Keighley & District Travel has co-produced a map promoting the benefits of regular healthy walking, by taking a bus!

The map, officially launched on Wednesday (Dec 13), aims to encourage walkers to leave the car at home and travel into the countryside by bus.

It contains details of seven easy walks, all starting and finishing on a Keighley & District Travel (K&DT) route.

The publication - produced in conjunction with the Walking for All in Keighley (WALK) Project and Bradford council - shows bus routes in the same colour codes as on the highly-acclaimed Keighley Local Network map and on the new range of K&DT timetables.

The walks - recommended by council officers - are also all colour-coded, and local hostelries are shown.

Currently the map is contained in K&DT's free "On Board" newspaper - available from the bus station, Keighley library and from the information centre in the town hall - and in the New Year it will be available in a pocket-sized format, with each walk shown in greater detail.

Neil West, project co-ordinator with WALK, says the organisation was delighted to have been involved in the production of the map.

He told us: "As well as encouraging people to walk more for everyday journeys, the WALK project is keen to promote walking as a way to explore the wonderful countryside on Keighley's doorstep. It is just the tonic for beating stress, and helps you to stay fit too.

"With the bus walks map you do not have to be an experienced rambler - the walks are not too long and the map will give directions, so there are no worries about getting lost.

"Using public transport allows us to walk from place to place, not being tied to returning to your starting point. It is also better for the environment, and reduces congestion on rural roads".