Are you up to taking the Enfield Twalking challenge? It could make you and your friends healthier and happier - but first you'll have to ask your doctor!
What is "twalking" and how can it improve your health and the health of your friends?
There are two simple activities that can greatly improve our health, both physical and mental - walking more, and having people to talk to. But unfortunately, many people just don't walk enough and many are short of friends to talk to.
Twalking combines walking and talking with a challenge for teams to travel on foot from Enfield Civic Centre to Scafell Pike - but don't worry, you don't actually need to go to either of those places (unless you want to) and you can do the 360 miles in short and easy stages and without leaving the borough.
You can do the walking and talking wherever you want, entering the miles or kilometres walked each day into the My Virtual Mission smartphone app, which tracks your virtual progress along the route from Enfield Town to England's highest mountain. You can see how far you've got on an online map and even explore the surrounding terrain on Street View.
Who is twalking intended for?
It has to be prescribed by your GP and you have to have to meet certain criteria, such as suffering from a chronic physical or mental illness, having a cardiovascular risk factor, being sixty or older, or being the carer of a person with a chronic condition.
The make-up of the team is important too. One of the three people, the "leader", must be highly motivated to get in the miles, while preferably the team would include someone who definitely needs egging on a bit.
As well as actually doing the walking, there are various things that you can do ("care bonuses") that earn your team 7 extra miles a week.
What is the Enfield Twalking Challenge?
What do we do?
- Walk around Enfield or anywhere you like, averaging 1 mile per person per day and at least 3 miles per day per team
- During each walk talk to one another some of the time
- The walks must be outdoors
- You can gain bonus miles by carrying out specified activities (see this page for more information)
Where and when do we take the challenge?
- You will be walking virtually from Enfield Civic Centre to the top of Scafell Pike
- Total distance 360 miles - the distance you've walked plus any "bonus miles" you've earned
- Starting on 30th May and arriving at your destination by 31st July (two months)
- The objective is for 90% of teams to reach the destination on time.
Who can be in a 3-person team?
- At least one member of the team:
- must have some cardiovascular risk factor (diabetes, hypertension, overweight, smoking)
- or have a chronic physical or mental illness (eg osteoarthritis, Parkinson’s, kidney failure, chronic bronchitis, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia)
- or be over 60 years of age
- or be the primary carer for a dependent person.
- Ideally, one team member should not be highly motivated, and would require motivation.
- At least one member of the team must be highly motivated (the team captain)
We have a team. How do we enrol?
- Download the Twalking Enfield Application Form
- Fill in details of your team and then email or e-consult it to the GPs that each member is registered with.
- Email the form also to .
- Your GP practices will contact each of the three participants to do a basic health check.
Who's running the Enfield Twalking Challenge?
Twalking Enfield is run by Interestelar, an organisation based in Spain which promotes voluntary work among health professionals, with the aim of improving public health and reducing social isolation. Its local partners are Enfield Council, Age UK Enfield, Mind in Enfield & Barnet, Active Enfield, the Enfield GP Federation and Fusion.
Start twalking on 30th May, with the aim of reaching your virtual destination by the end of July.
How did Twalking begin?
In the summer of 2020 a group of Spanish visitors found themselves marooned in London, unable to get back to Barcelona because there were no flights, boats or buses that could take them there. They were keen to be back home by Christmas, but only one option remained - walking the 894 miles. So they set out - everyone, the youngest, oldest, strongest, weakest - in groups of three...
Obviously, they couldn't literally walk from London to Barcelona, so instead they came up with the concept of "twalking" - covering the same distance on foot in teams of three, setting themselves a challenge that got everyone - including those least inclined to do so - out walking in the open air and talking to one another. The objective was for everyone to reap the benefits to physical and mental health of the open air, walking, sociability and working towards a shared goal.
As explained in this video, the orginal London to Barcelona challenge included riding a bike, simulating a virtual crossing of the Straits of Dover in a pedal boat! The Enfield challenge doesn't involve boats or bikes, just walking!
The original Twalking Challenge was followed by three more during 2021 and early 2022, in Spain and north Africa.
Now Interestelar are bringing it to Enfield and inviting us to a virtual walk to the Lake District.
