A CROWD donned their walking boots and embraced the great outdoors recently in a celebration of National Walking Month in the beautiful surrounds of Balloch Country Park.

Members of Walk in the Park Balloch – a health walk group that recently marked their fourth birthday, welcomed scores of people to their Wednesday morning wander on May 9.

National Walking Month aims to encourage us all to ditch the car wherever possible and add an extra 20 minutes of walking into our daily routines – improving our health and reducing street congestion.

And Balloch’s Walk in the Park group, which is open to anybody, no matter what their fitness level, were the perfect hosts.

Fran Crumley, Lomond co-ordinator of Walk in the Park, said: “We were absolutely delighted to welcome 63 people to celebrate National Walking Month with Walk in the Park Balloch.

“Thank you so much to everyone who came along and supported the event, what a fantastic turnout and milestone.

“As always, we absolutely could not do this without our team of volunteers, you were amazing, thank you.”

The event was held in the beautiful, nurturing surroundings of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park and took full advantage of the network of accessible paths in the Balloch Country Park, with three route options providing a safe and enjoyable walk environment for all.

The gathering included walkers and Volunteer Walk Leaders from across Trust in the Park’s five walking groups in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, as well as guests from the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs Community Partnership, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, Sporting Memories and MS Dumbarton.

Councillor Marie McNair, convener of Health and Social Care Partnership, also joined the walk.

And members of the MS community also joined the event as part of their Active Together Project to raise the awareness of the accessible walks in the Balloch Country Park.

The Walk in the Park Balloch group meets every Wednesday morning at 10.20am outside the Balloch Tourist Information centre. Everyone is welcome to join in, with the group enjoying a coffee and a chat after the walk.

For more, visit trustinthepark.org/walk-in-the-park/ or contact Fran at fran.crumley@lochlomond-trossachs.org