I recently had the chance to interview Annabel at our local book shop as The Walking Cure was Waterstones book of the month. I can recommend interviewing your friends! Particularly if it’s in front of a highly engaged and thoughtful crowd.

Leaving aside the walking for a moment, my biggest take out was that, by writing a Sunday Times bestseller, Annabel has given us proof that success in the second half of life doesn’t just happen to ‘other people’. Her achievement is evidence that – whatever your creative outlet – you can come to it late, you can come to when you’re busy doing other things (like raising four children), you can come to it in whatever form is meaningful to you. She’s followed what she loves, writing fiction, biography, memoir and health (hello, The Age-Well Project!)

Anyway, we talked about walking! For me it’s a way to get around and to exercise the dog. For Annabel it’s a place of escape and freedom and creativity. What is it for you? Let us know in the comments.

We talked about the positive impact walking has on mental health: the physical act of walking, particularly when we’re going hard, and going up hill, slows rumination.  Essentially, walking uphill demands more of the brain as it makes thousands of tiny adjustments to keep us moving, so attention shifts from internal thinking to engagement with the external world. You can’t worry too much about what your boss said in a meeting when you’re trying to stay upright on a rocky crag.

My particular interest is, of course, in brain health and we discussed how the rhythm of walking activates both sides of the brain, unlocking cognition and memory. I read recently that ‘the brain evolved to work in a moving body’ and that makes so much sense. Our forebears evolved big brains to keep them alive as they roamed the savannah – they weren’t grappling with email!

A study published late last year in Nature found that anything above 5000 steps a day making a measurable difference to brain health. There are multiple pathways that make this happen: better blood flow pumping to the brain, lower inflammation (so less amyloid, tau tangles and neurodegeneration), better glucose regulation, which improves insulin sensitivity and metabolic health, more neuroplasticity and more BDNF – that ‘Miracle Gro’ for the brain we love to talk about.

The question of how many steps a day always looms large when we talk about walking. The 2025 Lancet systematic review looking at daily steps and health outcomes in multiple step-count studies found that increasing daily steps was associated with:

• 47% lower risk of premature death
• 38% lower dementia risk
• 25% lower cardiovascular disease risk
• 22% lower depression risk

Importantly for all of us, benefits started well below 10,000 daily steps. 7000 made a meaningful difference to health.

Where we walk matters so much too, and that’s at the heart of The Walking Cure. Annabel and I live in a densely populated part of West London which was developed in the late nineteenth century. You might think that our open spaces for walking would be severely limited. But Annabel pointed out that actually it means we have at our disposal untouched tracts of open space full of wild life and abundant greenery: cemeteries! I hadn’t thought about them in those terms before, but they’re beautiful places to walk.

“If I’m doing yoga or Pilates every day, how much walking do I need to do?”

My perspective on that as a brain health coach is ‘how much can you do?’ We know the number of steps that make a difference, but what fits into your life? And when you’ve established that, how can you gently increase it?

“How do we encourage people to walk more?”

Such a good question when it often feels like there’s much to put us off walking – not enough time, lack of safe environments in which to walk, pollution. We agreed that repeating the message (as I’m doing here!) and living it ourselves make a difference. The more we’re out and about walking, the more other people are likely to join, and the safer we make it for other women to do the same.

“How does the menstrual cycle impact walking?”

I have to admit this question made me think ‘thank goodness I’m post-menopausal’! NOT having to think about those cycles any more is such a blessing. And we know that walking is a tremendous bone-health benefit to post-menopausal women. But Annabel seized on this question with gusto: there’s new research on how walking impacts different phases of the menstrual cycle, which I’m sure she’ll share in a future post.

“Do you talk to strangers when you walk?”

I reminded the audience of one of my favourite brain health facts: talking to strangers is one of the best work outs you can give your brain. Annabel is a frequent talker to strangers on her walks, but admits it often gives young people a bit of a shock!

It’s hot and humid here in the UK so we’re relying on our most summery Age-Well recipes from the archives. Here are a few favourites:

Sardine and watercress pate

Avocado and cucumber soup

Cauliflower ‘rice’ salad

Farro salad with egg and smoked mackerel 

Courgette, leek and gruyere frittata

Raspberry and almond ‘Bakewell’ cake 

Black forest ice cream

Susan