FOR countless generations of Dunfermline fans, walking down the Halbeath Road has been a ritual of love every other Saturday.

The well-trodden trip to East End Park has brought its fair share of excitement, joy and disappointments, but is something that has been greatly missed by supporters over the course of the last year.

But, although the coronavirus pandemic has put that most famous of walks on hold for now, the charity behind the football club’s community programme are set to bring it back outwith match days to make a positive impact on mental health.

The Pars Foundation, which was established in 2013, have teamed-up with Dunfermline Athletic’s mental health ambassador, Eddie Martin, to launch an initiative titled ‘Walking and Talking down the Halbeath Road’.

The new venture, which will kick-off on Thursday, April 15, is a walking group designed to improve the mental wellbeing of those within the community through socialisation and staying active.

The Pars Foundation have referenced evidence from studies that have shown walking in a group can make people feel more connected to each other, which in turn helps to reduce loneliness and isolation, whilst walking can improve your mood and sleep-quality, as well as reducing stress and anxiety.

In addition, being in nature or green spaces have also been shown to have a positive impact on mental health, and Eddie is delighted to work together with the foundation to offer the initiative.

“This past year has been really difficult for everyone, the restrictions and lockdowns have had an effect on everyone,” he explained.

“This has led to some initiatives that we had planned to help with mental health awareness and improving positive mental well-being having to be postponed.

“We can now get the ball rolling once again, and I am delighted to have teamed up with the Pars Foundation for this walk and talk event on April 15 at 10am.

“The aim of this initiative is to help reduce the feelings of loneliness and isolation. As ever this is an invitation to our fan-base and our local community, so you do not need to be a Pars fan to attend.

“We hope that a gentle walk gives you exercise that then will lead to improving your mood, and sleep quality.

“Being in nature and green spaces can improve your mental health and well-being.

“We are hoping this can take off and be a weekly event.”

Since taking on his role as the club’s mental health ambassador in 2019 – which was believed to be the first of its kind in Scottish football – Eddie has overseen mental health awareness sessions, whilst the club were Scotland’s first in that same year to be recognised with the Alzheimer’s Society’s ‘Dementia Friends’ award.

This season, the Pars have also worked with the Samaritans, ahead of games with Hearts and Raith Rovers, to promote their work and support for people who may be struggling.

In addition to offer football sessions for youngsters, the Pars Foundation – in normal times – also offer a wide range of health and wellbeing initiatives, which include the hosting of a football memories group, which helps improve the lives of football fans with dementia by using football images and memorabilia from the past to aid recall and memory.

For more details, including the meeting location and to register for the first walk on April 15, email enquiries@parsfoundation.co.uk.