WALX Dorset provides a range of over 30 walks and classes a week for everyone across East Dorset. There are 12 instructors and 20 walk leaders that can introduce you to the World of WALX and provide regular classes close to where you live or work.
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Take a peek at what you might get up to on one of our Walx
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This month we are delighted to shine our spotlight on Charlotte Marsden, our well deserved member of the month. Charlotte has been part of WALX Dorset since September 2019. Charlotte is based in the New Forest and has walked with many of different instructors and groups and now she is part of WALX Dorset and
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Using WALX poles can make all the difference when you’re taking on a walking challenge. They support your body, improve posture, give confidence on tricky terrain, and help you walk further with less strain. Anne, one of our walkers, recently proved just that on her Camino journey. To celebrate 70 years of friendship, Anne met […]
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Dorset’s heathlands — like Holt Heath and Newton Heath — are some of the rarest habitats in the UK, home to species you won’t find anywhere else. But in hot, dry weather, they are incredibly vulnerable to wildfire. Recent Fires in Dorset This summer’s blazes have been a stark reminder of how quickly fire can […]
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“Every Step Counts: Jenny’s Journey with WALX Dorset” When Jenny Frankland joined WALX Dorset back in 2019, she was feeling low, lethargic, and unsure where to turn. Battling a lung disease, she struggled to find an activity she could both manage and enjoy. Walking was the answer —but walking alone made it all too […]
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Role: WALX Guide
Phil is the WALX Dorset official photographer and such a prolific walker that we get to see the views he shares even if we cant make all of the walks. Phil walks with every Instructor in Dorset and also travels further afield to join our neighbouring groups too. A real advocate for WALX he leads photography workshops and is known to enjoy a joke or two!
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Role: WALX Coach
As a physiotherapist, I have seen the amazing effects that being active outdoors can bring, not only to people’s mobility, but also their general health,sense of well-being and quality of life.
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Role: WALX Guide
Bessie the WALX hound likes to be at the front to lead the pack whilst constantly checking everyone is present. She knows every route and will let everyone know if any Deer or squirrels are around too!
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Role: WALX Master
Lucie’s love of walking and the outdoors developed from spending 13 years in Scotland. She has undertaken walking challenges including Oxfam’s 100k Trialwalker and Bristol’s half marathon Sunshine Walk for Breast Cancer.
Lucie co-ordinates the whole programme and delivers in all 3 categories including Yoga WALX !
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Role: WALX Master
Jo King is ex army and an avid walker. She can be seen striding out around Weymouth 3 times a day with her dog Truffle and now wants to inspire others to join her. A fun character with heaps of energy, she leads walks of all distances in Weymouth, Purbeck and in between.
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Role: WALX Master
I love being outside (in all weathers!!), working as part of a team, meeting new people and using the many transferable skills from my nursing background
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Role: WALX Master
Claire Twisleton is a nurse practitioner at a local surgery and she just loves hiking. Claire leads walks and inspires people to get outdoors for a local charity and hopes to encourage people to join walking events and inspirational hikes such as Snowden.
Claire will be delivering Power of poles workshops and wellness sessions for those with health issues and low confidence but also striding out on some great weekend and evening hikes.
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Role: WALX Coach
Lizzie’s Nordic walking journey began on her Personal training course in 2010 and she has been walking ever since. Moving to the Beautiful Isle of Purbeck in 2018 continued to fuel her passion for health and wellness, whilst being outdoors. Why wouldn’t you with scenery like this!
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Role: WALX Master
Claire Davis is popular local fitness Instructor who delivers for a number of clubs in Purbeck. She delivers total body walking sessions with a mix of H.I.I.T and other fun moves. A bit of a disco Diva she is known for her clubacise moves so watch this space walkers…..She got into walking due to an Alzheimer’s trek in memory of her Mum and will be teaching Power of poles and fitness sessions around Wareham and Purbeck
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Role: WALX Coach
I’ve always played sports from a young age and connected to friends, family and nature through physical activity, so it made sense to become firstly a swim coach, tennis coach and personal trainer and now a WALX Leader and Nordic Walking Instructor.
