Supporting communities and wellbeing with walks in nature

Working with communities

Early in 2024, and with the support of the National Lottery Heritage fund, we launched our Engaging Communities initiative. Community engagement officers at four different properties – Torridon, Fyvie Castle, the Hill House and the Tenement House – have been exploring ways that our places can meet the needs of local communities, including by supporting mental wellbeing.

David Hicks, Engaging Communities Project Manager, says: ‘Wellbeing is one of the key themes that we identified at the start of the project as something that would be a good link between local communities and properties. We’ve been using the Five Steps To Wellbeing, which have also been adopted by the NHS, as a guideline for our planning. The steps include being physically active, learning a skill, taking notice, connecting with others, and giving back. So, you can see how that matches up closely with a lot of the work the Trust already does.’

To learn more about the issues people in their area are facing, the community engagement officers have been reaching out to local communities, as well as public health groups and wellbeing charities. At places like Torridon and Fyvie Castle, common issues include social isolation and a lack of access to green spaces. Jess Carnegie, Community Engagement Officer at Torridon, says: ‘We have 100 or so people living within the boundaries of the land that we care for. While living in a remote place like Torridon can be inspiring, rural areas also suffer from high rates of isolation and depression.’

Sarah Eggleton, Community Engagement Officer at Fyvie Castle, says: ‘In this area there isn’t much easily accessible green space where people can meet, which leads to people staying home and becoming isolated. With all of our beautiful grounds, walled gardens and walking paths, Fyvie can be a place for people to get together and socialise.’

Walks for wellbeing

Connecting wellbeing and the outdoors has been a key focus of the project at several properties, and group walks have proved a simple but powerful way of bringing wellbeing, nature and communities together. ‘Wellbeing walks’ at Torridon, Fyvie Castle and the Hill House make the most of each place’s natural surroundings and connections to existing walking networks. They’ve welcomed a broad range of people, including people living with health conditions or tackling mental health issues, and groups who don’t typically engage with Trust properties.

At Torridon, the weekly walks happen at 11am each Tuesday, following the Shore Path loop around Torridon and through the village.

The wellbeing walks at Fyvie Castle take a similar approach. ‘Our wellbeing walks follow an easy-going circular route,’ Sarah Eggleton explains, ‘and we’ve been joined by people of all ages, but mostly recent retirees and elderly people, some of whom are in sheltered housing. Everyone sticks together and spends time chatting at the beginning and the end.’

At both places, walks have been combined with other activities like nature-inspired crafts and creative sessions, to combine the outdoors with other positive experiences.

Connecting with nature and each other

Although changes in wellbeing can be hard to track, the teams have paid close attention to the way people are engaging with the walks, and the benefits of being outdoors. Walks and other outdoor activities have encouraged people to be active, spend time away from everyday concerns, connect with other people, and feel a sense of community spirit.

About the walks at Torridon, Jess Carnegie says: ‘We’ve seen some wonderful benefits. People recovering from injury or illness have used the walks to build up their fitness and confidence at their own pace. We’ve had people join us who have been too anxious to walk on their own but who want to be able to walk and enjoy the outdoors. And we’ve seen older generations of local people, who worry about declining populations in the area, meeting younger people who have recently moved here. It’s been brilliant to be a part of it!’

At Fyvie Castle, Sarah Eggleton noticed that by hosting the walks throughout the year, people taking part noticed the changing seasons and felt a deeper connection to nature. By surveying participants using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, she has been able to gauge the impact of the walks. ‘Although it’s a very small sample size,’ Sarah says, ‘we did find that a connection to nature lead to a better feeling of wellbeing.’

Feeling inspired to get out into nature? Find your nearest Trust property or take a look at some of our favourite walks across the country.