There is a distinct shift that happens when October and November truly arrive. The air grows crisp, the days shorten, and nature puts on its most spectacular, fiery show. If you’ve been out walking lately, you might have noticed the forest floor shifting into beautiful shades of amber, and gold.
However, an autumn or winter walk is so much more than just a beautiful photo opportunity.
Mental well-being.
Slipping on your walking boots and heading outside at this time of year is one of the simplest, most effective ways to reset a busy mind.
This season, we have the perfect motivation to wrap up warm and get moving: the Go Jauntly Autumn / Winter Wander challenge. If you haven’t downloaded the Go Jauntly app yet, it is a pocket-sized encyclopedia of urban walks and green routes designed to get us outdoors every single day.
Whether the sun is filtering through the trees or the classic British drizzle is setting in, here is why we are obsessively tracking our walks and collecting those challenge points this season.
1. The Joy of “Walking for the Win” (and Collecting Points)
Let’s be honest, sometimes when it’s grey outside, we all need a little extra nudge to get out the door. That is exactly why we are loving the walking challenges on the Go Jauntly app right now.
Stepping out for an autumn walk becomes a fun, gamified experience. Checking into new routes, exploring community trails, and unlocking digital badges or racking up challenge points turns a simple daily stroll into a rewarding habit. It is all about celebrating the little wins that encourage healthy, sustainable routines. Watching those points stack up on your profile is incredibly satisfying and the ultimate motivator to choose a walk over a couch scroll.
2. The Power of “Colour Therapy” in Nature
During summer, our eyes get used to a heavy canopy of green. When autumn arrives, the sudden burst of warm colours (yellows, oranges, reds, and browns) can actually have a psychological impact on our mood.
Warm tones are naturally stimulating and comforting. Walking through a landscape of golden leaves acts like a visual reset button, breaking the monotony of screens and concrete streets. It encourages a state of “soft fascination”, a type of effortless attention that allows your brain to recover from mental fatigue and digital overload.
3. Embracing “Whatever the Weather”
It’s easy to head outside when the sky is blue, but true mental resilience comes from stepping out when the weather is less than perfect. As the famous British hillwalker and author Alfred Wainwright once wrote, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.”
The Go Jauntly app specialises in breaking down barriers to walking, helping you find local, accessible trails, from step-free jaunts to quick circular neighbourhood loops, so you can get your nature fix even if you only have 20 minutes between rain showers. Walking in the mist or light drizzle forces us to engage with our senses: the scent of damp earth, the crunch of leaves underfoot, and the amazing feeling of coming home to a hot cup of tea after bracing the elements.
4. Logging Your “Nature Notes” for Mental Wellbeing
One of our absolute favourite features to use while completing the challenge is the Nature Notes feature in the app.
Instead of walking with your head down, Go Jauntly encourages you to pause and digitally record the good things you see in nature, whether that’s a brilliantly bright red mushroom, a uniquely shaped leaf, or a squirrel gathering acorns. Taking a moment to notice and photograph these small details has been clinically proven to bring massive benefits to your mental wellbeing and deepen your connection to the planet.
5. Bringing the Walk Home: Creating a Festive Nature Weave
The mindful magic doesn’t have to stop when your walk ends. One of our absolute favourite ways to extend an autumn wander is by turning it into a slow, conscious crafting project with the kids, or just as a meditative treat for yourself!
As you log your Go Jauntly points, keep your eyes on the forest floor. Autumn is the perfect time to responsibly forage for fallen treasures:
- Vibrant leaves in deep crimson, mottled orange, and bright mustard yellow.
- Fallen feathers dropped by local birds.
- Sturdy twigs to form the base of your loom.
Once you get home, you can easily tie four twigs together with some leftover darning wool or kitchen twine to make a simple square frame. Criss-cross the twine back and forth across the frame to create your vertical warp threads, just like a mini version of our Salvaged Speed Loom!
Then, simply weave your collected leaves, feathers, and dried grasses over and under the threads. It creates a beautiful, entirely natural tapestry that celebrates the textures of the season. Tie a piece of string to the top twig, and you have a gorgeous, rustic nature weave to hang from a tree in your garden or display in your window at home. It’s a wonderful physical reminder of a day spent recharging outdoors.
(Psst… if you find yourself with an abundance of gorgeous darning wool and want to learn how to put it to use on your favourite autumn knitwear, don’t forget to check out my upcoming London visible mending workshops From fixing moth holes to firework-style darning, we give pre-loved garments a whole new lease on life. Check palava.co book your spot!)
Step Outside and Reconnect
You don’t need to travel to a vast national park to reap the rewards of an autumn or winter wander. Whether you want to rise to the Autumn Winter challenge here, or tackle a beautiful stretch of the trail via Go Jauntly’s Capital Ring Section 6 Walk, every step counts toward your health, and your challenge points!
So, grab your raincoat, pull on your favourite hat, open up your Go Jauntly app, and let’s get wandering.
Are you taking part in the Autumn / Winter Wander? How many points have you collected so far? Let us know in the comments below or connect with us on Instagram @incredibusy and @gojauntly. This is a collaborative post.
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