We are very excited to announce that the Pink Ribbonwalk in association with woman&home has now launched with a brand new fifth venue! This summer the Pink Ribbonwalk will not only be travelling to Scone Palace, Blenheim Palace, Petworth House, Cholmondeley Castle but also Marble Hill Park, Twickenham in London.

This is the first time the Pink Ribbonwalk has come to London and it promises to be a great day with the route taking in the Thames path, Ham House and Teddington Lock to name but a few.

Kick-start your 2012 regime and join the electrifying atmosphere for a 10 or 20 mile fundraising walk and help raise funds for people affected by breast cancer.

Celebratory activities await you as you cross the finish line! Be presented with your much deserved medal, feel revived with a relaxing massage and enjoy a delicious barbeque meal with your team, new found friends and supporters.

Pink Ribbonwalk 2012 dates and locations are:

12 May – Scone Palace, Perthshire
19 May – Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
26 May – Petworth House, West Sussex
9 June – Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire
16 June – Marble Hill, Twickenham, London NEW!

Register

Register now at www.pinkribbonwalk.org.uk or call 0870 145 0101.

Quote promotional code PINK30 to be entered into a prize draw to win two tickets to Breast Cancer Care’s Carol’s by Candlelight Service in December 2012.

Your support

Join and support nearly 50,000 women and men diagnosed with this life-threatening illness in the UK each year. Breast Cancer Care provides expert information and skilled emotional support so that no-one need face breast cancer alone. Please help continue to be there for everyone who needs our help by taking part in the Pink Ribbonwalk.

Taking part

Registration fee £30
Fundraising target £175
Choose either a 10 or 20 mile walk
Create a team and invite your friends

If you are unable to walk you can still be part of this event by volunteering. At least 100 volunteers are needed to run this event; on the day support is essential. Volunteers can do anything from registering participants, cheering them along the walk to handing out medals when they finish. If you can help contact: pinkribbonwalk@breastcancercare.org.uk or call 0870 145 0101.

In March this year, Colonel Robert Jordan retires from the British Army after over 35 years service.  To mark this milestone in his life (and to prove he was still a young infantryman at heart) Robert decided to walk the 500 miles from Heidelberg where he was working with the US Army, back to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, where he was commissioned in 1976.

Getting walking fit again after a very long time behind a desk, Robert begain training in May in the woods and hills above the Neckar Valley – ideal preparation for a route that would include the Hunsruck, the Mosel, Eifel and Ardennes.   Route selection involved Google Maps (walking option) and three planning principles:

-          How much walking light would he have in NW Europe in Nov.

-          How far could he (realisitically) cover in daylight

-          Where could he expect to find free/cheap overnight accommodation

Walking on his own and without a support team, Robert was still keen to keep the weight down in his rucksack, but with cold and wet weather gear, spare boots, a medical pack and rations and water it weighed in at about 40lbs.  His three ‘essential’ items were his Meindl boots, his Berghaus rucksack itself and his Memory Map Adventurer 3500 GPS unit.

Setting out on 3 November his plan was to arrive at Sandhurst on 4 December – 32 days broken down into 6 days walking, one day for rest, recovery and administration.  This would require an average of 19-20 miles per day across some challenging but outstanding walking terrain.  In the event, due to a combination of training and preparation, incredibly good and unseasonable weather  (waterproofs only required four times in all) and the support he received en route, Robert arrived on time and in pretty good shape. 

At the end of his mammoth trek Robert told his family, friends and supporters that as well as having enjoyed the expereince far more than he could have hoped, he had two abiding thoughts:

- we are capable of more than we think we are, but we won’t know it unless we try.

- given the chance, most people have the capacity for great kindness and generosity.  I know, I received it so often on my journey.

So far he has raised over £19,000 for three charities and some donations are still trickling in to his website:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RobertHomeStretchCheck

Robert now admits to have got the walking bug, but future treks are likely to be somewhat shorter!

CARE International, a leading overseas aid agency have launched a new fundraising campaign called ‘Walk In Her Shoes’.

Stand shoulder-to-shoulder with women worldwide in celebration of International Women’s Day in March 2012. Support CARE’s work to make life better for women and girls. CARE International are challenging you to walk 10,000 steps per day for one week in March. That’s approximately five miles each day in solidarity with women who have to work long distances every day just to survive.

