A stroll after lunch or a hike up a steep mountainside—it doesn’t matter. Once we pass 60, the most important thing is simply moving.

I’ve said it many times: walking is the most underrated exercise of all.

Whether you are recovering from an injury, recuperating from an illness, or healing after an operation, the first piece of advice is almost always: “Get moving.”

Even if it’s just a slow lap around the lounge or the garden, those steps matter.

The Ultimate Multi-Tasker

One of the best things about walking is its accessibility. It costs nothing and you can do it almost anywhere. But the benefits go far deeper than just convenience:

• Physical Health: It boosts cardiovascular health, improves circulation, and increases your lung capacity.
• Joint Mobility: It keeps the “rust” off our joints, keeping us fluid and flexible.
• Mental Wellbeing: This is the biggest win for me.

Currently, I’ve been feeling unusually stressed.

This website has been having technical issues that made posting a nightmare for two weeks straight—my cortisol levels must be through the roof!

However, today I took myself for a countryside walk. The sun was out, spring was blooming, and suddenly, my mood lifted.

I felt an immediate wave of optimism. Time flew, and I’m already well on my way to my daily step count!

Safety First

As always, safety is paramount. Before you level up, ensure you have:

• Supportive Footwear: Choose shoes designed for your specific terrain.
• High Visibility: If you’re walking at dusk or night, wear reflective clothing or carry a light.

Shifting into a “Walking Workout”

Walking has become such a staple in my life that it now falls into two categories:

1. Functional Movement: These are the small habits, like choosing the stairs over a lift or walking short errands. These “tiny wins” often provide the most noticeable long-term benefits.
2. The Scheduled Workout: This is my dedicated 30 to 60-minute session. I always start with a quick 5-minute full-body warm-up to ensure my ankles and knees are ready for the road ahead.

But here is the catch: As humans, we are creatures of habit. It is all too easy to fall into the pattern of taking the exact same route at the exact same pace every single day.

Why Variety is Your Best Friend

To truly challenge your muscles, joints, and heart, you need to break the routine. If you walk the same intensity every session, your body adapts, and those benefits—like building bone density and burning calories—can start to plateau.

Here is how to spice up your stride:

• Change the Scenery: Try a new path! Checking out new sights and sounds keeps your mind engaged while new terrain challenges your balance.
• Find an Incline: Seek out hills or stairs. This is one of the most effective ways to build lower-body strength and increase your heart rate without needing to run.
• Play with Pace: Add “up-tempo” songs to your playlist to naturally encourage a faster gait.
• The Interval Method: After your 5-minute warm-up, add 10–30 seconds of “power walking” or even simple bodyweight exercises (like standing calf raises or squats), then return to your regular pace for 5 minutes. Repeat this throughout your walk.
• Load the Movement: If you’re ready for a real challenge, try a weighted vest. Unlike hand or ankle weights, which can strain your joints, a vest keeps the weight near your centre of gravity. It’s a fantastic way to build bone density and strength as you progress.

Staying Motivated

Consistency is the secret . Many people tell me they “walk regularly,” but when we dig deeper, it’s only “when the weather is nice.”

• The “Podcast” Rule: Only allow yourself to listen to your favorite show while walking. It becomes a reward!
• The Buddy System: I stole this term from an american friend of mine.A friend or family member acts as an accountability partner. You’ll find the miles disappear much faster when you’re chatting.
• Gear Up: Don’t let the rain stop you. Investing in high-quality, weatherproof clothing means you can enjoy the unique beauty of every season, regardless of the temperature.

“I’d love to hear from you! Do you have a favourite local route that keeps you motivated, or a trick you use to get your steps in when the weather isn’t playing ball? Drop a comment below and let’s inspire each other.”

Following the Easter weekend where my priority was to get some order to my gardens.

Lawns mowed, patio and barbecue clean and ready to go.

This weekend was supposed to be a visit to one of my favourite destinations Bath.

However disaster struck this week, I had a full week of client visits booked for my business advisory service.

3 Post’s already to go for Ropho – Tuesday morning site, crashed.

Managed to post in the evening however, page speed has nose dived this week.

As previously explained, I am learning as I go, this is my not giving up, part of starting something new and learning a new skill,.

I could easily ask one of my friends, several are web designers, but for me this is part of the process.

Once I have reached my goals for reader numbers etc, I will employ someone to maintain the site.

However until then I appreciate my current readers patience and hope this helps to inspire some of you not to give up or accept defeat and take the easy route.

Today I will hopefully get the site back up to speed.

So next week will be a visit to Bath and surrounding areas, tomorrow I will plan another couple of long weekends for the rest of April and May.