More recently I have watched people close to me struggle with preventable diseases and my interests have naturally developed over the years on how food, fitness, fun, community, sleep, nature and conscious breathing exercises and the environment you surround yourself with all help wellness and longevity.
Imagine working out in nature? What would it feel like and how would things be better if you did?
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Role: WALX Master
I lived in beautiful rural mid Wales until I was twenty which gave me my passion for walking.
This has stayed with me throughout my life as one of the best ways to maintain fitness.
I have worked in the NHS for over 40 years and my background in health has given me the drive to encourage others to be as fit as they can.
I discovered Nordic Walking in 2013 and my goal is to motivate other people to find that walking with poles provides a whole body workout.
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Role: WALX Master
I have always had a love of the great outdoors and activities connected with it. Walking, mountain biking, trail running, horse riding to name a few. My life is shared with a group of Whippets whom I adore and walk daily in the local countryside, Animals have been in my life from a young age and always will be.
I wanted to become a WALX Instructor in order to help people become fitter and stronger in beautiful surroundings and realise the physical and mental benefits are second to none.
My background is in Fitness Instruction and I am training to be a Level 4 specialist Personal Trainer so I hope to put my skills to good use.
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Role: WALX Master
Emma has been a Nordic Walking Leader since 2016 when she lived in Wallingford, Oxfordshire and moved to Dorset in 2019. Having continued to enjoy Nordic Walking locally in and around Poole, she decided to become an NWUK instructor in 2020.
She loves being outside regardless of the weather and enjoys walking and talking with others whilst exercising
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Role: WALX Coach
Justin is a WALX weight-loss champion! In 2019, he was very unfit, morbidly obese and suffering from a heart condition, exercise was a dirty word – however after tragically losing his sister to cancer he decided to make positive steps to change his life.
Along with healthy dietary changes, Justin took up Nordic Walking and discovered a passion he never believed he would have had. Becoming a regular walker, he shed a massive 11 stone and attributes much of this incredible success to the benefits of getting out walking with the wonderful people at WALX Dorset.
He is so passionate about Nordic Walking and the role it had in his weight loss journey, that during 2021 he trained first to become a Walk Leader and then onto becoming an Instructor as he is keen to help others facing the same challenges he overcame and discover the Power of Poles.
Role: WALX Guide
I became interested in Nordic Walking after seeing a demonstration by a local instructor at an exhibition for over 50s some years ago. Since I’ve retired from nursing I’ve had more time to enjoy meeting new people and making new friends. It’s a great way to keep fit, lose weight and general wellbeing while discovering more of our glorious countryside.
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Role: WALX Guide
Kaye – retired teacher who loves being in the Great Outdoors. I became a Walk Leader because of my own love for fitness and a desire to encourage others to engage with walking. I realised in lock down how important not only the physical benefits were but also the Mental health ones. Walking is for everyone of any ability and totally inclusive.
As a Mindfulness Instructor I am aware of the huge impact that being outside in nature can have on people, and this combined with Walk Leading is a fantastic combination to offer.
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Role: WALX Guide
More info to follow…
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Role: WALX Guide
More info to follow…
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Role: WALX Guide
“I have always enjoyed exercise in many forms, walking, swimming, cycling, yoga, gym sessions, tennis and badminton but never really did enough to keep myself fit and healthy. Learning to Nordic Walk was the turning point on my weight loss and fitness journey.
In January 2017 I signed up for the Walk 1000 miles challenge and was determined to walk 1-3 miles every day to achieve that goal. Two weeks later I attended a Nordic Walking taster session and I was hooked.
Not only could I walk greater distances with ease, I also discovered that I no longer suffered from swollen hands and feet after a walk; I believe that this is due to better circulation from more upper body use. I was also delighted to find that I could walk up and down hills with less knee pain and far less fear of tripping as my poles helped to stabilize every step.
