Walking in Exeter’s beautiful green spaces is a great way to get active
Published: 6 September 2022
Walking is a fantastic way of improving both physical and mental health – and Exeter’s beautiful green spaces make it the perfect place for people to get active and enjoy the outdoors.
That’s the message from Cllr Josie Parkhouse, Lead Councillor for Leisure and Physical Activity, who is taking part in 12 Moves in 12 Months – a year-long challenge aimed at increasing wellbeing and activity.
It also aims to champion some of the amazing community groups and organisations in Exeter who are supporting people to be more active in their daily lives.
Cllr Parkhouse walked part of Exeter’s Green Circle, at Mincinglake Valley Park, which is run by Devon Wildlife Trust.
The Green Circle is a 12 mile circular route that provides a great walking experience within the boundaries of Exeter - from countryside valley parks to the pavements of quiet leafy suburbs.
Cllr Parkhouse said: “The Green Circle is a beautiful route that runs around Exeter and is so valued in our city. It’s quite a long route but you don't have to do all of it – it’s great just to do a small section, and there are lots of shorter walks.
“It’s just great to be out here in nature, just admiring the green spaces that we have and to get a little bit of exercise as well.
“You can download an app called Go Jauntly that allows you to follow if you're not sure where the Green Circle is and provides all kinds of information, and there are little signs that you can find all around the city that show you the way.”
She added: “Walking is great for your physical and mental wellbeing. It is just a really low intensity exercise that people can do, whether it's walking your dog in the park, going for a break from working at home and just having a little walk around the block.
“Our valley parks across the city are managed by Devon Wildlife Trust, and a lot of work is going on to get more people active and get more people into those spaces. We’ve got some great community physical activity organisers across the city who are hosting walks and getting people involved.
“They are trying to reach people who want to be more active, but maybe have a bit of anxiety about doing it on their own or that are just not sure where to start. So I’d really encourage them to get involved that way.”
Cllr Parkhouse was joined on the walk by Dom Caton of Live and Move, which is encouraging more people to use the Green Circle.
He said: “One of the main things we’re trying to do at the moment is to understand what the Green Circle means to people that live in and around it, and how they can build a sense of pride of place. It’s such a fantastic area for people to use to come and explore.
“We want to try and help encourage more people to do it. We’re looking at the infrastructure to encourage more people to use it with good walkways, signage and maintenance.
“I think it has massive wellbeing and mental health benefits as well as physical benefits. Just exploring and taking note of the sounds, the smells, the senses around you I think can be really, really important for people to reconnect with nature.”
12 Moves in 12 Months is part of the Live and Move #ShareYourMoves campaign to help people become more active in the city.
For more information about the Green Circle visit the Council’s website and download the Go Jauntly app from the App Store or Google Play.