TOP TIPS TO LIVEN UP YOUR DAILY WALK
If you’re getting bored of walking the same route every day around your local area, it’s time to shake things up. You can make your walk more fun and enjoyable with these ideas from our TOG24 team, who’ve been telling us about what they’ve been doing or seeing on their daily walks. It’s important that we all keep getting outside for our exercise and to see the world, so this Bank Holiday weekend, why not try something different. You never know, you might learn or discover something new too.
FANCY DRESS
This is guaranteed to put a smile on people’s faces. Across the nation, we’ve seen children and adults alike dress up for their daily walk. Whether that’s in a period costume (yes, it’s true!), a princess or a superhero outfit, people have been donning fancy dress to brighten up people’s days and in some cases, to raise vital funds for charities. Sale in Manchester even has its own group of superheroes, including Wonder Woman, Spiderman and Captain America. The ‘Superheroes of Sale Facebook’ page shows how their daily trips out are bring cheer to their local community. Go on, release your inner superhero. You know you want to!
Superheroes of Sale on Facebook
NIGHTTIME WALKING
You’ll be surprised what a difference it makes walking the same route at nighttime. If you’re lucky you’ll see nocturnal wildlife. You might spot bats, badgers, owls and, even if your walk is in an urban area, there will likely be the odd fox. Or you could try a stargazing app which will show you the position and names of stars, planets and constellations when you point your phone up at the night sky. Great for any budding astronomers in your household.
LITTER PICK
You can use your daily lockdown walk to do your bit for the local environment by picking up litter. Wear gloves, take a bin bag and if you have one, a litter picker. You’ll be surprised how much you collect. Remember to dispose of the litter correctly when you get home.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photographing the world during lockdown will produce a permanent record of this unusual time in our lives. Empty streets, families together on their doorstep or wildlife in places not normally seen are just some of the unusual sights you could shoot. You must remember to keep to the 2m rule social distancing rule, but the beauty of photography is that you can zoom in on your subjects and get up close to capture the true spirit of lockdown.
PAINTED ROCKS
TOG24’s Head of Design has been enjoying finding painted rocks in her village. Neighbours are painting stones and pebbles and then hiding them across the village for others to find on their daily walk. If you find one, you post a photo of it on the dedicated Facebook page and move it to another location for someone else to find. Remember to wash your hands after!
CREATE A GPS ART
GPS art is the use of a Global Positioning System to draw an image from your route. Since lockdown began, we’ve seen online lots of routes in the shape of hearts and the letters NHS as a tribute to all the frontline health workers. For inspiration and tips on how to create your own GPS art, check out Nathan Rae who is a master at it.
