Walking has an amazing ability to take you to wild places no other means of transport can, and to open your eyes to wonders wherever you are. Whether it’s your soon-to-be-regular lunch hour stomp, your first foray to climb a hill or an ambitious plan to gain some miles in terrain utterly unfamiliar, #walk1000miles will turbocharge your getting of wonderful new experiences. An appetite for adventure might be driving your desire to undertake this challenge or you might shrink at the thought of climbing a mountain. Either way #walk1000miles and its official magazine Country Walking are here to help you see more – to be more – in 2018. It's just one step in front of the other...

Britain is an unbeatable place to go walking. There are 150,000 miles of official footpaths and bridleways in England, Wales and Scotland – and that’s just the public rights of way. When you consider the countless trails and tracks crisscrossing the hills, mountains, woodlands, moorlands, heathlands, downlands, clifftops, beaches, valleys, glens and cwms that we can roam across freely, you start to realise our little islands are bigger and more adventurous than they first appear. We’ve got 15 National Parks, stretching from the moors and tors of Dartmoor in southern England to the mighty Cairngorm mountains of the Scottish Highlands. Combined, their land area covers 9% of England, 20% of Wales and 7% of Scotland, and their protected landscapes are some of the finest places to walk in the world. They’re suitable for all ages and abilities too – from the high fells of the Lake District and the rocky peaks of Snowdonia, all the way down to the ancient woodlands of the New Forest and the sleepy villages of the Norfolk Broads. We’ve got incredible waterways, with around 2,200 miles of riverside trails and canal towpaths offering safe, traffic-free walking – whether you fancy a 10-minute stroll or an all-day hike. Our landscape is packed with thousands thousands of lakes and reservoirs, ancient castles, historic railways and bridges, limestone cliffs, golden-sand beaches, Iron Age settlements, saltmarshes and estuaries, cascading waterfalls, prehistoric monuments, towering sea stacks, and the small matter of three billion trees. In just a few short hours you could climb Ben Nevis or walk along the White Cliffs of Dover; and if you prefer to go long-distance our 15 National Trails –  including the Pennine Way, South Downs Way and Hadrian’s Wall Path – stretch for 2,500 miles around the UK. If travelling in search of adventure isn’t your thing, seek it out closer to home. Simply walk down your street, then head for your nearest field, river, park, woods or green space. Walks don’t have to be epic to feel adventurous – a frosty winter sunrise or the explosion of the spring dawn chorus can make you feel as connected to the outdoors as any remote mountaintop. And do you know the best thing? All of this beautiful adventure costs nothing. It’s totally free. If you sign up to Walk 1000 Miles in 2019, you need to complete just over 19 miles a week. Can you think of enough adventures to fill 52 weeks? We bet you can.