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WFW Virtual Walk 35
NUMBER 35
Dear lovely walkers,

Hope you've been keeping well, especially in the run up to the festive season which can be a difficult and stressful time as well as a joyful one, particularly as things are so different this year. 

The good news is we are coming out of lockdown. We have made a small change to our in-person walks in response, you are now able to book on to as many walks as you like in a week rather than being limited to one.

This week in our virtual walk we are going Stargazing in the Mojave Desert. We also have some lovely pictures of a church Dianne and Cyril discovered on their walk, some beautiful pictures of a heron from walker Rosamond, and some pictures of a pair of our Merrell shoes from our giveaway getting put to good use on a walk. 

Just a reminder, we have a brand new online peer support group to help you look after your wellbeing in this really difficult time. Everyone is welcome, so if you'd like to come along, please get in touch! You can get a flavour of the kind of thing we do in these sessions by checking out the video tutorial on mindful photography from volunteer Melita which is also included in this email. 

More information on all of this in the links below. 

Read or listen to the walk
Book on to an in-person walk
Festive Plans
New! Peer support group
From our readers
We want to hear from you!
Your feedback on the virtual walks
What is the latest government advice?
What if I can't go outside?
Coronavirus and your wellbeing

As always, please stay safe out there and keep on getting out for regular exercise if you are able to.

Best wishes, 

Francesca
Walking for Wellbeing Project Facilitator


 
This week's virtual walk
Listen to the walk here!
Welcome, everyone.
 
Ever since we came down out of the trees, human beings have looked up at the stars in wonder.   But these days, few people can say that they’ve seen the night sky the way our ancestors would have known it. As our cities sprawl out across our planet, they pollute our skies with artificial light, turning the clear blue and silver darkness into a foggy orange haze.
 
So today for our walk, let’s go somewhere remote and wild enough that we can fully appreciate the splendour of the cosmos. Joshua Tree national park, in California’s Mojave desert, is a hotspot for astronomy enthusiasts, because of its large expanse of open wilderness, free from the polluting glow of large settlements.
 
It’s midnight. Once our 4x4 stops bumping along the road and the engine cuts out, a deep, profound silence falls.  We are truly in the middle of nowhere, here. There’s just a tiny little parking spot by an insignificant road in the middle of an empty valley. Nobody else is around.
 
We step down out of the car, close our eyes and breathe deep. Even though it’s summer and it’s scorchingly hot in the daytime, after dark the temperature plummets, and the air is refreshingly chilly as we draw it into our lungs. There’s a pleasant smell to it, like the smell of the rain, from the creosote bushes sprawling along the ground all around us.
 
A fun fact you may not know is that the human eye takes 20-30 minutes to adapt to low light conditions. So it will take us a little while to be able to really get a good view of the stars.  Why don’t we walk along this trail here while we’re waiting for our vision to adjust?
 
We switch on our torches, covered in red cellophane to avoid interrupting our eyes’ adjustment process, and follow the rocky, narrow trail as it climbs gently upwards. All around us loom darker patches in the darkness. Joshua trees, the park’s namesake.  These bizarre-looking plants, taller than two tall men standing on each other’s shoulders, look like giants reaching up enormous arms into the sky.
 
As we walk along the trail, we become attuned to the smaller sounds of the desert that we might not have noticed at first. The wind picks up. Small creatures scuttle about at the feet of the Joshua Trees. And far away in the distance, the mournful howl of a coyote pierces the still night air. We have our ears open all the time for the distinctive rattle of a rattlesnake, but thankfully we don’t hear it.
 
Here we are at the lookout point. Finally, let’s look up. Wow. It’s hard not to catch your breath as you stare up at that inky blue vault, scattered with silver.  The starlight is so bright here you could read a book by it.  All the familiar constellations seem sharper and almost impossibly clear, like someone had dialled up the contrast on a photo to the max. There’s steadfast Polaris, showing us the way to the north. There, Orion with Sirius snapping at his heels. And there, the Milky Way. Usually it’s a faint misty smudge, like breath fogging up a pane of glass, but here it’s a glowing trail of light, like someone had swiped a brush of glow-in-the-dark paint across the night sky.
 
"The Milky Way...is a glowing trail of light, like someone had swiped a brush of glow-in-the dark paint across the night sky."
It all looks so still and tranquil. It’s hard to believe that what we’re seeing is billions upon billions of ginormous explosions, slowly rumbling away over an unimaginable length of time. It’s like the most slow-motion firework display you could possibly imagine. Up there, huge clouds of gas and dust and rock are whirling around each other, pulling apart and colliding like steps in an intricate dance that we do not yet know the rules of, and yet have always been trying to figure out.
 
At this time of year, the Perseid meteor shower is at its peak. Glowing streaks of light shoot across the sky all night.  If we stay here for long enough, we should be able to see them. Look! There’s one. And another. And another. It looks like a shining rain silently falling to earth. We stand here just watching them, as ten minutes turns into fifteen minutes turns into half an hour.
Ok, we should probably be getting back now. Let’s walk slowly back along the trail to the car. It’s impossible not to keep craning your neck upwards as you do so, so go carefully. You wouldn’t want to trip.  Hope you’ve enjoyed our walk tonight- and see you soon for another walk.
Book onto an in-person walk
Walking for Wellbeing is currently running a reduced timetable of in person walks (see details below)! If you are fit and healthy and in a low-risk category for Covid-19, please do come along!

