Walking
The free way to travel
Whether you’re walking the whole route, or just to the nearest bus stop, train station or Park & Ride, walking is a great way to add exercise to your day, de-stress and soak up some vitamin D. You’ll be amazed at the places you can get in about half an hour. While walking, you can also call your loved ones, listen to your favourite music, practise your language learning app, even plan how you’re going to ask someone out for a drink. So pull on your favourite shoes and make the most of this compact, convenient and photogenic city.
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If you want to find the quietest, greenest, most direct routes (or just one that takes you past a good coffee shop), there are plenty of apps - like Google Maps and City Mapper - as well as more local websites, designed to do just that.
The Oxford Online Walking Map, created by the Oxford Pedestrians Association, for example, includes benches, playgrounds, toilets and other places you might want to stop at along the way.
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The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare has published a collection of Oxford walking maps that are designed to highlight local nature spaces, like meadows, woods and parks, together with the best walking routes for specific communities. Working with local GP surgeries, these routes are considered safe, green and might even help you feel more at home in your community. There are separate maps for Botley, Wood Farm, East Oxford, Jericho, Marston and Blackbird Leys.
The GoJauntly app also helps you find local walking routes recommended by other users, including some lovely routes in Oxford.
Want more of a challenge? Take a look at the Walking Everywhere in Oxford blog, created by a local resident who has walked, and documented the city, in the face of MS.
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Walking with your kids can be a great way to spend quality time together, and allow kids to experience nature and their community. For tips on how to teach your child to be a safer pedestrian, see Oxfordshire County Council's Footsteps guide.
The Details
Benefits of walking
It’s free! Save the occasional bit of shoe leather.
Reliable. The more you walk, the better you will get at predicting how long a journey will take, sometimes right to the minute. You can always mix it up by walking part of a longer journey.
Healthy. Whoever you are, walking is a great way to protect your heart, de-stress and build exercise into your day. If you’re worried about how to begin, start slowly and work up to longer distances. And Oxford’s air pollution levels have been dropping, making your walk healthier.
Community. Get to know your neighbourhood by travelling on foot. You can also find a walking buddy through apps like Walk Buddy, Buddio or Peanut - or pair up with someone you know!
Updated September 2024