With keeping fit, staying healthy, and taking up a new hobby all featuring high on New Year’s resolution lists, leading self-guided adventure operator – and #walk1000miles Holiday Partner –Macs Adventure is campaigning to make 2023 the year of the ‘Stepcation’ and encourage people to walk their way to wellness.
Studies show that walking anything between 7,500-10,000 steps a day can be extremely beneficial for health. A brisk 10-minute daily walk can also help build stamina, burn excess calories, make the heart healthier, and contribute to good mental health and well-being. It also counts towards the 150 minutes of weekly exercise recommended by the NHS.
Now imagine what 167,000 steps can do! That’s how many it takes to cover the Macs Adventure’s West Highland Way Highlights. Even their South Downs Way Short Break nets your over 100,000 of those precious, health-boosting, life-enhacing, memory-building steps!
If you’re doing #walk1000miles or taking a Stepcation this year you’re helping cut millions from the NHS’s bills. It’s been calculated walking saves the service £75 million from the health benefits of walkers doing the South West Coast Path alone!
Macs Adventure has been inspiring people to walk for 20 years, and founder Neil Lapping says: ‘Walking regularly can help us cope with the stresses of daily life more effectively and it gives us that natural energy boost we need at this time of year. So, if you’re walking the West Highland Way or simply walking and talking with friends in the park, there are so many good reasons for taking a ‘Stepcation’ this year.’
There is far-reaching evidence supporting the positive impact of walking on mental and physical health. Neil Harris, CEO, Sport in Mind adds that ‘We work with thousands of people every year who suffer from mental health problems, using sport and physical activity to improve their mental well-being. We know through our work just how powerful physical activity can be as a tool for improving mental health but cannot advocate it enough for positive mental wellbeing.’
To inspire and motivate people to embrace a new and healthier lifestyle that sticks around beyond January, Macs Adventure has researched and identified roughly how many steps it takes to complete some of their most popular and enjoyable Stepcations.
How many steps for the UK’s top Stepcations?
Route: West Highland Way Highlights
Discover towering mountains, tranquil lochs, and rushing rivers as you walk from Drymen to Fort William.
Duration: 7 days and 6 nights
Total steps:166,966 (33,400 steps per day)
Calories: Approx. 988 per day
Equivalent: An hour of kayaking, boxing, scuba diving, or circuit training.
Route: South Downs Way Short Break
Walk the iconic white chalk sea cliffs of the Seven Sisters, explore medieval villages and visit historic attractions along the way.
Duration: 4 days and 3 nights
Total steps 100,743 (25,186 per day)
Calories: approx. 745 per day
Equivalent: A morning of errands, such as food shopping, deep cleaning the house and washing the car.
Route: Coast to Coast Walk West
It’s 50 years since Wainwright first penned his classic ‘A Coast to Coast Walk’ in 1973 and the route is more popular than ever.
Duration: 8 days and 7 nights
Total steps: 104,460 (34,820 per day)
Calories: 1030 per day
Equivalent: 3 hours of gardening, 90mins of step aerobics or playing squash.
Route: South West Coastal Path: Lyme Regis to Poole
One of the path’s most treasured trails is the unique stretch from Lyme Regis to Poole. This route offers spectacular walking and takes in the picturesque Jurassic Coast.
Duration: 8 days and 7 nights
Total steps: 168,579 (24,000 per day)
Calories: 4000 in total
Equivalent: 3 hours of gardening, 90mins of step aerobics or playing squash.
European Stepcations
Route: Walking Portofino and the Cinque Terre
An unforgettable journey, walking village to village, alongside lemon groves and vineyard-lined pathways.
Duration: 8 days and 7 nights
Total steps: 137,125 (27,425 per day)
Calories: Approx. 811 per day
Equivalent: An hour of playing football, rowing, swimming or skipping.
The Dingle Way takes walkers through arguably the most impressive and richest archaeological heritage of all of Ireland's national trails.
Duration: 8 days 7 nights
Total steps: 203,958 (33,993 per day)
Calories: Approx. 1000 per day
Equivalent: An hour of jumping jacks or 4 hours of shopping.
Route: Walking the Catalan Coast
Explore coastal paths with views of the glittering Mediterranean, and inland routes through the Catalan countryside.
Duration: 8 days 7 nights
Total steps: 86,694 (14,449 per day)
Calories: 427 per day
Equivalent to: 30mins of high intensity interval training (HIIT), 40 mins of Zumba or climbing the stairs.
