Caithness pupils to walk to Lands End

Children from Caithness schools are this week attempting to walk a staggering 874 miles as part of ‘Walk to School Week’. This is the equivalent of walking from John o’ Groats to Lands End.

In a project being led by Highland Council’s Active Schools Coordinator, Kenny Russell, pupils will be given pedometers to determine the number of steps they take to walk one mile. Kenny has set a target number of steps for each school which he is hoping the children will achieve by walking to and from school, at break time or on their way to activities outside of school. The seven schools taking part in this event are Castletown, Crossroads, Halkirk, Mount Pleasant, Pennyland, and Reay Primaries and Miller Academy.

Kenny said: “Walking to school is such a healthy and rewarding activity. Children enjoy the company on the walk and arrive refreshed and ready for the day. It also helps the environment by reducing car pollution. Fewer cars on the road will result in fewer road safety hazards, so it really is the best travel choice to make. I hope that all the children taking part in this event will continue to make walking part of their every day life. I look forward to correlating the results and if successful I am planning a much larger walking event for the future.”

National Walk to School Week takes place from Monday 2nd - Friday 6th October and the month of October is dedicated as International Walk to School Month

'Walk to School' is a campaign aimed at  parents, pupils and teachers which encourages them to incorporate regular physical activity into their daily lives by walking to and from school whenever possible. October is also International Walk to School Month - giving children, parents, school teachers and community leaders an opportunity to be part of a global event as they celebrate the many benefits of walking.

Schools want to combat the problem of traffic congestion, parents want their children to benefit from regular physical activity and pupils want to walk to school with their friends. Despite all this, there is still so much more that can be achieved with the Walk to School campaign. More than half our children are still not regularly walking to school. The number of cars involved in the school run is increasing and as a nation we are becoming less active.