Here's my personal list:
Physical Exercise - The most obvious benefit I suppose
Mental Wellbeing - Intellectual Challenge - mapreading, pacemaking, timekeeping, route planning, and editing the photographs and writing up the blog afterwards.
Social Contact - My fellow walkers/hikers are usually quite chatty...so are many of the other people I meet - mountainbikers, fellrunners, photographers, rangers. There's also the online contact I have via the blog; replies and responses to my posts on various forums or social media. I feel part of something, involved and included; this is so important to me.
Respect and acknowledgement that I've got something to offer - sometimes people ask me for directions or suggestions/recommendations and I have a lot of knowledge and experience of walking, mapreading and using public transport.
Self-Imposed Discipline - needing to go to bed early the night before a walk and then get up early the next morning and prepare myself for the day ahead.
Targets to Achieve - miles walked, blogposts written, maintaining my weight and fitness.
Something to look forward to and plan ahead for.
Enjoying the beautiful countryside and places I visit, and taking photographs.
The anticipation of wondering what might be around the next corner - somewhat diminished these days by my having already checked my route in Google Maps...but the service doesn't reach everywhere.
The end of a day's walking - a nice hot bath, something nice to eat [and as much as I want], and a wonderful sense of achievement, something that would be so much lacking in my life otherwise.
All very true! Plus for me it's a great stress reliever.
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