In June, three of us from The Adventure Syndicate, in partnership with Hostelling Scotland and Cairngorms Connect took our mums on a three day bike trip around the Cairngorm National Park. We wanted to share with our mums the joy we find in travelling by bike and to demonstrate to everyone that age and ability are no barriers to travelling this way. Using e-bikes, easy gravel tracks, hostel accommodation and a special visit to the Cairngorms Connect project, comfort zones were stretched and relationshsips deepened making this one of the most worthwhile bike trips we’ve ever had.

Transport and health are inextricably linked. Choosing to travel short journeys actively can be a really simple and effective way to keep our health and well-being just ticking over. So why are health, transport and our environment not also really obviously inextricably linked in terms of policy and strategy? In this episode I speak to three people who help me explore this complicated question more fully. And I play in a park in Maryhill with a Professor of Physical Activity because if it’s not fun, no one’s going to do it!!

Safe routes to walk, cycle or wheel to schools and shops don’t always exist, especially not in our more deprived communities. Yet we know that the way our towns and cities are constructed has a massive effect on the health and wellbeing of the people who live and work in them. We also know that the more people have a say in any changes being made to their community will mean they find that change easier to get on board with. But how do we ensure that we bring EVERYONE along with us as we make the changes to our shared spaces and our transport systems that we so desperately need to for our health and for the environment?