There are plenty of opportunities to try out a short stroll using Nordic walking sticks or take in some of the breath-taking views of Wealden on a longer walk during this month’s Sussex Coast and Country Walking Festival.—Wealden District Council, 13 September 2016
The Walking Festival, organised by Wealden District Council and Eastbourne Borough Council, runs from 24 September to 2 October and features over 60 different walks catering for strollers and enthusiasts alike.
Some of the Nordic walking taster sessions only involve 2-3 miles and allow everyone taking part to try using Nordic walking poles.
These increase upper body activity, widening the range of muscles used and increase cardiovascular activity. Instruction will be given.
More information about the benefits of Nordic Walking is given on the Coast and Country Walking Festival website: http://sussexwalkingfestival.org.uk/nordic-healthwalking-the-activity-and-the-charity/
There are short Nordic walking sessions taking place nearly every day of the Sussex Coast and Country Walking Festival. Find a location that suits you:
Saturday 24 September- Abbots Amble Trail, Arlington.
Monday 26 September- Cuckmere Haven.
Tuesday 27 September – Forest Row.
Wednesday 28 September – Eastbourne.
Thursday 29 September – Buxted Park.
Friday 30 September –Arlington Reservoir.
Saturday 1 October – Eastbourne.
Sunday 2 October- Forest Row.
There is also a longer Nordic Walking session taking place at Abbots Wood, Arlington, covering five miles on Wednesday 28 September.
“Walking in the Wealden countryside is always enjoyable,” said Councillor Claire Dowling, Cabinet member for Public Health and Community Safety. “By using your upper body as well, through walking poles, it becomes a simple but comprehensive way of exercising your whole body.”
To find further information about Festival walks please go to www.sussexwalkingfestival.org.uk . Or ring 01892 602757 between Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm.
Many of the walking events in the Festival feature historical themes.
On Wednesday 28 September there is Venit at Pevensae, a 5 mile walk to commemorate the landing of William the Conqueror on what was Wealden’s hidden Saxon coast 950 years ago.
Friday 30 September’s Burning, Looting and Pillaging walk looks at how the Normans treated Saxon settlements like Hooe and the surrounding countryside once they had arrived.
On Thursday 29 September, a few days before the 60th anniversary of the first publication of Winnie the Pooh, there’s a walk featuring the author AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh Places on Ashdown Forest, and on Saturday 1 October there is the short one mile Winnie the Pooh Anniversary Amble in Ashdown Forest.
There are also six wheel-chair friendly walks taking place in Pevensey Bay, Eastbourne Old Town, Hampden Park, Hailsham and Eastbourne Shinewater Country Park. Sussex Walking Festival
