You may be young or old, working endless hours, or retired. But there is one exercise you can still undertake almost anywhere, for however long or short a time: walking. According to health specialists, the simple act of walking “ticks so many boxes: improving our brain, mental and musculoskeletal fitness, as well as our physical fitness.”

Here are five reasons why:

Walking raises your heart rate and makes you breathe faster. It gives you the benefit of a moderate aerobic workout – without the stress on your joints. As for your blood sugar levels, consider this: after a meal your blood sugar level rises and your pancreas releases insulin to bring it down. But even a five-minute walk can help by blunting the spike in blood sugar. Try and keep your pace brisk – aim for 100 to 130 steps a minute.

Walking improves your bone density. Walking briskly engages the muscles along the back side of your body – the glutes, hamstrings and calves. They in turn put a bit of pull on your bones, which stimulates your bones to produce osteoblasts, which improves your bone density and reduces your risk of osteoporosis.

Walking improves your mood. It stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system (nerves that relax the body during stress) and stimulates your amygdala (that part of you which controls your emotions). And if you can walk near water (rivers, coast, in the rain) you get exposed to negative ions in the air. These electrically charged molecules are excellent for your mental health.

Walking helps your brain. You will sleep better, and your brain will be in better shape for memory and cognition. Walking also stimulates creative thinking – studies have found walking is a great time for problem-solving.

Walking helps your body shape. An instant way to look younger is to stand tall. So walk with your head up, shoulders back, and lengthen your back, to stand up straighter. And with firmer muscles, your overall body shape will improve, which in turn will boost your confidence!

Extracted from Parish Pump

Sixty years ago, on 4th September 1964, the Forth Road Bridge opened in Scotland. It links Edinburgh to Fife across the Firth of Forth. (A second bridge, the Queensferry Crossing, opened in 2017 and largely replaced it.) The crossing of the Firth of Forth has a long history. In the 11th century Margaret, queen consort of King Malcolm III, founded a ferry service there to transport pilgrims from Edinburgh to Dunfermline Abbey and St Andrews. It continued for over 800 years, although there were suggestions as early as the 1740s for a road crossing. The Forth Road Bridge has a main span of 1100 yards between the two towers and was the fourth longest longspan suspension bridge in the world when it opened. In total, the structure is over one and a half miles long. It is now inaccessible to vehicles other than buses and taxis, but it is open to pedestrians and cyclists – and to the first driverless bus service to carry passengers in the UK. Railway crossings are made by the original Forth Bridge, opened in 1890. There were worries in the early years of the 21st century about the number of vehicles using the Forth Road Bridge – about twice as many as had been planned – and the consequent wear and tear on a feature whose lifespan had originally been estimated at 120 years. In December 2010 heavy snow and several accidents brought the first closure. Five years later structural problems meant it would have to close to normal road traffic. The new 1.7-mile Queensferry Bridge – a spectacular motorway with no pedestrian access – was opened in August 2017. It carries about 80,000 vehicles a day. Its formal opening by Queen Elizabeth II occurred 53 years to the day after she had opened the Forth Road Bridge.