‘I felt I’d stepped into Narnia’: walking St Patrick’s Way in Northern Ireland

The pilgrim path celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Our writer takes in the uncrowded moors, mountains, canal and coast, on an adventure straight out of a storybook

Country diary: The hair-trigger pigeons are up again, more dance than flight

Brighton, East Sussex: How many times a day do they do this? How do they decide who goes first?

Chris Boardman to lead new walking and cycling body in England

Former Olympic cycling champion vows to take back streets from motor traffic as head of Active Travel England

On the right track: how walking connects me to the land and its people

From the Himalayas to Palestine and north London to south Devon, hiking gives a sense of belonging

Easy wins: shorten the commute, walk off the weight and lift the spirits

You could sign up for a gym membership – or you could just get off the bus a few stops earlier and walk

Spaces for pondering, meditating, praying and ‘being’: 10 of Britain’s best small pilgrimage sites

Remote churches, peace monuments and Celtic-style hillside etchings make for a meditative – and free – new year pilgrimage

Walking is a glorious, primal pastime – and far more radical than you think

Despite its reputation as a bourgeois hobby, walking has been a lifeline for millions past and present, says Guardian columnist John Harris

Silent hike, holy hike: a thoughtful country walk in Sussex to ease the soul

As Christmas approaches, a new micro-pilgrimage is offered for those wanting to walk in complete silence. But is it an experience worth shouting about?

Rambling with Dolly Parton and meditative strolls: the best podcasts for walks

From a trip down memory lane with celebs to adventures in remote Scotland: if you’re looking for company on your next walk, there’s a podcast for that

A great walk to a great pub: the Riverside, Herefordshire

Beeches, brambles and brawny fortresses line the trail to a hostelry that has been welcoming wayfarers since the 1500s