By swapping the bus or train or including a lunchtime walk in your day, you’ll be joining supporters up and down the country to show you care about women living in poverty. CARE International will send you a pedometer to track your steps and will be on hand to support your fundraising challenge every step of the way.

Why join?

It’s a sad fact that women are more affected by poverty – 70% of the world’s poorest billion people are female.

In poor communities, fetching food, water or other items like firewood is a responsibility that falls most heavily on women and girls. Tragically this means there is little time for basic opportunities, such as going to school or gaining paid employment. In Africa alone, the World Health Organisation estimates there are more than 40 billion work hours lost each year to the need to fetch clean drinking water.

Susan from Zimbabwe used to have an exhausting journey of over four and a half hours a day just to collect water. CARE worked with her community to repair a borehole near her village. Susan now has access to an abundance of clean, fresh water closer to her home. Her family is protected from water-borne diseases, and Susan no longer has to make the exhausting journey every day.

By ‘walking in her shoes’ you can make life better for women like Susan. From providing access to basic services like clean water, to giving women a voice with which they can demand their human rights, CARE helps whole communities transform their lives.

Be part of it

This is a great way to show your support for women and their families for whom every day is a huge challenge. It’s also a great way to fit more exercise into your day and to celebrate International Women’s Day.

To sign up follow this link:

http://www.carechallenge.org.uk/charity-challenges/charity-walks/walk-in-her-shoes

Any questions?

Please contact the challenge team on 020 7091 6111 or email challenge@careinternational.org

—— Now that the new year is here and many people have stuffed themselves over the holidays, many of those people are now hitting the panic button. For many people the holidays are like a power eating contest, non stop food festival. But like going to a fine restaurant, it’s great fun, until the bill arrives. Then reality sets in.

Relax! Losing the excess weight is as easy as a stroll in the park.

Brisk walking will burn more calories than a jog and because it’s low impact it will not damage joints. Plus not only will you loose weight but you will also lower cholesterol, increase muscle strength, strengthen bones, lift depression and even slow down the aging process. Walking is the best medicine there is and it’s free to everybody.

With skyrocketing obesity rates more people clearly need to discover the many benefits of frequent walking.The results will not be seen immediately, however with patience the results will be seen slowly but steadily and you will see the extra calories burn off and a slim healthy body will emerge.

You will need at the very least 30 minutes of walking every day. Walking for weight loss is a very common practice, done by many people of different ages, all over the world. Walking is great because it does not require any special equipment and can be performed anywhere any time of the day or night, at the walker’s convenience.

Walking is also an especially good weight-loss activity because it’s so easily adaptable to your personal fitness level. As you build up your stamina, you can walk faster, walk more often, walk up steeper hills and also walk for longer periods of time.

If you don’t find walking especially motivating, find a way to make it more entertaining. You can walk in rhythm to music. You can walk with a friend or join a group. You can walk with your dog or pushing a stroller. There are so many ways to fit this activity into your daily activities so there is no excuse in being over weight. Instead of driving, try walking. Instead of taking the bus, walk! You will be amazed at how addictive walking can become.

Scores of studies have shown walking to be a very effective weight-loss tool. For example a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)  found that brisk walking is extremely effective for reducing deep abdominal fat, which by the way is the most dangerous kind of fat.

Another study at Colorado University found that if people could commit to walking 2,000 steps a day more than they do now – the equivalent of about one additional mile or about 15 minutes worth of movement – they may not necessarily lose weight but would probably stop gaining. The typical adult gains 1 to 3 pounds a year, which means they’re eating, on average, an excess of 10 to 30 calories a day. The 100 calories per day burned off from walking 2,000 steps would more than compensate for this excess.

Researchers have also found that walking an additional 6,000 steps a day (or about 3 miles) is the point at which the pounds really start coming off, as long as it is done in conjunction with sensible eating habits like fat, calorie and portion control.

According to studies at the Mayo Clinic on walking, if you add just 30 minutes of brisk walking to your daily routine, you could burn about 150 more calories a day. At that rate, you’d lose about another 1/3 of a pound (0.15 kilogram) a week. The more you walk and the quicker your pace, the more calories you’ll burn. While physical activity is beneficial, you’ll get the most benefit in terms of weight loss from activity that is moderately intense. So  hill walking is recommended to power up your walking programme or you can add a weighted vest to turn a simple walk into an intense challenge. (I like the NYKNYC one but I am partial!) Not only will it speed up your weight loss but it will also strengthen bones considerably. Your goal should be to walk at 3 to 4 miles per hour if possible. You can gradually build up to that pace.

