As winter draws to a close, the Probus Walking Club is about to start a new season of walking in and around Toronto. A brief description of our activities will help you decide if you wish to join us on our expeditions.
Our outings bring a trio of benefits to our members:
- All studies of seniors indicate how important regular exercise is in maintaining good health as we age. Our walks are held twice a month (second Wednesday and fourth Thursday) and usually last about 90 minutes;
- Loneliness is common in many seniors’ lives and this leads to a degeneration in mental health; as we walk, conversations happen as people share their lives with others and, sometimes, depending on the location, we stop for lunch at a pub-style restaurant for more fellowship;
- Our walks vary in locations from city streets and neighbourhoods to wonderful parks like High Park, Cedarvale Park, Marie Curtis, and many others. This way, members get to know parts of the city they perhaps didn’t know about.
Types of Walks
Some of the locations we have visited over the past two years include Yonge St. from Eglinton to Front, College St. from Dundas to Yonge, Queen, King, Adelaide, Richmond Streets.
Exploring neighbourhoods is a favourite outing. We have been to The Annex, Parkdale, Forest Hill, Rosedale/Moore Park, Cabbagetown, the Kingsway, Bâby Point, the Portlands, and Riverdale.
Toronto is blessed with many valleys and ravines and in good weather we explore them; some of these are Etobicoke Creek, the Humber River, Taylor Creek, the Don River. There are many buried streams that we have followed too: Garrison Creek, Taddle Creek and Castle Frank stream. We have also walked along the lake shore through Ontario Place and Sunnyside all the way to Harbourfront.
Sometimes we venture outside the central city to the Scarborough Bluffs, the Rhododendron Gardens in Port Credit, Hogg’s Hollow, and the Rouge Valley.
Occasionally, we have a “culture” walk such as an art tour in west-end Toronto that ended at MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) on Sterling Road. We have visited a mural festival in Yorkville where we also saw the annual flower show, Fleurs de Villes. We even visited St. Anne’s Anglican Church last year before the devastating fire that destroyed it and most of the priceless artwork by members of the Group of Seven.
How To Join
If you are interested in joining the Walking club, please contact James Rayner at lebonprof@rogers.com or 416-233-1909. Please let me know which day(s) (Wed., Thurs.) you prefer. I only ask that, if you sign up, please honour your commitment to walking. I know that life interferes sometimes, but I do put in time and effort to organize the walks and would like to know that my efforts are appreciated.
Probus Club of Kingsway-Islington 