Free walks can boost our mental health and help us understand rural matters… and the dog can come, too!

A series of free country walks in the county has been planned to enhance mental well-being and improve understanding of the new Countryside Code.
Farming Community Network Essex is developing its pastoral care with the monthly guided walks, known collectively and further afield as Walky Talky.
The speakers on the walks will quietly help refine public knowledge of the Countryside Code and rural concerns while enabling people to understand what FCN does for the rural community.
Walks will be held every second Saturday of the month, encouraging families and dogs to spend a couple of hours enjoying and discovering the beauty of the Essex Way.
The walks provide an opportunity for people to get away from everyday issues and chat about whatever is on their mind – “be it something related to what’s happening with or around them, rural issues, what they had for breakfast, the latest film, or something else altogether”.
A spokesman for FCN said: “If they don’t feel like talking, that’s OK, too. Our walks are simply a safe space to get out, connect and meet like-minded people from within the rural community.”

• Below are two posters showing the walks timetable, while you can learn more about the events at this Facebook page