Nordic Walking

L’Office de Tourisme gets wet to help you discover different activities on offer in our region… Céline chose to try Nordic walking during an introductory session in the Pays de Lumbres, at the Seninghem trail station, the first north of Paris.

Nordic walking, a blend of gym and jogging

Who said Nordic walking is for “old people” who want to walk their poles? Who said Nordic walking is for people on snow?

Nordic walking first appeared in Scandinavian countries in the 1970s. It was originally practiced by cross-country skiers as a warm-season workout. More dynamic than hiking, Nordic walking uses two poles to accentuate the arms’ natural swinging movement. Combining endurance and muscular strengthening, Nordic walking is a gentle sport with numerous health benefits. As well as improving the body’s physical capacities (endurance, strength, flexibility, balance and coordination), it also has a positive effect on mood and mental condition: practised in the open air, this sporting activity helps to escape and clear the mind. So it’s with a smile on my face that I’m about to embark on a 9km run.

A grand premiere

“I’ve got my sports outfit and good walking shoes… All I have to do is pick up the poles adapted to my size, and after a short warm-up, off we go, in the sunshine, on a little forest path along a stream, starting from the little village of Elnes! I’ve never done this before, so it’s a big first for me. Luckily I’ve got a coach to explain to me how to do it, especially with the poles… I walk normally, letting the poles drag… And my arms take on their natural movement. Well, that’s what my coach says. But synchronization isn’t really my thing! First giggle, I think too much! I focus too much on what I’m supposed to do: which foot, which stick… So I get tangled up! But if you let nature take over, things get better! And it’s true that you immediately gain in speed with the help of the sticks! It’s very rhythmic, and you work every limb. As you go along, you gain speed. It can be just for fun, or it can become a real sport, more physical. I like it, and would definitely do it again!

Nordik Walk station in Lumbres, the ideal spot for Nordic walking

The Pays de Lumbres, with its great diversity of landscapes opens up its life-size playground!

The Station Collines d’Opale Pays de Lumbres joins the Réseau des Stations Nordik Walk. Launched in 2018, this network of Nordic walking resorts already brings together more than 15 Nordic walking destinations throughout France, which offer, as in Lumbres, marked routes adapted to this practice, courses to learn and improve, and numerous services to welcome you in the best conditions all year round!

On Nordik Walk Collines d’Opale Pays de Lumbres, a total of 5 marked trails, from 6 to 15 km out of a total of 50 km, await you to rediscover new horizons! The resort offers a variety of landscapes, with alternating valleys, plateaus, forests and waterways. Because, who knows, one day I’ll take on the 15km, 194-meter-high Loop du Mont.

Introducing the Nordik Walk application