Introduction

Why do we go on long walks? Aside from the seemingly obvious health benefits of exercise, what is it about walking which has had such long-lasting appeal? The German film director Herzog described walking as “spiritual” whilst Charles Dickens used walking to plot his novels. From the German tradition of the wandern to urban street walking, it seems we’ve always gone on long walks for reasons other than necessity. Why? Mike Williams puts on his walking boots and goes in search of answers.

(Photo: Hikers walk along a path as what remains of the Findelgletscher glacier near Zermatt, Switzerland. Credit: Getty Images)