diseases and inborn errors of metabolism that significantly increase the risk of infections (such as SCID, homozygous sickle cell).
People on immunosuppression therapies sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection.
Women who are pregnant with significant heart disease, congenital or acquired.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, during the Lockdown please don’t arrange to meet friends or family for walks.