Walking Works News

Walking Works is a new campaign to encourage people to leave their car keys on the sideboard and walk all or some of their way to work.

Walking as part of your commute can transform your day. You can leave the traffic jams and crowds behind. Enjoy the sun. See the streets come alive. Stop . . . have a coffee. You'll soon be asking yourself why you haven't done it before. It's even better if you walk with friends and share the experience.

You'll arrive at work in a very different state of mind: relaxed, stress free and alert.

Planning your journey

If you already walk some of the way, doing a bit more won't be difficult. Look at your journey and see how you can fit it in. A mile will take you 20-25 minutes, if you walk briskly.

Changing tube lines to go a few stops can be a good opportunity to get off and walk. You can get down half of Oxford Street in 10 minutes for example.

Have a look at http://www.walkit.com for good routes in central London, or Transport for London's walking page http://www.tfl.gov.uk/walking.

Feel like a challenge? Why not make a commitment to walk for at least 30 minutes on your way to work.

Getting London's Employers Involved

We are hoping as many businesses as possible will support Walk to Work Day. You can promote the day by advertising it on your intranet. And why not organise a simple event? Here are some ideas:

The 30 Minute Challenge
Get people to register to take part in the day and make a pledge to walk for at least 30 minutes on their way in. Enter the names into a prize draw and reward the first four drawn on the day. Shopping vouchers, tickets for sports events, even foot massages make good rewards.

For the Truly Committed - a free lunch
If your company has an in-house canteen, why not offer a free healthy meal to the people who have walked for more than an hour on their way in? You'll need to register them in advance as above.

Get really competitive!
Invite the different departments of your organisation to put together a walking team for the day. Set the number of people per team. Get each team to log the total time the team spent walking to work. Reward the winners and publicise it on your intranet.

The great thing about teams is you can often walk as a group, which will make the experience even more enjoyable.

Best Photo Opportunity
Ask your employees to take some photos on their walk to work, and offer a prize for the best one.

What Local Authorities can do:

We have some great resources to support the day: event guides, posters, flyers, banners etc. These are being provided free of charge.

We welcome queries from the media on the campaign. To find out more, please contact Lucy Abell, Press & Parliamentary Officer at lucy.abell@livingstreets.org.uk.

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