What is considered “walking distance”

[MattA7]

What how far is usually seen as “walking distance” when you see adverts for flats/houses?

Surely the distance someone can walk depends on their health/level of fitness and personal preference (some people enjoy a long walk others hate it)

 

[birchesgreen]

Its a meaningless term.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Its a meaningless term.

Essentially that's correct, but 20 mins walk / 1 km distance might be considered by some to be a reasonable interpretation.

 

[Ediswan]

What how far is usually seen as “walking distance” when you see adverts for flats/houses?

Estate agents are curious creatures. My local shops are so close that walking is easier than cycling. The estate agent details did not mention that the shops exist.

 

[xotGD]

Essentially that's correct, but 20 mins walk / 1 km distance might be considered by some to be a reasonable interpretation.

That's a slow walking pace. 1 mile in 20 minutes is a more usual rule of thumb.

 

[brad465]

In very old imperial measurements, there is a measurement called a "league", which is 3 miles, and was determined based on how far someone could typically walk in an hour. So anything at or below that could be considered walking distance based on one's determination.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

That's a slow walking pace. 1 mile in 20 minutes is a more usual rule of thumb.

Your mileage may vary! All depends on fitness and terrain.

For example, using a railway example, it's about a mile walk from Falkirk High station to Falkirk Grahamston. Definitely takes longer in the reverse direction (i.e. starting at Grahamston) in view of the terrain (mostly uphill).

Similarly a walk from Dent station down to the Sportsmans Arms in Cowgill. Definitely easier downhill than up.

 

[telstarbox]

Transport planning in the UK used to be based on "acceptable" walking distances of 400m to a bus stop, 800m to a railway station and 1.6km (1 mile) to access local shops and schools. These equate to 5 / 10 / 20 minutes walk.

More recent research suggested that people are prepared to walk further than these distances to access public transport, except in London where people generally don't need to go that far.

With reference to the old standard, TfL aim for nearly everyone to be within 400m of a bus stop.
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[Baxenden Bank]

In connection with a recent planning application local to me, the Travel Plan stated the following:

Guidance provided by the Institution of Highways and Transportation (IHT) in their publication ‘Guidelines for Providing for Journeys on Foot’ (2000) suggests that in terms of commuting, walking to school and recreational journeys; walk distances of up to 2km can be considered as a preferred maximum, with ‘desirable’ and ‘acceptable’ distances being 500m and 1km respectively. It should however be noted that journeys of a longer length are often undertaken.

For non-commuter journeys, the Guidance suggests that walk distances of up to 1-2km can be considered as a preferred maximum, with the ‘desirable’ and ‘acceptable’ distances being 400m and 800m respectively. Again, it should be noted that journeys of a longer length are often undertaken.

IHT Standard	Distance (m)	Distance (m)	Walk Time (mins)	Walk Time (mins)
	Commuting, Walking to School and Recreation	Other, non-commuter journeys	Commuting, Walking to School and Recreation	Other, non-commuter journeys
Desirable	500	400	6	5
Acceptable	1000	800	12	10
Preferred Maximum	2000	1200	24	15

 

[xotGD]

My walk to the station just squeaks in under the 24 minute barrier. However, coming home is uphill so takes a bit longer.

So the station is within walking distance of home, but home isn't within walking distance of the station!

 

[ChrisC]

My walk to the station just squeaks in under the 24 minute barrier. However, coming home is uphill so takes a bit longer.

So the station is within walking distance of home, but home isn't within walking distance of the station!

Just about the same here. My house is 1.2 miles from the station and it usually takes me just under 25 minutes to walk there. The journey home, especially if I’ve been away and I am pulling a case, always takes a bit longer. It’s only a very gentle gradient, but it is slightly uphill the whole way, and that does make a difference especially as I get older.

 

[northwichcat]

It doesn't just depend on distance alone. If the direct route to the town centre is along an unlit canal towpath, then you might say the town centre is walking distance in daytime but not after sunset.

 

[jupiter]

This also depends on provision of safe areas for pedestrians. I live in a village accessible via narrow(ish) lanes with no pavements and there’s no way I’m walking even five minutes down those on a regular basis.