Once you’ve lost weight, keeping up that walking programme is even more important – it’s what helps keep the weight off, even more so than calorie restriction. In fact, studies show that people who maintain their weight loss over the long term get regular physical activity. So don’t stop walking, and remember what the father of modern medicine, Hippocrates, once said: “Walking is man’s best medicine.”

Contributed by guest writer Rene Lynch, NYKNYC@aol.com.

————–Peppers add a splash of colour and texture to raw and cooked dishes and also provide a whole range of vitamins essential to your health. Peppers, generally known as bell peppers in the USA from their bell-like shape, originally came from Central America but nowadays are grown throughout the world. Peppers are the mild version of the plant that also produces chilli pepper.

The different colours of peppers are most attractive with the choice of green, yellow, orange and red – these colours range from the least mature when picked, green, to the ripest when picked, red. The more mature the pepper is the sweeter it tastes. Romano or ramiro peppers are longer in shape with a thinner skin. Some thin-skinned peppers are ground to produce paprika, ranging in taste from mild to hot.

All types of peppers contain vitamin A, C and K but red peppers contain the highest amount of these vitamins. Vitamin A is good for the eyes and, like vitamin C, it also helps boost the immune system, aids in preventing cell damage and helps slow down the effects of aging. Vitamin K helps promote blood clotting, strengthens the bones and helps prevent cell damage.

As well as the benefits of these vitamins, peppers also contain lycopene that is believed to have anti-cancer properties. Capsaicin in peppers has been proven to decrease the levels of bad cholesterol and is also known to lower the risk of stomach ulcers.

All varieties are at their best when glossy and firm to the touch. They can be used raw, in salads or as crudités, or cooked. When roasted or grilled the skin may be removed easily leaving delicious smoky flavoured flesh. This can then be torn into pieces or it can be puréed for a dip.

For a fantastic simple starter, arrange strips of roasted pepper on a serving plate or individual plates with your choice of one or more of the following: black or green olives, slivers of almonds, freshly shaved or grated parmesan cheese, anchovy fillets, quartered hard-boiled eggs, grilled artichoke hearts, slices of avocado. The list is almost endless!

So peppers are ideal for their health benefits as well as being versatile in enhancing the taste and presentation of your meals.

Here are five super walking books to motivate you and get you walking more over Xmas and the New Year.

Happy walking!

Most Amazing Places to Walk Britain – £7.94

Transform every country walk into a journey to remember. This practical touring guide features 200 walks through the best of Britain’s countryside, each one specially devised to include amazing views, interesting features and varied landscape. From gentle rambles alongside rivers and canals to exhilarating cliff and hill-top walks, this guide offers walking to suit all interests and abilities. The walks are described in clear step-by-step instructions, each one accompanied by a detailed map, and are arranged by region and country with large regional maps for easy reference. Illustrated throughout with stunning photographs capturing the drama and beauty of the landscape, this book is the perfect travelling companion.

The Most Amazing Places to Walk in Britain presents the spectacular walking terrain Britain has to offer – Birmingham Mail

Could possibly be the best landscape photographers guide out there – Amateur Photographer

The Most Amazing Places to Walk in Britain is a pleasantly illustrated, practical guide that is arranged by region and county – The Daily Telegraph

100 Greatest Walks in Britain – £9.01

These 100 greatest walks in Britain have been chosen by Country Walking magazine, Britain’s bestselling walking journal, and contain all the information you need to enjoy hiking in the very best of Britain’s countryside. Each walk is printed on amazing waterproof and tear-proof paper and bound in a loose-leaf ring binder so it can be used again and again and taken out in all weathers. Split into regional sections, each walk guide contains a map, a detailed route guide and invaluable information on how to get there, where to park, how long and arduous each walk is, where you will be able to find refreshments, and information on public transport.

