Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Wellbeing, Cllr Lucia das Neves, joined regular walkers, local councillors and health partners to thank volunteer walk leaders – some of whom have been helping keep people on the move for almost 20 years.
Dozens of attendees at the event, hosted at New River Leisure Centre on Friday (31 October 2025), heard inspiring stories about the volunteers, the walks and beneficial impacts they’ve had in terms of reducing isolation and supporting mental wellbeing within our communities.
The celebration came in the week when major new published research shows longer walks of 15 minutes or more can cut the risk of heart problems.
Cllr das Neves said:
We’re delighted to have such an innovative, healthy project right here in the borough.
We hear from residents all the time how much these walks mean to them and the positive benefits they bring for both physical and mental health.
We are grateful to have the opportunity to celebrate the programme and the people that help make it such a success.
The fantastic walks team has achieved and delivered some notable highlights over this past year* (*between October 2024 and September 2025), including:
- 17 different themed weekly/monthly walks that have welcomed over 5,250 walkers
- 171 new walkers
- Weekly garden walks supporting seven sheltered housing residents in Tottenham
- Weekly Turkish & Kurdish walks in Down Lane Park
- A weekly Nordic walk at Bruce Castle Park & Stationers Park
- Monthly SEND walks supporting parents & carers
- Monthly Dementia walks in Finsbury Park for those living with Dementia and their carers
- 6 Healthy Hearts projects delivering walks to key communities to support their health needs
- Summer Sensory walks for people with multi–complex needs at Winkfield Centre
The gathering also got to find out more about the ‘Walking for Better Health’ programme – a collaboration between Haringey Walks and Haringey Talking Therapies. This eight-week course, which combines psychoeducation on common mental health problems with light exercise, has been running successfully for over a year and has had a positive impact on the daily lives of residents in Haringey.
For more information about Haringey Walks and to get involved, please contact Anita on: 07973 571 921 or Lily on: 07971 113 463. You can also email us at: get.active@haringey.gov.uk or visit the Walking page on our website.
