COVID19 and walking
It is safe to walk in the outdoors and good for your physical and mental health too
You can find the latest information on the UK government website.
If using public transport to go walking, face coverings are mandatory.
Informal walks with family & friends can take place in groups of any size.
Ramblers group walks can take place in groups of any size .
Car-sharing can take place.
Before any walks, please do a Lateral Flow Test to keep others safe.
COVID19 guidance
Updated 20th April 2021
Walks can continue as this is good for our health and wellbeing but the following precautions must be taken:
This is a family-friendly group run by volunteers with "go to" people who have been on the walk before and hence have some knowledge of the walk.
You are responsible for your walk and should come adequately prepared for all eventualities.
Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the walk so that we can start on time.
We connect with each other via Telegram for each walk so that we can share photos together etc
Greater Manchester Moving Walking Programme Lead
Lou Robbins @LouRobbins @GMWalks
It’s great to hear that your group recognises the importance of walking for the physical health and mental wellbeing. For many, maintaining the social connection in a Covid-safe way is important, whilst for others they may not want to put themselves at risk by walking in a group.
Yes, you can still go for a walk outside in groups of up to 6 people from different households, whilst observing social distancing (2m between people where possible, or 1 metre with face coverings and avoiding face-face contact where it’s not). Of course if anyone is feeling unwell or has symptoms, they should not attend.
Recommendations also include:
- Wash hands before and after the walk
- Try to reduce touching gates, stiles, sharing pens, papers etc
- If possible, sanitise hands after touching communal surfaces
- Try to meet in large open spaces and consider the route to avoid bottle necks.
On the GM Walking website, we have a page dedicated to walking during Covid-19. On that page there is a link to the Government website that summarises local restrictions. This is the best place to go to be sure what the specific restrictions are in any local authority area at any given time.
We are holding a virtual walking festival from 12th -25th October. The Let’s Walk Festival aims to motivate people to walk in any way that suits them. We have goals, activities and challenges to suit a range of motivations and circumstances.