All of the information you might need to enjoy walking and hiking in some of Britain’s most glorious countryside – …each walk can be taken out with you – Cheshire Life

The perfect companion for any fan of walking in the great outdoors…easy to use in all weathers! – Womens Fitness

Highly practical and invaluable information about the length and toughness of each walk – an invaluable aid to walkers of all ages – Good Book Guide

Complete Lakeland Fells Revised Editions Boxed Set (Hardcover) – £35.20

This boxed set contains all eight revised editions of the Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells by the fell walking legend, Alfred Wainwright. Since the guides were compiled half a century ago, they have been treasured by generations of walkers, and television programmes in the year of the centenary of Wainwright’s birth introduced them to new enthusiasts. There were no guides like these before Wainwright devised them, and in the years since they were first published, they have never been matched. This boxed set of all eight revised editions is the perfect gift for walkers and lovers of the Lakeland fells.

Of all the things I have bought in my life, few have given me as much pleasure as theses guides – a bargain indeed! (Keswick Reminder )

Book of the Week: Here’s the perfect Christmas gift guide for Alfred Wainwright fans who think they have everything. (Mail on Sunday )

For the best walks in the Lake District, the Pictorial Guides by Alfred Wainwright are just what you need. (Daily Express )

Julia Bradbury’s Railway Walks – £7.66

This book is one of those that makes you want to get up and go and visit the lines detailed and is an enjoyable text. It is also a decent transportable siza. Time to dust off the walking boots perhaps? –Railways Illustrated

Accompanying the six-part BBC 2 series, the six walks featured in this book follow the old tracks, overgrown cuttings and ancient viaducts which are the legacy of ‘The Beeching Axe’. Julia Bradbury looks at how the rise and fall of the railways has altered the lives of communities across the country. Today, many of the thousands of old branch lines which were closed in the 1960s are now the treasured stomping grounds of ramblers and hikers.

This book follows six of these beautiful walks, all offering an insight into Britain’s industrial heritage: the Monsal Trail in Derbyshire, Dolgellau to Barmouth in Snowdonia, Cornwall’s Coast to Coast Trail, the Strathspey Railway, Weymouth to Portland, and Callander to Loch Tay in Perthshire.

This book is one of those that makes you want to get up and go and visit the lines detailed and is  an enjoyable text. It is also a decent transportable siza. Time to dust the walking boots perhaps? –  Railways Illustrated

Walk the Lines: The London Underground, Overground – £8.29

The only way to truly discover a city, they say, is on foot. As a lifelong fan of London, Mark Mason sets out to walk the entire length of the London Underground – overground – passing every station on the way. Over the course of several hundred miles, he comes to understand a sprawling metropolis that never ceases to surprise. In a story packed with historical trivia, personal musings and eavesdropped conversations, Mark learns how to get the best gossip in a City pub, how the Ritz made its female guests feel good about themselves, and why the Bank of England won’t let you join the M11 northbound at Junction 5. He has an East End cup of tea with the Krays’ official biographer, discovers what cabbies mean by ‘on the cotton’, and meets the Archers star who was the voice of ‘Mind the Gap’.

Mark gains insights into our fascination with maps and sees how walking changes our view of the world. In this love letter to a complicated friend, he celebrates the sights, sounds and soul of the greatest city on earth.

  – ‘One of the pleasantest things in the world is going a journey,’ said the writer and great walker William Hazlitt. As the days shorten and winter approaches, a weekend walk is a way of getting away from it all, whether it is to the country, the seaside or perhaps a visit to a historic town or city where you can combine sightseeing with your walking. Whichever option you choose, look upon your weekend walk, like Hazlitt did, as a journey.

Journeys, like holidays, can be magical. Time to leave work behind, the laptop, the iPod and all the i-distractions that fill each day. Weekend walks are a time to let go, relax, chill out and take life as it comes. A time to walk tall, get out of your head and smell the breeze, listen to the sound of nature all around and observe the changing light as a low sun travels across an autumn sky.

Walk with the family, your partner, a friend or get really motivated and start your own Solemates walking group. Writer and walker Karle Wilson Baker said: ‘Today I have grown taller walking with the trees.’

   This is the age of homo sedens – the man or woman who sits! Sits in cars, on buses, on trains, at work, at home, in front of the computer, the television and who takes little exercise. Although guidelines recommend up to 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day, recent surveys show that only 41 per cent of Britons walked for 20 minutes three times a week or more, and the number of journeys taken by foot has fallen to its lowest level for 15 years. The result is an obesity crisis and increasing numbers of Britons who are overweight, adults and children.

