To not understand the need for "walks"

[walkingDisaster22]

Anyone else similar to me and not understand the need for walks or enjoyment in walking.
My in laws are obsessed with walking and think i'm odd (or maybe a sloth!) for not wanting to go out daily walking.
Where is the enjoyment in mud and rain? I would rather chill with a good book. Please tell me I'm not on my own?

I’m with you. I have to walk the dog daily but if it’s raining/ stormy/ horrifically cold I tell her she wants to stay at home on the sofa with me and she agrees every time.

I used to be like this and drove everywhere. Since I took up walking I discovered so many things I never knew existed when I was driving!! Amazing!!

I’m with you I hate going for walks on a drizzly Sunday with the in-laws. It’s just a waste of time - Id rather be chilling or catching up on chores. Walking is neither useful or relaxing when MIL is droning on about Betty from over the road. I think they like it so much because it’s cheap.

I love going for long off-road walks with friends for a whole day when it’s a challenge, so it’s not as if I hate walking per se.

In this financial climate then it’s something absolutely everyone is able to do with their leisure time.

(Physical limitations not withstanding)

Married into a walking and hiking family have learned to love it and now go out on my own in the evenings - love that the evenings are lighter. If I’m talking to my mum/aunt I could walk for hours!

You're absolutely fine not to enjoy a walk. But the dog and I go out twice a day, every day. At least 50% of those walks are enjoyable () and the regular air, exercise and peace is the Number 1 thing that keeps me mentally balanced.

Without those walks, I think I'd be very much less happy. Plus, this time of the year is The Best walking weather.

I will walk if I need to get somewhere. I will exercise by getting in a treadmill (where I can stay out of the weather and distract myself with media) or engaging in other activity. I have never enjoyed walking for the sake of walking.

Oh god I love walking. We’re in a village surrounded by fields and I finally really got to know it in first lockdown. DD is 3 so I miss getting much pace up, she’s fast but easily distracted and that’s great too, she’s well up on her nature stuff. We walk all the time, it’s good to be moving, breathing fresh air, watching the seasons change. It’s the single best way to get my teen DSC talking too, they’re big into walking in forests and we do that a lot.

I also love reading, tv, films, MN, Twitter, sitting completely still. They’re not mutually exclusive!

I think it was Lord Peter Wimsey, as channelled by Dorothy L. Sayers, who said that Brits scorn a walk unless there's an indifferent tea room the end of it, and then it's immediately attractive. This applies perfectly to me.

I’m with you OP, despite coming from a family of walkers and being dragged around bloody hilllsides every Sunday afternoon (when my dad invariably forgot where he’d parked the car).

I don’t like walking for the sake of walking (like a pp wrote, what’s interesting about seeing the same old streets?) but if I’m somewhere on holiday and there are stunning views and we’ve packed a nice picnic complete with a bottle of wine, well I can get behind that sort of walking.

It also feels pretty inefficient as a mode of transport (I bike everywhere and walking just seems so slow!)

I found me tribe!!

I’ve always found it a bit of dirty secret that I should hide though that I’d rather sit on my backside in the warm than get my shoes on and get out. DH is the opposite and goes for a walk several times a day, gets antsy without fresh air and relaxes better after he’s had that exercise. Sadly we have young children who need to be exhausted enough to sleep well so sometimes walks can be the lesser evil - doesn’t mean I don’t try and palm them off on DH though!

I can always think of at least 20 things I’d rather do if given the option of a walk:

@Manekinek0

I need to get out and be in nature or I don't feel right. I take my little dog to the woods or down the river. I love the smells and colours. Sometimes I'll go out for a run. I honestly wouldn't cope being stuck inside.

Me too! I walk to work and it makes me so happy. All the birds, the ponies in a field. Now we have blossom and flowers. Bliss! No wonder we have an obesity crisis and poor MH in the UK.

People like different things. Shocker.

I LOVE walking. I’d happily spend the whole day just pootling around the countryside.

Especially at this time of year when all the flowers are popping up. There are so many little birds and animals to look at too.

I went for a walk the other morning and saw rabbits, a family of pheasants and loads of butterflies.

It makes me happy to be alive 😊

I love walking in nice weather but detest it in rain or high wind. Then I would rather stay in but on a lovely day to be inside reading is a waste.

I used to like walking my dogs but the remaining one is old now and can't walk far or get in the car. The walk from my house is horrible. Nasty noisy smelly A road. I garden, DIY, do all kinds of stuff round the house. Some people like to walk, some don't. Its not a big deal.

I walk at least 10k a day and feel ill on the rate occasion I don't manage to get out. I think it is the fresh air, the exercise, the scenery. It's my relaxation time and would be the last luxury I would give up.

Can't say I like walking either OP but I LOVE lane swimming. I'm trained and can swim very well. The sight/feeling of slipping into a calm pool is pure endorphins to me. I daresay many people would find that boring, so different strokes for different folks I guess.

Love to walk
Love to read

I’m very lucky to be able to do both.

@ThrobbingToothacheOfTheMind

People like different things. Shocker.

pretty much this.....but its like the massive salad trope on MN

Ooh I love to walk and am out with the dog twice a day, it's such a habit now that I will walk wherever I am, on holiday, away for work, around the streets.

I love to walk on my own and get all the thoughts out.
It does help that I live in a beautiful part of the world.

I automatically relax and feel more at ease when I am outside. No matter the weather. I feel safe and comfortable. I really miss it when I can’t get out.

@FrownedUpon

Exercise. Nature. Sunshine. Lots of great things about walking. I don’t understand people who just sit about the house all day 🤷‍♀️

This. ^ YABVU @walkingDisaster22 Walking is good for the heart, good for the mind, good for the health, and I can't imagine why ANYone would dislike it. Just slobbing around the house all day is so dismal and depressing. I couldn't be in a relationship with someone slovenly who just sat on the couch all day.

I love a good book, so I walk while listening to an audio book and time just flies. I get my daily exercise and book fix at the same time. I started this during Lockdown 1 and never looked back.