What examples do you have of not giving up in your 60’s or 70’s.

Please let me know, hearing your stories motivates me to keep going, even when it gets tough.

A Couple of my Favourite UK Weekend Break Destinations

So as we plan for our weekend breaks in May, I have listed a few of my favourites

York, North Yorkshire

York is truly one of my favourite cities, maybe because it has such a rich history in one of my forbidden pleasures. Chocolate!

And what a history it is, while other Northern UK cities built their wealth on coal, steel, or wool,.

York built its fame on chocolate. For nearly 300 years, the city has been the UK’s confectionery capital, home to global icons like the KitKat and the Terrys Chocolate Orange. 

York Minster – One of the world’s largest and most magnificent Gothic cathedrals, featuring incredible stained glass and stone architecture.

The City Walls – As the longest medieval town walls in England, you can walk a 3.4km circuit for scenic views.

The Shambles: A beautifully preserved medieval street with overhanging timber-framed buildings, frequently cited as one of the prettiest streets in Britain.

Viking & Roman Heritage – Explore the city’s roots at the immersive JORVIK Viking Centre and discover remnants of a Roman fortress

The River Ouse runs through the city, offering relaxing boat trips and picturesque riverside walks.

Proximity to Nature – What makes York such a great place for a long weekend is its location near both the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors national parks.

Independent Shopping & Dining: A vast array of independent boutiques, tea rooms (like Bettys), and local pubs. 

Another destination which is one of my favourite long weekend getaways is Cornwall which has many gems.

St Ives and Mousehole are two of my favourites and are relatively close together.

The Vibe: St Ives – Turquoise water and world-class art.

What’s new: The Tate St Ives has some incredible 2026 exhibitions focused on coastal light.

Mousehole, Cornwall

The Vibe: The “prettiest village in England.”

What’s new: It remains the ultimate retreat for 2026, with the Mousehole Rock Pool being a top spot for a chilly “wild swim.”

The Lake District, Cumbria is an obvious choice for a long weekend with many different destinations.

Key Areas & Lakes

• Keswick & Derwentwater – The “Queen of the Lakes” and the northern hub for hikers. It’s the base for the Mountain Festival and the famous Catbells climb.

• Windermere – The largest natural lake in England. Bowness-on-Windermere is the most popular tourist town, offering iconic steamer boat cruises.

• Ullswater – Often cited as the most beautiful lake, home to the Aira Force waterfall and the heritage “Steamers.”

• Grasmere – The heart of the “Poet’s District,” where you can visit Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage and buy world-famous Grasmere Gingerbread.

The Vibe: Epic fells and literary inspiration.

What’s new: In 2026, the Keswick Mountain Festival (May 15-17) is expected to be the biggest yet.

I am always looking for ideas, for new long weekend destinations, please do not hesitate to let me know your favourites.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s latest instalment Week 3.

How to run a business after 60

Dreams and Vision: The First Step in Building a Business

Business After 60: Week 2 of 8 | The Map to Your Dream

I didn’t intend to write a post today, as this being a Monday bank holiday.

My next instalment of building or reviving a business series for over 60s.

Will be posted tomorrow, when hopefully our thoughts will have turned from holiday mode into how, can I make some money mode and still enjoy myself in my sixties.

I felt compelled to write this post because of a sporting event and a developing rivalry with my 11 year old grandson.

If you have been following my story you may know I love sport and love following Southampton FC.

With all the emotional ups and downs following your favourite sports team brings.

Supporting Southampton FC Love, Loyalty and Lifelong Suffering

Which brings me to this Saturday evening when I sat down with a lovely glass of Rioja by my side.

Ready to watch Southampton take on Arsenal in the quarter finals of the FA cup.

The Emotional Rollercoaster of a Sports Fan

I am like a lot of people I know, a curious mixture of optimism and pessimism.

The type laced with hope and fear, sheer joy when your team scores the first goal, makes that early try or the batsman takes the fast bowler to the cleaners in the opening couple of overs.

Only for that veil of pessimism to slowly draw over you and create a feeling of impending doom.

“That’s it we will sit back make a self inflicted mistake they will sore then we will get hammered.”

“The batsman is going to get carried away, and will nick the ball to first slip.” etc, etc.

Well for some unknown totally irrational reason I had a feeling we could create an upset and beat the Premier league leaders.

A House Divided: Southampton vs Arsenal

What made this even more interesting than usual, my 11 year old grandson is an Arsenal fan.

We actually now live in close proximity to arsenal’s training ground.

