BACK ON TRACK
BBC Countryfile Magazine|Special 2023
Walking in natural surroundings can have astonishing benefits for our health - it can even help to rebuild confidence and resilience. That's why the charity Crisis is leading walks for homeless people in the spectacular settings of the Peak District National Park. Do the walks work? Mark Hillsdon went to find out...
Mark Hillsdon
BACK ON TRACK

Having missed our rendezvous at Hope station in the Peak District, it takes a good 20 minutes before I catch up with the rest of my walking group. I hurry along cool green lanes, where brambles are starting to send out their first pinky white flowers, and dog roses droop over banks of ferns.

Soon the lanes open out into steep-banked drovers' trails, rough underfoot, with tall drystone walls fronted by towering purple foxgloves on either side.

Finally, I hit open countryside and the craggy beauty of the Peak District unfolds under a cloudless sky. I have also caught up with my fellow walkers.

Steve Sylvan, the walk leader, greets me with a smile. "You found us then," he says in a soft Glaswegian accent. Steve works as a progression coach for homelessness charity Crisis and is tasked with "supporting members to overcome any barriers they face in achieving their goals".

Steve is the driving force behind Wellbeing Walks, run by the charity's Sunlight Centre in South Yorkshire. The walks offer people who are homeless, or at risk of having to sleep rough, the chance to get out and enjoy the therapeutic properties of nature, in what is today dubbed a 'green prescription'.

Today, three Crisis members, as they are called, have joined a clutch of staff and three rangers from the Peak District National Park to walk the eight miles from Hope to Edale.

The walks first started in 2015, were then put on hold during various lockdowns and started up again in May 2021. Having the right kit is an issue and Steve is grateful to several outdoor clothing companies, including Mammut and Osprey, who have donated boots, rucksacks and waterproofs, which are then loaned out to members.

Bu hikaye BBC Countryfile Magazine dergisinin Special 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye BBC Countryfile Magazine dergisinin Special 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

BBC COUNTRYFILE MAGAZINE DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
Guilt-Free Meat? - Should the world stop eating meat to tackle the climate crisis? Chris Baraniuk meets an experimental farmer who says we don't all have to become vegetarians
BBC Countryfile Magazine

Guilt-Free Meat? - Should the world stop eating meat to tackle the climate crisis? Chris Baraniuk meets an experimental farmer who says we don't all have to become vegetarians

Should the world stop eating meat to tackle the climate crisis? Chris Baraniuk meets an experimental farmer who says we don't all have to become vegetarians. Livestock farming around the world is facing scrutiny because of its greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, the sector contributes somewhere between 11.1% and 19.6% of total emissions. Meat production is roughly twice as bad as the production of plant-based food, according to some analyses. And beef is the worst of all. Study after study has suggested that, in order to curtail the devastating effects of climate change, we ought to shift to a diet containing less meat - or even go vegetarian or vegan.

time-read
8 dak  |
October 2024
Discover Cider Country - Explore mellow golden countryside, pedalling between medieval villages, historic inns and fruitful orchards, on a delightful Herefordshire Cider Circuit adventure with Julie Brominicks
BBC Countryfile Magazine

Discover Cider Country - Explore mellow golden countryside, pedalling between medieval villages, historic inns and fruitful orchards, on a delightful Herefordshire Cider Circuit adventure with Julie Brominicks

Explore mellow golden countryside, pedalling between medieval villages, historic inns and fruitful orchards, on a delightful Herefordshire Cider Circuit adventure with Julie Brominicks. I'm cycling Porter's Perfection, one of three cider circuits developed for Visit Herefordshire over the past few years. Each showcases a section of this bucolic county's loveliest villages, pubs, orchards and cidermakers via lanes suited to bicycles - e-bikes for hill-averse cyclists like me. The idea is to allow you to appreciate the sights, sounds and smells of cider country while traversing roads never meant for modern cars. If you have dodgy knees, or are keen to indulge in the local adult apple juice as you go (remember, it's illegal to cycle while under the influence), Visit Herefordshire also promotes cider bus routes.

time-read
7 dak  |
October 2024
TOP 10 WILD AUTUMN FOODS
BBC Countryfile Magazine

TOP 10 WILD AUTUMN FOODS

Make the most of seasonal abundance with foraging tips and recipe ideas from wild food expert Liz Knight

time-read
10 dak  |
October 2024
The taste of England
BBC Countryfile Magazine

The taste of England

Amid pastures farmed by her family for more than four centuries, Mary Quicke is reviving forgotten dairy traditions to produce delicious Devon cheeses

time-read
6 dak  |
October 2024
How to eat 30 plants a week
BBC Countryfile Magazine

How to eat 30 plants a week

As science proves the many health-boosting benefits of eating at least 30 different plants each week, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall shares recipes to help you meet the magic target

time-read
5 dak  |
October 2024
RARE RAFT SPIDER MAKES A COMEBACK
BBC Countryfile Magazine

RARE RAFT SPIDER MAKES A COMEBACK

Thanks to dedicated conservation work, this impressive but vulnerable arachnid is resurgent in East Anglia

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
SPECTACULAR STONEHENGE FINDS
BBC Countryfile Magazine

SPECTACULAR STONEHENGE FINDS

Following the latest astonishing revelation about the Stonehenge Altar Stone's Scottish origins, Dixe Wills looks at recent discoveries that have changed the way we view this impressive and enigmatic Neolithic monument

time-read
4 dak  |
October 2024
GALLOWAY NATIONAL PARK DEBATE
BBC Countryfile Magazine

GALLOWAY NATIONAL PARK DEBATE

Would this protected status bring welcome recognition and attention - or overcrowding and problems for farmers?

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
Farmers are valued, so why do they feel we don't care?
BBC Countryfile Magazine

Farmers are valued, so why do they feel we don't care?

For farmers out in their fields in all seasons, worried about the future as dramatic levels of rainfall blamed on climate change damage their crops, inflation and uncertainty push up their costs and what they see as unfair imports threaten their livelihoods, here's a spot of unexpectedly good news: the rest of us think you are doing a good job.

time-read
2 dak  |
October 2024
Pumpkin patches
BBC Countryfile Magazine

Pumpkin patches

Find the perfect jack-o'-lantern for Halloween at a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. Some are simple affairs in tranquil countryside; others offer activities ranging from ghost trains to spooky mazes.

time-read
2 dak  |
October 2024