Walk This May returns
The 'Walk This May' community challenge is coming back to Worcestershire and Herefordshire with free activities running from May 1 to May 14, offering a structured, local way to boost daily activity. Organizers are explicitly encouraging participants to beat last year’s totals, so it’s positioned as a measurable, friendly nudge toward regular movement. (kidderminstershuttle.co.uk) (bromsgrovestandard.co.uk)
A walking challenge in two English counties is coming back with a very specific target: residents in Herefordshire and Worcestershire are being asked to collectively beat last year’s 4,723.18 miles between May 1 and May 14, 2026. (worcestershire.gov.uk) The challenge is called Walk This May, and it is being run by Active Herefordshire and Worcestershire with Herefordshire Council and Worcestershire County Council. (activehw.co.uk) (herefordshire.gov.uk) The format is simple: people can turn up to free guided walks across both counties, with routes lasting from 10 minutes to 90 minutes. (bromsgrovestandard.co.uk) Those walks are designed for beginners, so they use easy ground and a relaxed pace rather than long-distance hiking rules. (bromsgrovestandard.co.uk) The organizers have tied the challenge to a local landmark instead of a step counter: the shared border between Herefordshire and Worcestershire is 53 miles long, and the goal is to see how many times walkers can collectively cover that distance. (herefordshire.gov.uk) This is not just a Herefordshire event with Worcestershire added on later, because the walks are spread across both counties and are meant to be reachable on foot or by public transport. (bromsgrovestandard.co.uk) The timing is deliberate too: the two-week run sits inside National Walking Month, which gives local councils and health groups a ready-made reason to push walking as everyday exercise instead of a one-off fitness event. (herefordshire.gov.uk) Last year’s version ran later, from May 12 to May 25, 2025, so the 2026 event has been moved earlier in the month while keeping the same idea of free, inclusive group walks. (worcestershire.gov.uk) (herefordtimes.com) The local pitch is less about competition than routine: show up, join a short walk, and add your distance to a countywide total that everyone can watch climb. (kidderminstershuttle.co.uk) For a campaign like this, the useful detail is that nobody needs to train, pay, or register for a race, because the official guidance says people can simply turn up at a walk of their choice. (herefordshire.gov.uk)