 

[telstarbox]

Conversely the walk from here to the nearest station is about 30 minutes. There is a footway all the way but most of it is along a busy bypass so it isn't the most stimulating walk.

 

[MattA7]

Interesting responses I had always guessed that a 20 minute walk or 1 mile would have been the maximum acceptable. Obviously there would be some people who can walk much further than that and someone would can walk much less.

Thankfully I’m only about 400 yards from the nearest supermarket and 350 yards from the train station.

Also what is 1km? Is it less than a mile or more? I know it is 100 meters but what is the in real life scenarios.

 

[jfollows]

Also what is 1km? Is it less than a mile or more? I know it is 100 meters but what is the in real life scenarios.

Oh, come on, it's 1000 metres (hence its name) and about 5/8 of a mile.

 

[Gareth]

A kilometre is 1000 metres. It's less than a mile. A kilometre is just over 1093 yards, whilst a mile is 1760 yards.

 

[ChrisC]

This also depends on provision of safe areas for pedestrians. I live in a village accessible via narrow(ish) lanes with no pavements and there’s no way I’m walking even five minutes down those on a regular basis.

Very good point. The 1.2 mile walk to my nearest station is partly along a country lane with no pavement but there’s very few cars so not too much of a problem. It’s a different matter reaching a main bus route, with buses in the evenings and on Sundays, as that is a walk along a busy bendy road with no pavements and also no street lights. I would never think of doing that walk but drive to the next village and park up somewhere to get the bus.

 

[johnnychips]

Walking is my hobby, so ‘walking distance’ shouldn’t be a problem. But my work is about 1km from the station, so I get the bus. That gives me more time to do work when I get there, and more time at home when I get back. That suits me. A colleague always walks as she says it prepares her for work in the morning and, during the walk to the station at night, it clears her head. Probably going OT here, sorry.

 

[Magdalia]

I have 2 good rough and ready ways of converting miles to kilometres or vice versa.

One is to think of an athletics track where one lap on an imperial track is a quarter mile, and on a metric track it is 400 metres, or 0.4 kilometres. The oldest athletics tracks in the UK were originally built to imperial measurements and then converted to metric by shaving a bit off the curves, the difference being about 3 metres.

Another, for mathematicians and scientists, is to use the Fibonacci Sequence. Adjacent numbers in the Fibonacci Sequence are good approximations of conversion from miles to kilometres, one of which has already been quoted:

2 miles is roughly 3 kilometres
3 miles is roughly 5 kilometres
5 miles is roughly 8 kilometres
8 miles is roughly 13 kilometres
13 miles is roughly 21 kilometres
and so on.

 

[northwichcat]

Walking is my hobby, so ‘walking distance’ shouldn’t be a problem. But my work is about 1km from the station, so I get the bus. That gives me more time to do work when I get there, and more time at home when I get back. That suits me. A colleague always walks as she says it prepares her for work in the morning and, during the walk to the station at night, it clears her head. Probably going OT here, sorry.

In most parts of Cheshire it wouldn't be quicker to wait for a bus than walk 1km. It's a shame really. Hartford station is well served by Liverpool to Birmingham trains but onward buses in to the neighbouring town of Northwich are only hourly. That'll put some people off using public transport.

I actually find walking beneficial if you're going to then be sat down for most of the time you're working.

Also what is 1km? Is it less than a mile or more? I know it is 100 meters but what is the in real life scenarios.

Maybe take a trip to any European country (including Ireland) to familiarise yourself with km. They appear on all signs there.

Alternatively, just look at the speedometer of pretty much any vehicle. While vehicles for the UK market have miles per hour as the scale that stands out, almost every vehicle shows km/h as well. So you'll notice things like 100km/h being just over 60mph.

 

[PeterC]

My walk to the station just squeaks in under the 24 minute barrier. However, coming home is uphill so takes a bit longer.

So the station is within walking distance of home, but home isn't within walking distance of the station!

Sounds as if you live near me. I happily walk for 25 minutes to the town centre but take the bus home rather than carry shopping up a very steep hill.

 

[Jamiescott1]

My walking speed is 10mins per km. Id consider 2km (20 mins) walking distance

 

[Howardh]

It's a 30 min walk for me to my local station, which I would put outside walking distance. I'd personally say 15 mins would be inside walking distance.