Walking is one of the healthiest, cheapest and most convenient of physical activities to promote good health. Unfortunately research has shown that people in South Dublin County walk less than the national average. (Source: ESRI study on Sport & Recreational Exercise among Adults (16+) in South Dublin, Feb 2011. 56% of adults in SDC take regular recreational walks compared to 59% of the general population). SDCSP runs an annual series of walking activities, indoor and outdoor, throughout the year to show people how to get the maximum benefit from walking. These walk programmes, which identify how to optimize aerobic fitness and how to get flexibility and strength from a walking programme, are lead by trained community walk leaders and are offered free or charge or at minimal cost.
The Fitwalk programme is a 5 week, 1 hour a week, indoor programme that we offer in local community centres during the winter months (Nov – March) when it is dark early. This offers people the opportunity to still keep active regardless of the weather or the light. Details on sessions will be on our Events page and on our Facebook page but if you are interested in bringing a session to a centre near you please let us know.
In conjunction with the programme we develop local mapped walks that allow people to measure themselves, click on a park below to view the Fitwalk Route in that park/area.
Walking Routes
- Belgard Community Centre Walk
- Brookfield Community Centre Walk
- Dodder Valley Park Oldbawn Summer Walk Route Map
- East Grand Canel Summer Walk Route Map
- Fettercairn Walking Route
- Perrystown Walking Routes
- Rathcoole Walking Route
- Ronanstown Clondalkin Walking Route
- St Thomas’s Jobstown Walking Route
- Tymon Bawn Community Centre Walk
- West Grand Canel Summer Walk Route Map
Our Active School Parent programme was developed as an extension to the Operation Transformation programme on TV and is offered to primary school parents. Free walk leader training is provided and these walk leaders then take fellow parents out on walks, usually after school drop- off. Walks are generally about 45 mins in length and often followed by a cuppa on return to the school. Initially the programme ran during the period of the OT show (Jan-March) but with the success of the programme we have expanded it and now run it from the start of the school year. Those interested in becoming walk leaders attend 2 x 2 hour sessions where learning elements include; how to do a stretch/warm up, the difference speeds of walking and how to keep a group of walkers with different abilities intact, devising walking routes, safety tips etc.
