30 Jan 26
A year of walking well
The start of a new year invites excitement for new travel plans, where and how will we explore our world this year? Typically, we often think in terms of destinations we want to visit. As you look ahead into 2026, perhaps ask yourself a different set of questions. Not just where do I want to go?, but how do I want to travel? What kind of pace feels right for you now, what kind of learning excites you, what kind of challenge feels meaningful now? Not a bucket-list-ticking exercise, but a more considered step forward, with intention and curiosity in your travel plans.
Walking has always offered something fundamental, as it slows the world to a human pace. It sharpens our attention to the small things and creates space to notice weather, landscape, history and opportunity for long conversation. Over time, it also teaches patience, resilience and confidence, qualities that matter just as much to our enjoyment of travel as anything we might find along the trail. As 2026 unfolds, we invite you to think about walking well. Not in terms of distance covered or boxes ticked, but in how a journey is experienced and remembered.
Walking well begins with listening. To your body, to the land beneath your feet, to the stories of the places you pass through. It means choosing routes that suit where you are now in life, not where you think you should be. Some years call for challenge and high places. Others reward with gentler paths, longer lunches and deeper conversations.If we choose to, there can be learning in every step. Learning how different cultures relate to their landscapes. How history is written into ancient tracks, old villages and stone walls. How the weather shapes daily life in many places. Walking offers these lessons quietly, if you are open to noticing.
Food is of course, a great way to unlock local culture and can be a wonderful theme to pair with walking to go deeper into local culture in a very digestible way! There are many trails that abound all over the world where you combine hiking with local gastronomy and savouring the wines and local produce of a region. It can be a great way to meet local people, as often the producers are very proud to share what they have grown or cooked, and food is a common language we all understand.
Connection is another gift of walking. Shared effort creates easy companionship. Simple routines, walking, eating, resting, strip away noise and make room for genuine exchange. Many travellers tell us the conversations they remember the most often happened with a stranger they met on the trail.
Walking well also means caring for the places that host us. Moving lightly. Choosing experiences that respect local communities and fragile environments. Understanding that travel, when done thoughtfully, can be a positive force rather than a burden.
In 2026 at RAW we are looking to bring in new levels of support and on-trip suggestions on our trips that will help bring to life the culture of a region and allow people to connect with locals and experience their culture and stories in more depth. We know more want more from their travels nowadays and to be able to experience authentic local cultures and have memorable experiences: Our challenge has been how to deliver this on self – guided trips where we are more removed from our travellers than on a guided trip, but we are bringing in novel ideas to accomplish exactly this in the coming year. Watch this space for more details!
For a food and wine focus, see our new Piedmont Food & wine & Tuscany slow walk trips in Italy: