I started Nordic Walking in 2009 as part of a fitness crusade. As a person who loves being outdoors, this ticked all the boxes for working all the muscle groups, being out on the trails and being able to walk my dogs.

Nordic walking, or the power of poles, is very addictive and I quickly found myself taking part in a variety of crazy challenges but best of all I decided to turn this hobby into my business. It wasn’t going to be just another fitness group, it needed the energy and humour that I discovered for myself through being in Mother Nature’s gym with the poles.

As a menopausal woman, struggling with brain fog, weight gain and lost identity, along with mental health issues, I was desperate to find a way to be me again. Along the way through the fatigue and demands of motherhood, burning out in a career I didn’t care for and trying to find my inner-sassy-sexy-woman, I found SMILEage and Me, with the program I created using poles and walking.

I shared the program with others and it was a privilege to see so many women and men blossoming and finding their inner glow again. There has been a brief hiatus but under the new name, WALX Kennet Valley, I will bring you that inner glow program again.

Your age influences many things about your life: your choice of restaurant or reading book, your dating habits, your TV tastes and even holiday preferences. But it reveals surprisingly little about your personal health, fitness, vulnerability to injury and illness, or cognitive function.

What matters, according to a growing number of health experts, is your “biological age” – how your body is functioning relative to your calendar age.

So let’s make 2024 all about YOU and your YOUnique-self. Age younger, stronger, healthier and happier and add a youthful bounce to your step.

Find out more by searching through the WALX schedule.

There are Taster sessions for Power of Poles, plus the Beginner courses.

Try out Total Body WALX sessions with our new Park Fitness WALX.

Wellness WALX will appeal to those who need some calmer, meditative and enjoy gentle somatic exercises.

(Somatic Exercises Improve Symptoms of Stress And Anxiety by Stabilising the Nervous System).

The ever-popular Friday Social WALX follow the trails and we finish at a cafe or pub. The walks are okay for well-behaved dogs on leads.

Each season I add something new to ensure we enjoy the showcase of Mother Nature.