According to Dr Rachel Thompson of the World Cancer Research Fund, lack of activity raises the risk of cancer and chronic diseases. She says: ‘We estimate that more than 10,000 cases of breast and bowel cancer could be prevented each year in the UK by people being more active.’ And according to the World Health Organisation, people who keep fit are almost twice as likely to live longer than those who hardly exercise.

With the financial recession upon us and looking to get worse, what better way to get fit and lose those unwanted pounds than by stepping out regularly with the easiest, cheapest and quickest way to get active – walking!

Aubergines belong to the botanic family Solanaceae and are usually known as Eggplant in the USA. They vary greatly in shape, colour and size. Their growth requires a long, warm season and they thrive in summer heat.

Aubergines taste best when still young. They should be glossy – if the skin is dull the aubergine could be past its best. They can be cooked with their skin on or peeled. Roasted aubergine tastes lovely, either when roasted whole then cut or puréed after roasting, or cubed or sliced and brushed with oil. Cubed aubergine can be added to casseroles and curries – they taste particularly good with tomato-based sauces.

This recipe is delicious as a starter or served with new potatoes or jacket potato and a green salad as part of a main course – for 2 people.

Aubergine with Crab

• 1 aubergine
• 1 medium onion
• fresh crabmeat, preferably half white and half brown
• olive oil
• chilli sauce – to taste
• freshly ground salt and black pepper

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Cut the aubergine in half lengthways and trim the ends. Cut and scoop out the flesh leaving a shell of about 1cm (0.4 inch). Brush olive oil over the cut halves then bake for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile slice the onion, heat some olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onion stirring to prevent sticking. After 5 minutes add a little more olive oil, chop the scooped-out aubergine flesh and add to the onion. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring regularly and adding a little water if necessary to prevent sticking. Take off the heat until the shells of the aubergine are tender. Add the crabmeat to the saucepan stirring well to amalgamate then add a few drops of chilli sauce – or more, to your taste – and some freshly ground salt and black pepper. Spoon the mixture into the aubergine shells and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes until golden.

  Staying comfy and warm when the weather turns nippy is often the key to a happy day. Whether you are out walking, running, jumping, skipping, skiing or shopping a thin thermal baselayer underneath your clothes or a soft lightweight fleece is the perfect way to stay warm while remaining agile, light and mobile.

Keeping your body at an optimum temperature when you are walking can be a hard task, but thin warm layers are often the best way. Layers allow you to adapt to the changing conditions and the heat that your body generates when you are on the move.

Baselayers trap in body heat like no other item of clothing. The fabric absorbs sweat from the body and keeps it away from the skin to prevent you from getting damp, cold and soggy allowing your skin to breathe. The thin comfortable material of the baselayer moves and stretches with your body so that it feels like a second skin, so much so that it is easy to forget you are even wearing one. For optimum comfort choose a seamless thermal as it will eradicate the chance of chafing and any uncomfortable creases whilst embarking on a long walk.

Another great feature about the baselayer is that it doesn’t have to affect your choice of attire for the day, so you can stay stylishly insulated. Baselayers can also be worn alone for a simple casual look.

Another practical choice of layering for walking is a fleece. A fleece will protect the sensitive skin on your neck, which left exposed can substantially bring down your body temperature. The zip on a fleece will cocoon your torso and your neck in warmth and give that all important winter wrap up. It is wise to choose a fleece which is thin and slightly fitted so that it is not too bulky underneath a rainproof layer. If you are hitting the ski slopes you might even be inspired to match your fleece to the colours of your skiing gear to give you that chalet chic look.

It is easy to forget what it feels like to be chilled to the bone as the weather has certainly been mild this November, but lately the weather has taken a biting turn and the need to dig out your thermals and fleeces for that injection of warming happiness has arrived. A bulky or heavy coat can often feel limiting whereas a pair of incognito thermals, or a soft lightweight fleece, makes you feel like you can conquer anything, whether it is reaching that summit, hitting the off-piste zones or just clearing the autumn leaves off the drive.

So wrap up, be happy and protect against Siberian conditions in comfort.