WE'RE blessed with some fantastic walking country in and around Craven - and for the vast majority of us its right on our doorstep - or a short hop and a skip away.

And with May being National Walking Month, it's a perfect time to get out there and take a look at just what there is on offer.

Our weekly walks are a popular feature, and despite them appearing every week, for some time, there is no sign of them running out - such is the richenss of the vein we have across the Yorkshire Dales National Park, The Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and Pendle.

There is also a wide variety of walking to be had - for the adventurous, there are the Yorkshire Three Peaks - Whernside, Penyghent and Ingleborough, and not forgetting Pendle Hill which is a far quieter option for a bracing walk.

Malham Cove and its limestone pavements are a tourist favourite, and there are all the wonderful and accessible walks in Upper Wharfedale, Kilnsey Crag, Conistone Dib and lovely Grassington, with its Grass Wood nature reserve. Then there's the Yorkshire Water reservoirs, where well maintained paths, and facilities, combined with the stunning scenery make the walks, and horse rides, firm favourites. They include Grimwith, near Grassington; and just off the A59 to Harrogate, Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs, both gentle walks, and not so far away, Thruscross, a bit more wild and woolly.

Yorkshire Cancer Research and the British Heart Foundation are both using National Walking Month to encourage people to get out walking as a way of staying fit and healthy.

And they are inviting young and old alike to organise their own walk, not only raise money to help improve cancer and health outcomes in Yorkshire but also to raise awareness of the importance of having a healthy lifestyle.

Members of Settle District U3A’s walking group helped to launch Cancer Research's new initiative at Ribblehead Viaduct.

Walking group member Anne Webster said: “I really enjoy walking. It’s great being part of a group. I have made new friends, discovered new places in Yorkshire and it has the added bonus of being an excellent way to keep active and fit. I’m delighted to be able to support such a good cause as Yorkshire Cancer Research.”

Patsy Robertshaw, from the charity, said: “Walking is a great way to get active and enjoy the beautiful countryside our region has to offer. It’s something that people of all ages and abilities can take part in, from grandparents to grandchildren. Any money raised from charity walks will help us learn more about the cancer problems in our region and find solutions to tackle them.”

The British Heart Foundation is also calling on people to sign up Just Walk and raise money for the charity.

Just Walk invites family, friends and colleagues to put their best foot forward and arrange a walk in a location, time and distance of their choice to help raise money in the fight against heart disease. Every stride taken and every pound raised will help the BHF fund vital research that will bring us closer to ending this devastation.

Lisa Young, physical activity specialist at the BHF, said: “Walking is a fantastic way to keep active and maintain a healthy heart as it is fun, flexible and free.

“By taking part in Just Walk, people can help us to support the seven million people living with heart and circulatory disease in the UK. You can walk wherever and whenever suits you and remember every pound you raise will fund research that’s so urgently needed to help us beat heart disease.”

Walking and leisure holiday specialists, HF Holidays, owner of Newfield Hall, Airton, carried out a survey which revealed 52 per cent of us classed walking as our favourite form of exercise, ahead of cycling and going to the gym.

Matthew Humphreys, from HF Holidays, said: "In today’s busy world, we believe that among the things that matter is an appreciation of natural beauty and a love of the open air. Walking doesn’t and shouldn’t have to be a means to an end, it has a huge array of social, physical and mental benefits and we want to share that with the people of Britain.”

Anyone interested in organising or taking part in a walk to raise money for Yorkshire Cancer Research, should contact the fundraising team by emailing fundraising@ycr.org.uk or calling 01423 877210. For more information about Settle District U3A’s walking group, visit the website settledistrictu3a.org.uk.

To sign up to BHF Just Walk and get a free kit full of everything you need to show heart disease where to go visit the website bhf.org.uk/JustWalk.

Plenty of information about where to walk, is available on the websites of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, the Forest of Bowland and visitpendle.com.