Walking and Wheeling

Did you know around a quarter of all car journeys in Scotland are less than 1.25 miles in length?*

Lanarkshire has a wide variety of walking routes and well-maintained paths, from town centres to public parks, canal paths, lush green spaces and stunning woodland. By leaving the car at home and making more journeys by walking or wheeling, we can help to make Lanarkshire a healthier, safer, greener place to live.

*Source: roadsafety.scot

What are the benefits of walking and wheeling?

It’s good for your health – Walking or wheeling regularly can keep you healthy and lower your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. It can also help strengthen your bones and muscles.

It’s good for your mind – Walking or wheeling can improve your mood and lower the risk of anxiety, stress and depression, and will also help you get a better night’s sleep.

It’s good for the planet – For every car taken off the road by people walking or wheeling, there’s less air and noise pollution, which makes our surroundings cleaner, greener and more pleasant places to live

It’s social – If you’re out and about you’re more likely to bump into friends and neighbours. These social encounters are important in reducing loneliness and isolation, especially among elderly people.
It’s free! Walking or wheeling is the most cost-effective mode of transport as you don’t need any special equipment and there are no running costs

Walking groups and walking routes in Lanarkshire

Looking to get involved in a local health walk or walking group, or just get more information on walking and wheeling routes near you? Here are few ideas to get you out and about:

Get Walking Lanarkshire offer free volunteer-led health walks across North and South Lanarkshire, suitable for all age groups and fitness levels. A joint venture between North and South Lanarkshire councils, NHS Lanarkshire and Walking Scotland, Get Walking Lanarkshire aims to encourage more people to walk and wheel, improve their health and wellbeing and be more active outdoors.

Make Your Way is an active and sustainable travel project managed by Community Action Lanarkshire enabling people to walk, wheel and cycle for everyday journeys in and across Lanarkshire. Working with local communities to map active travel routes, Make Your Way offer a variety of interactive trails, online walking and wheeling resources and maps to download for free.

Plan your own walking and wheeling trails using your smartphone. There are plenty of great free apps that can help you get out and about, such as Go Jauntly, Komoot, Alltrails and Strava. You might discover new trails you didn’t know about, and you can even add your own favourite walking or wheeling routes for others to enjoy!

Check if your local community group offers walking and wheeling activities. There are groups all over Lanarkshire with a variety of offerings for all ages and fitness levels, such as Healthy & Active in East Kilbride who work with South Lanarkshire College in making walking, wheeling and cycling accessible to all, dedicated walking group South Lanarkshire Walkers, local health walks from Cloudberry Communities, Climate Action Strathaven, and LAMH who offer a variety health walks across Lanarkshire.

If you would like more information on how to get walking and wheeling, or want to find a walking group near you, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Resources for community groups

What can you do to promote walking and wheeling in your group or organisation?

Join or start a local walking group, or become a volunteer walk leader. Ramblers have some great tips and resources on how to organise your own local walks, Get Walking Lanarkshire are often on the lookout for walk leaders, and we often share volunteer vacancies across Lanarkshire on our social pages, so be sure to follow us!

Encourage your group or workplace to walk and wheel with Walking Scotland’s Step Count Challenge. This can be a great way to get people more active and encourage a bit of friendly competition!

Host a local map walk to map local walks in your area – this can be a great way to involve the community, get people out and about, and encourage them to map out their favourite walks. For information and inspiration on mapping local walks, check out Make Your Way.

Organisations for support

Walking Scotland

Walking Scotland is a Scottish charity who champion everyday walking through programmes, infrastructure and community opportunities. Key support includes walking resources and walk leader training.

Learn more

Transport for All

Transport for All is the disabled-led group breaking down barriers and transforming the transport system so disabled people can make the journeys they want. They provide resources on the rights of disabled people using transport and streets in the UK and run campaigns and events to help make pedestrian environments accessible to all.

Learn more

Walk Wheel Cycle Trust

Walk Wheel Cycle Trust Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly Sustrans) are a national charity working for and with communities, helping them come to life by walking, wheeling and cycling to create healthier places and happier lives for everyone.

Learn more

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