Existing participants can book onto these walks using the links below. If you have not come on a walk with us before, please get in contact with us first using the contact details below. 

Oxford 

All Oxford walks meet outside The Mill, 46 Cowley Road, OX4 1HZ.

Thursday 10th December- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/129992568271
Tuesday 15th December- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/129992423839
Thursday 17th December- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/131176910671

Banbury 

All Banbury walks meet outside Banbury Wellbeing Hub, Britannia Road, OX16 5DN.

Friday 27th November- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/128108709599
Friday 4th December- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/130232391589
Friday 11th December- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/130232457787

You can also book on by getting in touch with us on walking@oxfordshiremind.org.uk or 07701372060.

Please read the safety guidance before attending.
Festive Plans
Walking for Wellbeing will be having a brief hiatus in our face-to-face services over the festive season, from Monday 21st December to Friday 1st January. This is to allow for staff annual leave. 

We will still be sending out our virtual walking newsletters as usual on the 21st December and 4th January. 
New! Peer Support Group
In response to the second lockdown we have set up a new virtual peer support group to help support each other with staying active through these uniquely challenging times. 

Would you like:
  • To share your love of nature with a group of like-minded individuals?
  • Help with goal-setting and friendly encouragement to keep going with physical activity?
  • Practical ideas for how to get more out of your walks and stave off boredom? 
Then this could be for you!

The group runs Mondays 2-4pm on Zoom. Get in touch with us for further details!
From our readers
Mindful Photography Video
A lovely tutorial on mindful photography from WFW volunteer Mel, created for our new peer support group. 
Church Pictures
Volunteers Dianne and Cyril discovered this hidden church in one of their recent walks. 
Walking shoes
Some pictures and a video from a happy recipient of a pair of the Merrell shoes we were giving away early this year! 
Heron
Some lovely pictures of a heron on a foggy morning from walker Rosamond!
We want to hear from you!

We're always looking for new content for this newsletter! If you have something that you think our readers would like to see, we'd love to hear from you.

You could send in photos or videos of you out for your daily exercise, pictures of nice things you've seen, or even just a written message of support or tip for how you've been keeping active and maintaining your wellbeing--  anything that you think would be positive, helpful and encouraging.   If you have an idea for a walk location that would also always be welcome.

Please just don't reveal your home address, or take a photo or video of somebody else when you don't have their permission. 

If you would like to share something, just send it in to walking@oxfordshiremind.org.uk, alongside a completed consent form, which you can download here. 
Virtual Walks Feedback Survey
We want to know what you have thought of our virtual walks so far!

Your feedback helps us give you the best experience possible and prove that we are doing a good job so we can keep offering this service. 

If you have particularly enjoyed our virtual offer, have thoughts on what we could do better, or just have an idea for a good place to virtually walk, please fill out our survey: https://form.jotform.com/201693360035045
What is the latest government advice?

Government advice is frequently changing in response to the evolving situation, so please check these links for the latest advice and further detail:

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
 
What if I can't go outside?

If you aren't able to go outside right now, there are things you can do to still keep active and get the benefits of nature in your life.

Sport England has gathered together some great resources to help you exercise in your home:

https://www.sportengland.org/news/how-stay-active-while-youre-home

Suggestions for what you could do to get the benefits of the outdoors while inside (from https://www.oxfordshiremind.org.uk/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing/ ): 

  • Spend time with the windows open to let in fresh air.
  • Have flowers or potted plants in your home.
  • Use natural materials to decorate your living space, or use them in art projects. This could include leaves, flowers, feathers, tree bark or seeds.
  • Arrange a comfortable space to sit, for example by a window where you can look out over a view of trees or the sky, or watch birds and other animals. 
  • Grow plants or flowers on windowsills. For example, you could buy seeds online or look for any community groups that give away or swap them.
  • Look at photos of your favourite places in nature. Use them as the background on your mobile phone or computer screen, or print and put them up on your walls.
  • Listen to natural sounds, like recordings or apps that play birdsong, ocean waves or rainfall.
  • Get as much natural light as you can. Spend time in your garden if you have one, or open your front or back door and sit on the doorstep.
Coronavirus and your wellbeing

If you are worried about the effect that coronavirus is having on your wellbeing, please read the advice from Oxfordshire Mind below. 

https://www.oxfordshiremind.org.uk/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing/

There are also handy tips for how those with severe mental illness can look after their health in this time below:

https://equallywell.co.uk/resources/guide-for-people-with-smi-to-look-after-physical-health-during-covid/
About Walking for Wellbeing
Walking for Wellbeing is an Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership-wide project which runs walking groups for people with severe and enduring mental health conditions. We are funded by Sport England, affiliated with Ramblers/Walking for Health, and based within Oxfordshire Mind. 

For more information, please contact walking@oxfordshiremind.org.uk.
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