Since the Covid lockdown my husband has also started Nordic Walking. We now take 2-3 mile walks every morning and enjoy including longer walks in all our travels to both foreign and UK locations.
I would like to help and encourage everyone to take full advantage of the benefits of Nordic Walking while enjoying the beautiful British countryside right outside our own front door.”
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Role: WALX Team
Mike is the business brains at WALX HQ but he is known to walk one of the steepest hills in Purbeck every day with the WALX dog and will step up to lead walks on occasion – especially the Cider experience or anything that leads to a cove where he can check out the fishing!
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Role: WALX Coach
Gilly is an energetic Mum of two who combines her love of walking with her job as a swimming teacher. Gilly teaches Nordic Walking, Functional Fitness, Total Body Walx and Yoga WALX and leads WALX for all levels in and around Blandford and Dorchester.
from members of WALX Dorset
I joined Walx around 2.5 years ago and I can honestly say it is one of the best things I have ever done for myself. Since joining Walx, I’ve been to places that I would otherwise not have visited, and I do this with such lovely people who share the same interests that I do. I love spending time in nature, but I just wasn’t spending as much time doing this as I wanted to. Walking on your own and being mindful of your surrounds can be wonderful, but spending time with others in nature can be so uplifting. And Walx isn’t just good for the soul, it is beneficial for health too: Walx offer an extensive programme that caters for all abilities and ages. So, whether you enjoy yoga in open fields or woodlands, fast paced Nordic walks to burn calories in the open, kettle bells to tone, then I would encourage you to join Walxs, they offer so much more than this, including a variety of online classes. And it is a great way to socialise and meet new people, depending on where we are, we will stop off for a cuppa and cake too. I have made some lovely friends since joining and Walx, been to some incredible locations and I can most certainly say my membership will be for life.
My first walk with Gilly today and it was fabulous. Loads of hills that tested me, great company and scenery and fungi. Plenty of laughter and Gilly kept us all on our toes suddenly diverting us onto different paths. Definitely a walk I want to do again. Thank you to Gilly, the 2 Anne's and Bronwyn for making me so welcome
I started walking with this group in July 2020 and despite lockdowns have become so much fitter (and slimmer), exercising outdoors with other people is fab and you get to see bits of the local area you never knew existed (despite living here all my life!) You will have lots of fun at the same time as getting fitter and making friends
Nordic Walking was recommended to me after a cancer diagnosis. and I was very lucky to learn to Nordic Walk with Lucie Cormack . She, along with all the other Nordic Walking leaders and instructors always put on a wide variety of interesting walks to suit different levels of stamina and ability. The company is always great and the views are wonderful, even when it’s pouring down (as long as you are dressed appropriately for the weather). People come from all different Walx of life (pardon the pun) so you will never be short of a good conversation or if you prefer, you can happily just enjoy the companionship. Oh and just to add, my health is a lot better for all the exercise and fresh air that I have had since I have been Nordic Walking .
Over the years I have tried gym, step, Zumba and more but never felt more at ease than here. There's no stress, no pressure so it's been just great. I have even encouraged 3 people to join, what more can I say!
I started Nordic Walking in July 2018 and fell in love with it straight away. Why I love it so much is that I have explored some beautiful locations in places I never knew existed and have made some really lovely friends too. For me, it isn’t just about the walking but the social aspect too. So it really is a ‘win win’!
Just wanted to say how after two months out of action due to surgery I appreciate even more how good Nordic Walking has been for my general fitness, not just legs but upper body also. All the clinicians I have dealt with in the last few weeks have commented on my rapid recovery and I am sure this has been helped by our Total Body WALX and Nordic WALX. I hope to be back with you all before too long!!!
WALX Dorset are amazing - I go Nordic Walking with a wellness group and we always work hard but at the right level for me. I feel so much better all over and am always glad I went! WE have so much fun that its simply not like EXERCISE!