Riverlution Blue Monday Wellbeing Walk

Book your place on our Riverlution Blue Monday Wellbeing Walk on Monday 16 January | 10am - 12pm

#Behappybeblue this January in the face of ‘Blue Monday’, the saddest day of the year by getting out and about near your local waterways and kick-start your new year with improved feelings of wellbeing, just by being by water!

We will be walking along the River Porter at Ringinglow, Sheffield. Meet at Porter Brook Trail, Fulwood Lane Car Park, Sheffield S10 4QN

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It is at this time of year, following the festivities and with the cold wintry weather upon us, that ‘Blue Monday’ finds us feeling a little low and in need of a real boost to our energy levels!

Falling on Monday 16 January in 2023, ‘Blue Monday’ might affectionately be well-known as the saddest day of the year, but it gives us all the more reason to reflect upon our wellbeing and incite fresh, confident action for the year ahead. When looking for simple drops of inspiration, did you know the hugely positive influence that just being by water can have on our lives and the benefits not only to our mental but to our physical health?

The River Stewardship Company (RSC), strives to connect local people to their ‘patch’ of waterway to create better waterways for people, places and wildlife. This ‘Blue Monday’, our  Community Interest Company, Riverlution by RSC are encouraging the people of Sheffield and South Yorkshire to ‘Be Riverlutionary’ by getting out and about to explore and experience their local rivers and waterways, challenging them to beat those Blue Monday blues by seeing them in a new light and sharing their experiences using the hashtag #behappybeblue.

Research has shown that both our bodies and minds have a personal and emotional relationship with water which is also known as the “Blue Mind” effect. Coined by neuroscientists and marine biologist and author, Wallace J Nichols – it describes a mildly meditative state we fall into by feeling more aware and relaxed when near water, which helps us counteract those stresses and strains of modern day living and illustrates how the “crucial importance of our connection to water” can provide a “paradigm-shifting blueprint” for a better life.

In our cities and beyond, our rivers and waterways are always exciting come rain or shine, and provide the perfect place to escape to for a lunchbreak walk along the canal, or a simple nature trail with the family along one of South Yorkshire’s glorious rivers, where you are likely to spot a kingfisher or heron as you immerse yourself in the majestic green and blue scenery available right here on your doorstep for free!

To help inspire you to take those first steps...

Riverlution CIC are hosting a Blue Monday Wellbeing Walk along the River Porter at Ringinglow, Sheffield on Monday 16 January, 10am – 12pm as part of the #walkwithme campaign championed by Nuffield Farming scholar, Chris Manley, with the hope that we can all help and encourage each other to improve our wellbeing and mental health.

At a time when modern life may make us feel we are over-connected, the #walkwithme campaign aims to use walking as a way to create more positive, supportive and open conversations around our wellbeing and mental health. Encouraging a ‘walk a day’, whether on our own or with friends and family, it asks us to share our experiences on social media with the #walkwithme hashtag to inspire others to join in.

Geoffrey Guy, Riverlution Manager, will be leading the Blue Monday Wellbeing Walk and encourages everyone to take up this opportunity to #behappybeblue and reflect and refocus with a #walkwithme venture along the riverside:

Walking, whether alone, with my family or as a group, has always been a really important part of my life, for recreation and relaxation and through involvement in schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, both as a participant, and more recently an Award leader. Although I didn’t realise until more recently, how walking has been a real factor in my own health and wellbeing and gives me a chance to step away from pressure and stress and ‘reset’. These walks give us a chance to spend some time in nature and without a doubt do more good for us than simple physical exercise.

Having worked with young people out of doors for many years, it is also clear that they benefit from walking experiences in nature, particularly in unfamiliar terrain where a sense of adventure can really broaden horizons. I have found this to be particularly the case for young people from deprived or urban backgrounds where nature might be unfamiliar to them.

Working collectively, with support from the Don Dearne and Rother Network, Don Catchment Rivers Trust, Sheaf and Porter Rivers Trust, Friends of the Blue Loop and Kelham Island and Neepsend Alliance, we will continue to grow support for a river walk campaign, promoting the positive link between wellbeing, mental health and our rivers.”

Riverlution Blue Monday Wellbeing Walk* | Monday 16 January | 10am – 12pm |This FREE wellbeing walk is open to everyone but places must be booked in advance at www.the-rsc.co.uk  (subject to availability). Meeting point Porter Brook Trail, Fulwood Lane Car Park, Sheffield S10 4QN.

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*The walk route follows a footpath which is steep in places and muddy and uneven underfoot and not suitable for pushchairs. Dogs on leads are welcome. Refreshments will be provided. There are no toilet facilities available. Please email riverlution@the-rsc.co.uk for further details.

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