Ian McCall

The results of our Scottish Walking and Wheeling Survey are published today and they tell an important story about how and why Scotland is walking.

You can read the full report here: walkingscotland.org.uk/scottish-wal...

Start of Spokes article... Active Travel cut confirmed At long last the detailed allocation of the Scottish Government’s Active and Sustainable Travel budget (formerly called Active Travel) for 25/26 financial year has been revealed. It shows total Scottish Government active travel investment now down to just 4.2% of total transport spending – back to below the level of 22/23, and even lower than the 4.6% we had predicted. A letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop MSP, to the Parliament’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee provides the following table, showing how the £164.6m in the Active and Sustainable budget line has been allocated. From this we can get a good idea how much of what previously was the Active Travel budget is now going to other purposes.

#ActiveTravel 💲 cut confirmed

+ #Bus infra fears

--> www.spokes.org.uk/2025/11/acti...

@edi.bike @keithirving.bsky.social @transform.scot @edinburghbug.bsky.social @alastairdalton.bsky.social @edinreporter.bsky.social @markruskell.bsky.social @monicalennon.bsky.social @michaelmatheson.bsky.social

Our KTP Associate Rachele and Walking Schools Manager Carl are at the 16th annual conference of the HEPA Europe Network in Kaunas, Lithuania, and presented learning and best practice on co-production methods with young people. #HEPAEurope

1/6 As Scotland looks to the future, we know walking is one of the best ways to address some of the greatest challenges of our time.

So together with @livingstreets.bsky.social we’ve published The Power of Walking – A Walking and Wheeling Manifesto for 2026.

walkingscotland.org.uk/a-walking-an...

So much change is needed to make Scotland a better place for walking/wheeling...great to see this highlighted for the #Holyrood2026 elections!

We'll be amplifying this message through our call for various specific measures over the coming months.

A navy and light blue graphic with a photo of a family walking down an urban street. Text reads: Put walking and wheeling at the heart of government.

The 2026 Holyrood election is coming, and together with
@walkingscotland.bsky.social we’re calling on all parties to pledge to invest in walkable streets.

With cuts of £23.7m to active and sustainable travel in Scotland last year, we need bold action – and soon ⏰

tinyurl.com/4czpmzy7

Thank you to Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 for showing up and taking a stand this weekend. We loved the signs, so many of them made us laugh. This weekend showed that the resistance is growing and that we have friends everywhere! Scotland the Brave!

Looking for technical path advice and guidance?

Paths might not be in our name anymore but it's still a big focus of our work.
Safe, attractive and accessible places and spaces are critical to encouraging people to walk and wheel more. We share our technical expertise in a range of ways.

walkingscotland.org.uk/our-work/tec...

#WalkTheTalk

Is your workplace looking to partner with a charity or looking for suggestions for their next charity of the year? By partnering with us, they'll show commitment to wellbeing, sustainability and inclusive communities.

Let's walk forward together.
walkingscotland.org.uk/get-involved...

Lovebombed by lobbyists: How Labour became party of business An openDemocracy investigation reveals the secretive mass lobbying campaign that shaped Starmer's policies

4. Thanks to brilliant work by @ethanshone.bsky.social‬ at @opendemocracy.net‬, we've learnt that Labour held hundreds of meetings with lobbyists behind closed doors. But the UK’s opaque, undemocratic rules ensure we cannot know what was said in them: www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-mone...

London’s low-traffic zones ‘cut deaths and injuries by more than a third’ Exclusive: Study also finds no change in number of casualties on roads just outside low-traffic neighbourhoods

NEW: Big study of low-traffic neighbourhoods in London suggest they cut road injuries and deaths by more than a third within their boundaries with no apparent negative safety effect on nearby roads. This feels a *major* boost for proponents of such schemes.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Only two years left of world’s carbon budget to meet 1.5C target, scientists warn Breaching threshold would ramp up catastrophic weather events, further increasing human suffering

We’re wasting the remaining carbon budget on war and AI.

Faculty of Public Health publishes call to action ahead of Scottish Parliament election The Committee of the Faculty of Public Health in Scotland has published a call to action ahead of the May 2026 Scottish Parliamentary election. This publication calls on all political parties in Scotl...

FPH welcomes this report on the Minimum Income Guarantee: www.gov.scot/publications...

The report is in line with FPH’s Call to Action for the next Scottish Government, which recommends that all families have at least minimum income sufficient for healthy living: www.fph.org.uk/news/faculty...

