County Durham residents are being encouraged to improve their lifestyles by getting out and heading for the beach as part of the Heritage Coast Outdoor Festival running from 28 May to 5 June.
Over 40 activities are being organised by Durham Heritage Coastline as part of the Reach for the Beach initiative, including kayak taster sessions, rock rambles, short walks and a half marathon.
Durham County Council will be tying into the Reach for the Beach initiative with a series of walks, as part of their Everyone Active North East campaign and National walking month. The walks, which are spread across different environmental settings throughout County Durham, include:
- National Nature reserves – Castle Eden dene walk – 22 May
- Durham Heritage Coastline – Easington Colliery walk – 23 May
- Durham Wildlife Nature reserves – West Rainton walk – 24 May
- Areas of outstanding natural beauty – Stanhope walk – 25 May
- Historical castle – Bishop Auckland walk – 26 May
- Durham heritage Coastline – Blackhall walk – 27 May
- Celebrating our coast at Dalton Park – 28 May
The walks are open to everyone, and will be led by the Council’s trained walk leaders. All walks are designed to last between 30-90 minutes, and are on safe, risk assessed routes.
Durham County Council’s Principal Physical Activity Manager, Andrew Brown, said: “Our walks are a great opportunity for people to make their first steps towards being more active or simply maintain a healthy lifestyle.
“There are so many wonderful places to walk in the natural environment across County Durham, from our England Coastal Path, forests, long distance paths, river banks, parks to miles of rights of way. These organised walks are a great way to explore new routes in your local area in the safety of a group and meet new people.”
A leaflet with all 40 Reach for the Beach activities can be downloaded from http://www.durhamheritagecoast.org and for a timetable of the organised walks, please visit www.durham.gov.uk/walk4life