Harriet opens up about how walking helped her face fears and find confidence, one step at a time. 

Ruth Thompson and Manpreet Gill explain how movement affects the brain and why spending time outside is beneficial. 

Debbie North shares her story of embracing the outdoors again with all-terrain wheelchairs.

And Gordon Malcolm gives tips on how to gently build movement into any picnic day, whether that’s a short stroll, a seated stretch, or simply reaching to smell a flower.

The D Tour Snack Size is proudly sponsored by Right At Home

Right at Home, is committed to helping people live independently and happily in their own homes and communities - making them the ideal partner for this celebration of nature, community, and connection.

Along the way I met some incredible people and had the chance to share stories, swap experiences and learn more about how being outdoors can really lift your spirits, especially if you're living with dementia or supporting someone who is. I'm also a singer and songwriter, so you might hear a few musical threads running through these episodes too.

These little episodes are a way to pass that all on. Think of them as a flask of tea and a piece of cake on a picnic blanket, short, sweet and full of the good stuff.

Whether you're planning your own big green picnic or just looking for simple ways to connect with nature and to each other, I hope this gives you a few ideas and sparks some lovely moments.

Our sponsor, Right at Home, is committed to helping people live independently and happily in their own homes and communities, making them the ideal partner for this celebration of nature, community and connection. So grab a cuppa, settle in and let's discover together how small moments outdoors can make a big difference.

One of the most powerful lessons I learned on my walk across Britain was that movement doesn't just change your location, it changes your mood. A few steps outside, a bit of fresh air and suddenly you feel lighter, more hopeful.

Whether it was a long hill climb or just stretching my legs after breakfast, I always found a bit of walking helped settle my thoughts and lift my spirits.

In today's episode, we're talking about movement, how even gentle walking outdoors can do wonders for both the body and mind. We'll revisit some moments on the trail where walking became a form of therapy, a rhythm for reflection. And we'll hear from some brilliant guests who remind us that it's not about the miles, but about what each step gives back to you.

Later, Gordon will join us with simple tips to bring a little more movement to your picnic or or outdoor gathering.

Yesterday was a very long day. It was a spectacular walk. I would highly recommend if you're coming to the north coast, the area between Boscastle and Port Isaac is stunning.

But it's just interesting how as I walk I'm just naturally getting into the rhythm and loving being outside. And now I've come to slight, not really a problem, but I'm coming. I've come to a gate which will take me across a path to the South Coast path.

And in front of the gate are four gorgeous little bullocks.

I've always been afraid of cows, but I've walked through so many fields of cows in the past 10 days just because I'm really not gonna find another route. And maybe that's the thing with fear, you know, when you're actually, when you have to do the thing, you realise maybe it wasn't so scary after all.

I think that's why being outdoors and having outdoors challenges can really build up our confidence. I've certainly found that myself.

As I walked further north, I had a conversation that really brought home how much movement in nature does for our brains, not just our bodies.

Ruth Thompson and Manpreet Gill are program leaders in innovation, research and development at Dementia Adventure.

And what they shared gave me a deeper understanding of why simply stepping outside can be so powerful.

It was absolutely fascinating what happens in the brain when we step outdoors. There's some real chemical changes that happen.

Things like our serotonin levels increase, our dopamine levels increase, those happy hormones, we get a real surge of those the minute we start to go outside. But also our cortisol levels decrease, so our stress hormone is automatically reduced.

And you can see why the impact is absolutely huge and particularly prevalent for people living with dementia. When you start to look at how the brain really changes when we step outdoors. And not only that, I think we also know, don't we?

We've seen brain scans of people when they've been sitting quietly, but we've also seen brain scans of people when they've been outdoors and walking. And the brain is so much more active when we're outside. And that can really make a huge difference, can't it?

And I do believe that that can slow down the onset of dementia and it can, you know, slow down those symptoms, never to a point quicker than dementia progresses. But it can certainly really, really help in keeping somebody more active for much longer.

