How does World Walking work?

Welcome to World Walking, our charity's free platfrom created simply to help motivate people to walk more for health and happiness, inspired by the efforts of a cardiac rehabilitation exercise group in Greenock, Scotland, named the 'Inverclyde Globetrotters'.

You can use World Walking on your own or you can create a group and invite your family, friends and colleagues to join you.

To use World Walking you need only a valid email address and some means by which to count the steps, kilometres or miles you walk.

You can add the steps or distance you walk manually or you can use your Fitbit, Apple Health on your iPhone or Google Fit if you have an Android phone. You can also use our integrated apps which use GPS. To find out more about getting started or syncing check out the relevant segments of our Help Section.

To get going there are four basic steps you need to follow:

1. Register and create your free World Walking account;
2. Choose one of our many virtual walks;
3. Add the steps or distance you have walked (we call it 'banking' your steps); and
4. 'Spend' the steps you have banked on the walk you have chosen to do.

Once you have done that you will be able to view your progess on a map of your walk and each time you reach one of the milestones along the way you will see a nice image of the place and some information about it. If Google Street View is available along your walk you will be able to click and view what it looks like where you have reached on your walk.

Setting up a group is simple; just click on 'My Groups' on your dashboard and take it from there.

When you set up a group, you also need need to start a walk for the group. Each person in your group needs to join the group walk you have chosen so that they can spend the steps they have banked to help the group complete its walk.

You can find more information on groups elsewhere in our Help Section where you also will find the answers to a range of questions to help you get the most out of World Walking.

Information about the distance you have walked since you created your World Walking account, your walks, groups and the awards and achievement badges you have earned is displayed on your personal dashboard. Your dashboad is just for you; no-one else can see it.   

Thank you for joining and helping get the world walking.