Five Fun Activities to Combine with Your Next Walk

by Catherine Sempill

Walking is inherently healthy, relaxing and a wonderful way to connect with good people. And like any hobby, there are endless ways to deepen or vary your experience out on the trail. Whether you need extra motivation to stay fit ahead of a longer adventure, or you just want to add more dimensions to an activity you already enjoy, here are five fun activities to combine with your next walk, in no particular order.

Picnicking

Is there anything more quintessentially British than eating a sandwich in a field mid-walk?

Picnicking is a pretty natural part of the walking life, but there are orders of picnic. The utilitarian sandwich break on any old flat-ish piece of ground is at one end of the scale. A mini spread of delicacies (deli pork pie and strawberries?), a nice picnic blanket and a picnic spot with a view sits at the other end of the scale.

If we’re talking two activities for the price of one, make an occasion out of your lunch break and plan a great picnic meal to enjoy as part of your walking day.

Foraging

Speaking of food, if you know how to identify plants, adding a little foraging to your outing can bring a fun new dimension to your walk.

Nothing helps you revel in the abundance of the countryside like snacking on blackberries right off the bush or plucking wild garlic for a simple pesto dinner. And if you want to reframe your relationship with nettles from hindrance to bounty, study up on how to make nettle tea and snip a few leaves for brewing post-walk.

Wild swimming

Why just go for a walk when you can go for a walk and a swim? If your day’s route passes a possible swimming spot, jump on that wild swimming bandwagon.

Chilly water is invigorating after a couple of hours’ walking, and nothing says immersion in nature like literally immersing yourself in a body of water.

Birdwatching

One of the joys of exploring the countryside and wild places of the UK is slowing down and noticing the details. And birdwatching is all about the details — colours, shapes, sizes… Antics!

Whether you dive headfirst into this hobby with bird books and checklists or take a more casual approach by simply noticing the birds around you, birdwatching and walking are a perfect match.

Nature photography

Some people prefer to go analogue and just be. Others find that bringing a camera along enhances their time in nature as they’re nudged to truly LOOK.

Dappled light, bees perched on a wildflower just so, emerging from an enclosed section of trail to find a bucolic scene of rolling hills dotted with sheep… Capturing moments and landscapes, whether with a camera or your phone, can add a lovely little something extra to your walks.

If you’re excited to head out on a walk and you want a nudge to slow down and really take in the experience, why not give one of these activities a try… or think of your own!

A little note on safety from the editor

We want you to have a great time on your Contours walking holiday so we need to point out that some of these activities, while fun, do carry inherent risk. If you plan to go wild swimming or foraging, please ensure you have the necessary experience, and don’t forget about insurance. Activities outside your official itinerary aren't part of your Contours tour, so please be aware you engage in them at your own risk.