I do not want AI in Slack. I do not want AI in Google. I do not want AI on Facebook. I do not want AI in documents or spreadsheets. I do not want AI in Adobe Acrobat. I do not want AI in Zoom. I do not want AI on news sites. I do not want AI in the patient portal for my doctor's office. I do not wan

Schrödinger's Motorist: simultaneously loves driving but gets absolutely furious if they have to drive for an extra second

BIG NEWS: Paths for All is now Walking Scotland!
We’re making walking and wheeling work for EVERYONE

Ready to walk and wheel with us?
👉 walkingscotland.org.uk

A promotional graphic with blue text on a pink background reading, "There's some exciting news afoot! Stay tune for our next big step..." and a series of illustrations showing men, women and children of all ages and abilities walking and wheeling.

Paths for All is changing, because walking changes lives. After 30 years, we're taking our next big step 👣

We’ve been working on something special for the last few months. We can’t reveal everything just yet, but let’s say Thursday is going to be special!

Stay tuned for an exciting announcement! 📢

Good piece from @georgemonbiot.bsky.social ... I've written more here on Molinia and specifically Dartmoor 🧵

www.dartmoornature.org.uk/post/molinia

"Cars make us lonely."
—Donald Appleyard, Livable Streets, 1981.

🧵

Edinburgh's LEZ one year on: More walking and cycling, less pollution and fewer fines More people are walking, cycling and using public transport since the introduction of Edinburgh’s Low Emission Zone, new research claims.

And the sky didn’t fall in …

#Edinburgh

www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/edinbur...

‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides

Everyone should read this. I met Dan Janzen when he gave a lecture to @biology.ox.ac.uk I think in the late '80s. I spoke to him afterwards and he said, you know we could save all of the rainforest with a ten cent levy on every cup of coffee sold worldwide....
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Lowering the Expectations on Land Reform In its 2021 manifesto, the SNP promised a new Land Reform Bill which would address issues of fairness, equality, and social justice in land ownership, use, and access.  The Bill would ensure that t…

'Lowering the Expectations on Land Reform', my article for 'Bella Caledonia' on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill and @scottishlandcom.bsky.social's Scotland Futures consultation:
#LandReform
#ScottishPolitics

Graphic with same text as post

“A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It's where the rich use public transportation.” – Former Bogotá Mayor Enrique Peñalosa.

Road casualties continue their downward trend in Wales and are lowest on record. For serious/fatal casualties on combined 20-30mph roads, these are down 16% in 2024 - since new default 20mph limit came in - compared to 2023. Good news! www.gov.wales/police-recor...

photo of the back of a red no 43 bus in 2014 carrying a sign "20" in a red roundel against blue sky with text "slower speeds safer roads"

cardboard box with A4 posters saying 20 in black text in a red roundel and "20's plenty" underneath. Black bar at bottom with "Transport 2000" now Campaign for Better Transport.

At last, we have strong evidence from Transport for London’s latest research that 20mph speed limits significantly reduce the numbers of people dying and being seriously injured on our roads.

I've been campaigning for 20mph limits for over 25 years.

view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx...

A promotional graphic showing the red and white front page of the Joint Active Travel Manifesto for 2026, and partner logos. This is set on an image of a group of people walking along a path, overlaid by a transparent light green filter.

We are one of 50 organisations to support the Joint Active Travel Manifesto for 2026.

By prioritising walking and wheeling, we can transform our communities, create healthier environments, and make active travel accessible to everyone.

Read the story: www.pathsforall.org.uk/news/news-po...

Paris Pedals to the Top: How the City of Light Became Europe’s Best for Young Cyclists The French capital has officially become Europe’s best city for children to walk, cycle, and move around independently

According to a new ranking, Paris has officially become Europe’s best city for children to walk, cycle, and move around independently.
momentummag.com/paris-pedals...

A blue promotional graphic with an image of a large group of mothers and their buggies. They smile or talk as they walk through a local park as a part of a group buggy walk. The image is set on a navy blue background with two circles of yellow and green and text reading "Celebrate National Walking Month with strolls and smiles, paths and pals".

What does your daily walking adventure look like?

💬 a walk and talk with a friend
☀️ early bird sunrise (or night owl sunset!) strolls
📈 striding for the daily step count
🧘 quiet time with a walking meditation

Find out how to walk every day this May
👉 www.pathsforall.org.uk/whats-on/eve...

Front page of 'A Joint Active Travel Manifesto for 2026', featuring the logos of 50 signatory organisations. The cover features images of people walking and cycling, with the subtitle: "Thriving places, healthier communities, and saving lives". A full list of signatory organisations and more information about the manifesto can be found via the associated link in this post.

We’re one of 50 organisations publishing a Joint Active Travel Manifesto for 2026: Thriving Places, Healthier Communities, and Saving Lives. It calls on all parties to support commitments on long-term investment, infrastructure, public transport and safer streets: drive.google.com/drive/folder...

TANK vs TESLA

"We've crushed fascism before and we'll crush it again"

- ⁠WW2 veteran Ken, 98, in the tank