Beth is sharing her skills and empowering others

In 2019 Beth joined the Healthy Lives Project with the aim of improving her mobility. There were lots of activities to choose from, and after taking part in a few taster sessions, Beth decided that walking was the best activity to help her reach her mobility goals. 

At first Beth found it difficult to keep up with the walking pace of the group, but she was determined not to give up and spoke to the activity coordinators to see if they could help. They suggested that she try Nordic Walking, and although Beth had never heard of it before, she was intrigued and keen to find out more. 

“I was nervous at first because I wasn’t sure what to expect, but as soon as I got used to walking with the Nordic poles I felt much better.”

Beth found walking with the poles less tiring, and after she learned that it was even better for you than normal walking, she was hooked. Beth knew that she had found the perfect activity to help her achieve her mobility goals. 

Beth soon helped to organise walks under the supervision of the walk leader, who was really impressed with her abilty and suggested that she should train become a Nordic Walk leader herself. 

The Healthy Lives Project put her in touch with Age Cymru, who run training sessions for people to become qualified Nordic Walk leaders.

After some intensive training, Beth is now extremely proud to be qualified to lead her own walks. She has planned a few walks so far, including a prom walk, and a mountain centre walk, and is already looking for her next adventure to lead the group on.

“I use Google to find nice local walks, and then I go with another walk leader to assess the routes for hazards and consequences. We think about what could happen, and how we can control it if it does.”

Beth has recently been in touch with mirus Community Network Coordinator, Gemma and volunteers in Cardiff who currently run a walking group. Soon, Beth will share her knowledge of Nordic Walking with the group, and help them to build a programme of walks with three different levels of difficulty. 

Beth is proud to be able to share the skills that she has learned with other people. She hopes that everyone can improve their mobility, confidence and wellbeing through walking, just like she has.