Athletics club and charity, Fitmums & Friends, Hull City Council and Hull Culture and Leisure, Leisure Services are delighted to announce the launch of Walk Hull – West Park: a new community walking scheme.
Walk Hull - West Park is a community walking initiative designed to encourage people to walk in Hull’s West Park. It combines signs in the park with an easy-to-use smartphone app which tells walkers exactly how far they have travelled.
Whether people want a gentle stroll or an active power walk, they can use their smartphones to track the distance they cover by scanning the Walk Hull QR codes located on the seven signs placed around the park. When they finish, the Walk Hull app will tell them how far they have walked that day, as well as the combined efforts of everyone that has used the Walk Hull scheme so far.
Walk Hull - West Park will be launched on Thursday 20th February when Fitmums & Friends Chief Officer Sam Barlow BEM will join with members of the Social Eyes Walking Group to take the first Walk Hull walk.
Sam explains: “Walking, particularly in green spaces like West Park, can have massive benefits for our physical and mental health. We are delighted to be launching this new walking scheme which we hope will encourage more people to come along to the park and enjoy a walk here”.
“The app is really easy to use and, as well as showing people how far they have walked on any one occasion, it also lets people know how far the whole community that has used the scheme at West Park has travelled. We hope this feature will encourage people who live around West Park to come out and enjoy all of the benefits of a lovely walk in the park.”
Funding for Walk Hull - West Park has been provided by the Public Health Department of Hull City Council and Hull Culture and Leisure, Leisure Service to support sustainable physical activity. Councillor Marjorie Brabazon, Chair of Hull Culture and Leisure says: “We are delighted to be working with Fitmums & Friends on the development of Walk Hull – West Park. This is an exciting, innovative yet simple scheme that we hope will encourage more local people to come along to West Park to enjoy a nice walk.”
Julia Weldon, Director of Public Health and Adult Social Care at Hull City Council, says: “Anything that encourages us to be active and provides opportunities to do so is very welcome. Not all of us are aware than just ten minutes of brisk walking counts as exercise and, done regularly, can help a range of health issues including high blood pressure, lower back pain and risk of developing type 2 Diabetes. This initiative is a good way to move more and thoroughly explore one of the fantastic public parks we have here in Hull.
“Fitmums and Friends are an absolutely fantastic group of volunteers who support hundreds of people in the city to get active and stay that way. They’ve put a lot of work into developing this project and, as with all the work they do, it’s firmly anchored in local need”.
For more information and to download the Walk Hull app, please visit walkhull.fitmums.org.uk
