Martin bought Nordic walking to the UK in 2004 and since trained thousands of Nordic walking Instructors, physiotherapists, and clinical teams. He also runs a successful group in London and travels the world training International WALX partners.
Leisure entrepreneur with a proven track record of building health, outdoor activity and lifestyle brands & products. Mike is committed to developing sustainable concepts that encourage participation and ensure retention.
Physical activity promoter, exercise referral specialist, Author and creator of innovative programmes which change lives. Gill supports the WALX and NWUK Instructor network to develop effective walking groups in the UK and abroad
WALX HQ retail assistant – Nicky is the friendly face that greets people in the WALX HQ store, processes internet orders and ensures deliveries arrive on time. She supports Instructors with shop n drop parcels.
Claire is a total body walking Instructor with WALX Dorset and heads up the Silent strides walking to music concept. She supports people to choose the right training packages and start their new groups.
Office Manager extraordinaire – Lisa is IT and Instructor support, she builds Instructor websites, manages their monthly accounts via the WALX portal, and is always at the end of the phone for them.
Edward is the WALX store Manager – with a background in competitive swimming and a career at the helm of major outdoor retailers, Edward is responsible for the promotion and distribution of the patented WALX poles and associated walking accessories.
The WALX® Evolution Statement (Official)
Nordic Walking UK is the founding organisation that pioneered Nordic Walking in the UK.
Over more than two decades, our work helped over half a million people in the UK, plus many other countries around the World, become more active through walking-based programmes.
As understanding of health, fitness, behaviour change, and inclusive exercise evolved, so did our approach.
WALX® was created as the modern evolution of Nordic Walking.
WALX® builds on the foundations established by Nordic Walking UK and expands them into a complete, evidence-led system for Total Body Walking®, combining:
• Structured instructor training
• Health, fitness and wellbeing expertise
• Behaviour-change principles
• Patented ergonomic walking poles
• Integrated booking, management and retention systems
Today, WALX® is the active brand delivering walking-based fitness, wellbeing and instructor training across the UK, while Nordic Walking UK remains the original authority and heritage foundation behind this work.
In short:
Nordic Walking UK laid the foundations. WALX® delivers the future
Having all been in the fitness industry longer than we care to admit and the founders of Nordic Walking UK, we have seen a few fads come and go and we know that nothing beats the combination of natural movement, fresh air and fun! That’s why we decided to use our expertise to create our “Health Club without walls” where professional Instructors Coaches and Guides are always on hand (or foot) to make every step count, every session enjoyable and most importantly…. affordable too!
Read our story and follow our steps…
By 2018 we had outgrown the Festival field in Swanage and wanted our own exclusive location in a more central position with better transport links. Our stunning Festival HUB in Corfe Castle was a great hit…views of the Castle, walking distance to the Village and with great bus and even…
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Back at a very hot Blenheim Palace – the team managed to keep the demos going as crowds ran for shade in 30 degree temperatures! Gill was on stage talking to local radio and Instructors form all over the UK took it in turns to spread the word about Nordic…
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Back in the Lakes again with our trusty trailer and Dome – fingers crossed for good weather and the chance to actually meet people this year! What a difference form the storms of 2017 – it was HOT HOT HOT and we had packed Taster sessions and huge interest on…
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The word was out….. Nordic Walkers wanted to get together, learn more and enjoy amazing walks. Once again despite a massive storm removing our Marquees the night before, we managed to host a fantastic second festival event in Swanage. Over 500 people joined us for the iconic walks, challenges and…
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Back at Blenheim Palace for Countryfile Live and this time it was Ellie who got the Nordic Walking demo! Our team had a ball down by the Riverside as we encouraged folk to pick up some poles and experience the whole body workout! We even added a song and dance…
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The HQ Team were getting more requests to attend shows, exhibitions and festivals so enter the BIG PURPLE DOME! There would be no missing the NWUK Team from now on that’s for sure! The Dome was a massive hit at the Keswick Mountain Festival and it even survived the storms…
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The WI held their UK Fair at Alexandra Palace in 2017 and Gill was invited as expert speaker to talk about walking, the benefits of using poles and how being outside can benefit your health. The ripple effect was that local Instructors were invited to speak to their local WI…
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Following the event in Seville, we thought it was time to get to know the Purple people across the UK so we got together with a local running Marathon event and created the Purbeck NW Marathon and a shorter but equally hard 16 mile challenge. To make sure all levels…
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Mike Bushell from BBC Breakfast came to Purbeck to film the HQ Team with the local group. He had a go at learning the basics before joining the group for a scenic walk. Along the way he chatted to them about the benefits they had experienced and also remarked on…
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In August 2016 we joined the Countryfile Live Team at Blenheim Palace – Instructors from across the UK manned the stand and helped with Tasters and Demos. We managed to chat to Adam and other presenters from the show about Nordic Walking too
Always ahead of the curve, we wanted to protect our walkers and leaders from the risks associated with turning up on a walk that was too difficult or unsuitable for due to medical issues. We also wanted to make sure that Instructors could manage their admin and communication, avoid taking…
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In 2015 the NWUK team were commissioned by the Seville Tourist board to create an International Conference for Instructors and Walkers. Taking in the City of Seville and neighbouring walled citadel of Carmona, this event was a first! There was a mix of presentations, themed walks and a challenge event…
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Our fourth event in 2014 saw us embrace everything form Roller skis, Bungypump and even Nerf guns in our tradition of creating innovative and fun programmes. Instructors from all over the UK joined us for two days of presentations, workshops and business advice from Mike and Innes
How delighted were we when we won our first major award! The UK Active outdoor programmes category was all new but we will still up against some very stiff competition. The judging was stringent, endless evidence of best practice was submitted and our protocols, training, systems and values were under…
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In 2013 Gill was commissioned by BLOOMSBURY PRESS to write a book for their Complete Guide series. With the help of groups around the UK and partners Worldwide, she penned a manual that is as useful for Instructors and Leaders as it is for those curious to know more about…
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Our third conference was a combined physical activity and nordic walking event with speakers such as Bob Laventure Consultant on Physical Activity and Older people at the British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health and Robin Gargrave from YMCA fit. Once again we added more walking based…
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Having doubled in size we held our second conference for over 300 Instructors in Northampton. We launched several of our new programmes including our wellbeing (with balance, breathing and smovey exercises and ultimate nordic concepts such as ski fit and trek fit
Our team developed the CYQ certificate in fitness and nordic walking and became a CYQ Centre. We also wrote a bespoke exercise referral qualification and continued to create new and innovative Programmes as a weight loss course in conjunction with Pete Cohen (known as the weight loss guru)
By 2010 we had a dedicated bunch of Instructors who delivering nordic walking tuition in the UK and keen to learn more. We wanted to make sure they understood the history but more importantly began to upskill in order to change more lives. We invited Pole walking pioneers Tom Rutlin…
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We moved to new larger offices and training rooms in Olney as the staff team grew to 4 and we began training new Tutors and building the all new NWUK website