The Active Travel HUB in Irvine, North Ayreshire opened in 2019  and they primarily offer walking and cycling activities to try and promote a shift in behaviours towards more sustainable and greener ways of getting out and about.  The Active Travel regeneration officer Jessica Tang explains how they are expanded their pole walking programme.

We originally brought Nordic Walking UK in to deliver a bespoke Nordic Walking training programme to North Ayrshire back in 2017. Shortly after this training we started offering Nordic Walking trials throughout North Ayrshire to see what uptake would be like. We were pleasantly surprised with the numbers registered for the sessions.

Based on the success of the Nordic Walking trials, we decided to offer fortnightly Nordic Walks which is now a permanent feature in our active travel delivery. Including poles into our behaviour change programme has been a great addition as it taps into a different target audience – the heart beats a bit quicker, the pace is faster and the muscles are worked that wee bit more. It is a great alternative which increases our numbers in getting people outside, enjoy nature and explore the wonderful local trails and scenery that this local authority has to offer.’

WALX returned in April 23 to train a second tranche of volunteers and local deliverers including local walking groups and instructors. The training was bespoke to our needs and suitable for the mixed ability learners. Great ideas for encouraging people to be more active on foot!

Everyone had a ball despite the chilly weather – lots of walking with poles (uphill and down dales), practicing our navigation and even doing a ‘biathlon’ as part of the Family/Kids programme!

“We have had so much positive feedback about Martin the instructor and the course itself. It has been great to have WALX with us again. No doubt, a third course will hopefully be arranged in the near future.”