To think I could walk to work and back in nicer weather?

[NapQueen]

New job is, according to Google maps, 2.3 miles away and the estimated walking time is 53mins.

It's a nice walk there, downhill to the riverside then along and up a little at the end. Obviously the walk home would be harder!

Anyone walk a distance like this?

Nb am hideously bad at cycling so that's a no go!

I would definitely walk unless it was shit weather.

It's great exercise, time outdoors, will keep you healthy and increase dopamine and will be some nice relaxation time before and after work. If public transport would take 45 mins anyway surely it's a no brainer?

I wouldn't even think to get in the car for such a short distance! Go for it - you'll enjoy it

I'd do it. My husband and I used to work just over three miles (maybe nearer four) from our house and he walked both ways ever day in all weathers - but he is a bit odd, to be fair! He could do it in about 40 minutes. My time over the same route never approached that, but I got it down to 45 once or twice. (I didn't do it routinely because I am lazier and less fit than him.)

I do like walking, though. With some good music to listen to or something interesting on the radio/podcasts/audiobooks, the time flies by. Saves money too. We don't have a car so our comparison was with public transport. Train was a bit quicker but the cost goes higher and higher and the reliability doesn't. Always packed. Bus service takes about the same time as walking, on a good day, but was also always packed. The extra time taken to walk was more than balanced out by the benefits of the exercise, the reduction in stress and the saving in fares.

Good luck with the new job!

moom- My teens walk 2 miles to school every day. Takes them about 35/40 minutes

My teens don't have the time. And if they did I would prefer them to use that 5 hours studying.

Walking is good, but it takes so long, it's also a very inefficient way to exercise, too gentle for a cardio workout and does little for the core, nothing for upper body.
I think there are more fruitful activites that can be done with that time.

What a fantastic set up, I'd 100% walk, you'll feel fantastic and so much more energetic. I used to do similar and it would blow away the cobwebs, give me time to prepare for the day ahead/unwind before getting home and it kept me fit.
I don't now because I've just become a SAHM but I still walk a minimum of 3/4 miles a day and I'd feel lost without it!
Get an Audible account (I do the free one, one book a month) and pick a couple of good podcasts, and you'll really enjoy it!

Good luck with your new job!

Definitely do it. I commute into central London by train and whenever possible walk from the terminal station to the office (only 25 min walk... about 1.3 miles I think). I walked from London Bridge to the west end (2.9 miles) along the river in about 50 mins last week and it was so much better than the central line.

It's a choice many people do not have*

We all have that choice.

Yanbu. Mine is 2 miles and I walk it all year round. It's so much easier than driving and faffing around with traffic jams and parking.

You just need decent trainers and good coat in the winter.

Sherry - it would be 7 and a half hours for OP. It's very balanced and healthy and normal to walk places. If only more people walked places/were more mobile, obesity and health would be less of an issue but as it stands it costs the NHS hugely.

If I worked in my town or needed to get to the train station, it would be a 2 mile walk each way which I would do, no problem. It's not far at all and gets some exercise in. It takes me about 35/40 mins when I do walk it. The only problem would be if you needed to drop kids off at school etc which would make a 50 min walk less easy to fit it.

I don't understand how walking could be seen as an inefficient use of time. We are designed to walk and run rather than sit lots. Anything that means we are moving and doing this is going to be good for your body.

I live 10 mins away from work by foot and still drive in since winter started. 10 mins is manageable

And that right there is why towns and cities are crowded with cars, the air is polluted and we're getting fatter.

Google maps tends to assume a slow walking pace. You can shave quite a bit off the 53 minutes. And for the pp who said walking isn't great as exercise, the NHS disagrees www.nhs.uk/Livewell/getting-started-guides/Pages/getting-started-walking.aspx

I'd walk it as by the time I've got the bike out I could be a few hundred metres on my way, let alone by the time I've messed around with a car and then found somewhere to park. It really isn't any distance at all for someone able bodied and it saddens me that people need to ask.

Skerry - what do you mean? How can we all choose to not go out to work? If I don't go out to work, I can't pay bills, rent etc.
OP - walking sounds like a great plan. Definitely doable.

"s[hock] to the person who drives for a ten min walk."

I would walk it no question. So would I. I have never, ever lived within 10 miles of anywhere I have worked. Currently my commute is 16 miles each way along a very busy stretch of the M1.

It's the time element that I couldn't afford.

You can maintain fitness in less than half that time week and still have hours to do other things in.
Weather in the UK is bad, the OP is likely to get soaked 50% of the time and turn up at work a dripping mess.

Skerry - what do you mean? How can we all choose to not go out to work?

Because it is easy to earn money at home. Easy peasy.

Good idea NapQueen

Dress for the weather and carry a rucksack, not a handbag (better for posture). Does your workplace have somewhere you can hang a wet coat? A locker where you can leave your work shoes so you don't have to carry them with you?

I'd walk it. I used to walk a mile before I could even get a train and then another half mile at the other end. Didn't think it was too bad tbh and that was in any weather.
I also used to cycle the 15 miles there and back from march - October when it was light enough.
I hadn't cycled in 10 years before taking it up again, give it a go you'll probably be ok after a few practice runs.

The best sort of exercise is any sort that you will actually do

• as opposed to the gym membership cardsthat stay unused in so many people's wallets. The OP's inconvenient buses are a gift to her in a funny sort of way - although if she had children to collect from nursery 30 minutes after she finished her shift then that would be a problem.

And time spent out in the fresh air and sunlight has health advantages beyond that spent in a windowless air-conditioned gym. Best case scenario she could bring running gear and gradually build up to running home each day

As people have said, Google maps overestimate a bit and after a while you'll get to know your route and you'll pick up the pace.

I walk just over 3 miles to work. When I first started it would take me an hour now it's only 45 minutes. I love it, great time to listen to music/podcasts and drink a coffee on the way in. Everytime the bus goes past they all look miserable packed in like sardines plus it costs a fortune.

Get a pair of decent boots and a waterproof and you'll be fine.

The best type of exercise is integrated into daily life. My teens walk to school and back too (30 minutes each way). They also swim, cycle, play football

It's a sad world if you'd rather your child spent an extra hour studying then having a nice walk.

I walk daily. The weather isn't an issue. I agree with having a rucksack and good footwear/waterproofs.

omni- my DD dances at a professional level -she dances 7 days a week. Every day after school it's a busy turnaround to eat her meal and head to the dance studio she has no time to "have a nice walk".