THERE’S no better time to get out and about and walk off your festive excesses, so this year’s Festival of Winter Walks is timed just right.

Once again, the Colchester Ramblers as well as their Tendring counterparts have well and truly embraced the Ramblers’ Association’s annual series of walks with a number of outings taking place over the festive period.

On Friday, the Colchester group will be making a short two and a half mile walk around Woodham Water, meeting at the Woodham Walter Common Lane verge at 10.45am.

On New Year’s Day, they will be a little closer to home with another two and a half miler, this time around Shrub End. Meet at the Gosbeck’s Archaeological Park car park off the B1022 at 2pm.

Meanwhile the Tendring Group will be doing their traditional five mile stroll along the very picturesque Frinton seafront to Great Holland tomorrow from 10am, meeting at the car park close by to the Frinton Golf Course.

For more information on any of these walks go to colchester-ramblers.co.uk or tendringramblers.co.uk

Also on New Year’s Day, you can wipe away the previous night’s excesses with Colchester Countryside Rangers’ traditional walk through High Woods Country Park.

It starts at 11am from the country park’s visitor centre, off Turner Road, Colchester, and follows a three-mile route around the park with the bonus of mince pies and mulled wine at the end of it. For more details, or to book a place for £3 per person, call 01206 853588.

Finally Sir Bob Russell’s traditional New Year’s Day Walk starts at 10am from Roman Circus House with coffee, tea and mince pies on return.

This is Sir Bob’s tenth New Year’s Day Walk but it is a completely new route which will concentrate on Colchester’s rich Roman heritage.

To take part Sir Bob asks for a £5 donation which goes to charity.