I have always made a thing with him, that you should if possible support your local team, and as his dad is a North Londoner who supports Arsenal it was inevitable that he would follow that path.

I also made it very clear, it is an unbreakable rule that once you’ve made that decision you have to support them through thick or thin.

So to the match.

The match started reasonably from my point of view.

Arsenal whilst creating a bit more than us, weren’t making me that worried, and we indeed had a couple of clear chances.

When Support Turns to Rivalry

In the 35th Southampton scored the first goal, my phone rang it was my grandson, I was going a little crazy with happiness.

” Ha lucky goal” says grandson, don’t worry we will equalise soon and beat you 3-1.

Now that’s it!

For once I didn’t have that veil of impeding doom coming over me, it was something quite different.

A stirring feeling of rivalry that felt a bit strange.

This is the boy, that, every Sunday for the last four years I have been getting up early to take him to watch him play.

In all weathers shouting encouragement at him, delighting when he makes a great tackle or goes on a marauding run down the wing.

Well I must say this was totally different no we are going to win.

Even when arsenal equalised I felt sure we would win, and sure enough in the 85th minute we scored the winning goal.

My grandson had gone quiet and ignored my phone call.

The Beauty of the Game (and the Banter)

So it’s begun, he came to our house for the traditional family Easter lunch.

I started to tease, him or do I thought, I don’t want to upset him.

Then he said he wasn’t upset because it was only the FA cup and Arsenal were going to win the premier league and champions league anyway.

So maybe the rivalry is only building in my head because Southampton aren’t a threat, as he sees it.

But this just shows how fantastic following a team is.

Grandad and grandson are both happy and very optimistic for now,.

Or though you know the inevitable losses will come at some point in the future.

But it just doesn’t matter because this weekend has been a great weekend.

Next week back to shouting encouragement to grandson.

Sport, wow fantastic.

Now to finish that gardening I promised to do at the start of the weekend.

Let me know if you are ever unexpectedly happy or unhappy at sports events, or is there something else that makes you glad to be alive, all comments are very welcome.

“That same spirit of ‘irrational optimism’ I felt during the match?

It’s exactly what we need when starting a new venture.

Tune in tomorrow for the next instalment of my business series for the over 60s!”

“Easter Bank Holiday Balance”

“The plan was to be knee-deep in moss and lawn clippings by now, but the British weather has other ideas.

So, while I wait for the patio to dry, I’m reflecting on a great Hampshire find and prepping for the sun’s return…”

Before the garden chores called, we spent last weekend in Hampshire for a baby shower, in the evening, we found ourselves at The Bugle in Hamble, and it hit that “sweet spot” I’m always looking for.

• The Vibe: Nautical, historic, and bustling.
• The “Yes—Sensibly” Choice: I stuck to the fresh local seafood. It was light, vibrant, and meant I had plenty of “calorie credit” left when the waiter started talking about the wine list.
• Verdict: 5/5 for service that feels friendly but professional. A proper “grown-up” pub.

The “Bank Holiday” First Cut

The sun is out, this weekend allegedly, although a look out the window, it’s cloudy oh well!, Saturday, Sunday shows promise according to the weather forecast.

“The plan was to be knee-deep in moss and lawn clippings by now, but the British weather has other ideas. So, while I wait for the patio to dry, I’m reflecting on a great Hampshire find and prepping for the sun’s return…”

If your lawn looks like mine, it’s currently a hay field.

• The Mistake: Scalping the grass. Don’t do it!
• The Fix: Set your mower to its highest setting. Think of it as a tidy-up rather than a transformation. You’ll save the grass from turning brown, and you’ll still clock up 5,000 steps before lunch.
• The Reward: Gardening counts as resistance training in my book. It’s the perfect excuse for a glass of something cold later.

The Friday Find: A Rioja Under £15

Since it’s a Bank Holiday, you need a “Safe Bet” bottle, doesn’t have to be a Merlot, I’ve just found this lovely Rioja.

• The Selection: Marqués de Riscal Rioja Reserva (Check your local supermarket—usually around £12-£14).
• The Vibe: It’s smooth, classic, and feels like a celebration.
• Coming Soon: Speaking of celebrations, I’ve just discovered a new favorite Italian restaurant in Shenley.
• It was the perfect “refuel” after a long walk this week. I’ll be sharing the full review, and whether their pasta passes the “Balance” test, very soon.

“I’m always on the hunt for those hidden gems, the kind of place where the food is great but you can actually hear yourself think.

Have you found a local Italian or a proper food pub recently that’s worth the drive?

Drop me an email or leave a comment—I’d love to add it to my ‘Yes map!”