Absolutely, all of that is true. But it's hard, isn't it?

It's hard for people to get outside when they're juggling their day to day life or their bills, the housework, managing the condition, appointments. So it's about providing a reason to go that meaning and Purpose, which is important to somebody to actually go outside.

You know, what's in it for them? What are they going to gain? And all of this takes some thinking about. It's not easy by any means.

If a person diagnosed is, you know, refusing to go anywhere because it's not easy, we need to find their motivation and look at what, find, you know, look at what their sort of golden nugget is, what inspires them.

Debbie North is a passionate walker and educator who became a wheelchair user after being diagnosed with a degenerative spinal condition. But that didn't stop her from finding new ways to experience the outdoors.

Walking was our way of de stressing from a very stressful job that we, we were both in education, both working in very challenging schools.

So we began looking at things called all terrain wheelchairs, which was a huge learning curve. I mean, I, I didn't, I was coming to terms with using a wheelchair myself, just a normal wheelchair.

So to understand that there were different types of wheelchairs that could tackle quite challenging terrain, it was like mind blowing. I had this urge to do the coast to coast once more, but in this all terrain wheelchair.

And I spoke to the company and they said, well, yeah, it's never been pushed in that direction, but we'll give it a go. So Andy and I naively set off across country from the west coast at St Bees to the east coast to Robin Hood's Bay.

And I say naively because we did very little preparation apart from look at maps and link up bridle waves. And really that's when we learned about the challenges of access to the countryside.

Where we came across locked gates, we came across kissing gates that we couldn't pass through, we came across bridleways that were too narrow for an all terrain wheelchair that had steps that I've learned since are called horse stiles, where a horse could step over it. But for an all terrain wheelchair, it was quite a big step to get over.

And we came across, you know, that the infrastructure just wasn't there for accommodation where for wheelchair users or for people with disabilities. So that was really the start of my new career, as in becoming an expert in how do we access the countryside with disabilities.

And of course, wheelchair access was my big one because that affects me personally. But as I've been going along the journey.

I am more and more interested about how people with autism access the countryside, how people with visual impairment, neurodiversity, mental health, all these people, how do we get these people into the countryside and for them to feel confident that when they go somewhere they know that there is something for them to do and how to access the facilities. I'm certainly not about sterilizing the countryside to make tarmac paths everywhere. That is not in my eyes what accessibility means.

It is about providing facilities for people to borrow all terrain wheelchairs. They are very expensive and often a second wheelchair for most people which is out of the pocket of a lot, a lot of people.

It is about just helping people, helping people to access what everybody should be accessing.

You know, we talk about access for all, but really is it access for all or is it access for those that can afford it, Those that have got the knowledge to be able to access it, those who've overcome their own barriers to be able to get outside to use the facilities.

I'm Gordon from Dementia Adventure and here are some of my tips for a great picnic Movement doesn't have to Mean a Hike if you're out for a picnic, invite people to reminisce about rhymes and games played in the past like head, shoulders, knees and toes or cyber says. Use these to do something gentle like stretching, reaching up to the sky or touching their toes.

Your picnic venue may have different areas to explore, so you may want to suggest walking a few steps to spot a bird or smell a flower.

For someone with mobility challenges, even standing for a moment, taking in the sights or wheeling along a path to explore the setting can be really grounding. Build gentle movement into the day. It might just lift someone's whole afternoon.

Whether it's a long trail or a short walk to the garden gate, movement helps us feel more alive. The rhythm of walking can soothe us, energize us, and even help us feel braver.

So if you're thinking of how to make your picnic more joyful, don't just bring food, bring movement. A short stroll, a few deep breaths, a moment to stretch. It could be the support someone needs today.

Thanks for joining me on this snack sized episode of of the D Tour. Next time we'll be diving into something very close to my heart.

The power of music and how it can spark memories, lift spirits and offer real comfort to people living with dementia. And if you'd like to hear more from the original D Tour podcast, just head to detour.uk that's D T O U r see you next time.