Looking for listening for your daily walk? Or something to transport you outside into nature when you can’t manage to get out?

Take a spring walk with our Paths for All staff and hear about the sights, sounds, and smells of nature that they encounter on the way. Listen to their reflections on why they try to walk every day, and the benefits that walking and connecting with the nature around brings them. Hear about the special moments of connection, peace, and wonder that walking has brought them.

We recently commissioned a national opinion survey on walking and wheeling, the 'attitude survey', which examined the walking and wheeling behaviours and opinions of adults in Scotland.

As well as identifying the population’s walking and wheeling behaviours and habits, the survey looks into what motivates people, what barriers and challenges people face to walking or wheeling more, and what people would they like to see in their local area to make it more accessible and appealing for walking and wheeling.

The research was conducted by market research agency 56 Degree Insight and surveyed 1000 adults in Scotland, using a representative sample of the population.

But why is it important to carry out research and collect data such as this? What is the value of this research and having this data? What barriers and challenges do different people in Scotland face to walking more? And what do people want to see for the future in their local areas?

In this episode of Voices of the Walk, we’re joined by Duncan Stewart from 56 Degree Insight and Ewa Monteith-Hodge, our information and data monitoring officer, to discuss some of these topics.

They also discuss some of the findings that stood out for them and some of the changes from the survey results in 2019; as well as how the data can be used for our work at Paths for All and wider contexts of planning, health, active travel, communications campaigns, housing, and path networks.

You can read the full report here, and see a summary infographic of the results here.

If you want to find out more about 56 Degree Insight you can visit their website here.

You can contact us at Paths for All here.

In this episode of Voices of the Walk, Valerie Carson from Paths for All’s Walking for Health team speaks with Mandy Williams, Volunteer Coordinator at SWAN Autism (Scotland), previously known as SWAN (Scottish Women’s Autism Network).

SWAN Autism (Scotland) was established in 2012 and is an autistic-led charity delivering services, information and support for and by autistic women, girls and non-binary people across Scotland.

Paths for All and SWAN Autism (Scotland) have been working in partnership over the past year to look at ways of making walking more accessible for people who are autistic.

This conversation was recorded in February 2024 in Stirling at Paths for All’s office. Mandy and Valerie discuss the work of SWAN Autism (Scotland), the challenges faced by autistic people accessing opportunities to be active as well as own Mandy’s personal experiences of joining sports clubs.

Mandy and Valerie also talk about the Health Walk group that SWAN Autism (Scotland) established with support from Paths for All and Valerie, and the toolkit that has been produced to inform and support other Health Walk groups to be more inclusive and welcoming to autistic people.

You can find out more about the work of SWAN Autism (Scotland) here and you can contact them directly at info@swanscotland.org

You can download the Step by Step: Creating Autism-Inclusive Health Walks toolkit here