As a new study shows that walking regularly can help boost mental as well as physical health, Sharon Griffiths catches up with the Reeth Amblers, who are living proof of its enormous benefits.

DOCTORS maintain that one of the best cures for depression is a brisk walk - which could explain why these retired ladies are so wonderfully cheerful.

They are long distance walkers. Their average age is 68 and they show absolutely no sign yet of hanging up their boots.

The oldest, Marian, is 76, the youngest, Lesley, is 58, and they are all laughing and talking with such jollity and enthusiasm that the other customers in the bar look on enviously.

The ladies, all from Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, call themselves the Reeth Amblers, which doesn't do them justice. Most of the ten usually meet up at least once a week for a five, six or seven-mile stroll. On top of that, twice a year for the last ten years, they like to stretch their legs a little more.

"When we say a "long walk", we mean about 50 or 60 miles, over a few days, though in the early walks, when we were all a bit younger, we managed 70 or 80," says Marian.

This month to celebrate their 20th long walk, they're off to Jersey ("cheap flight from Teesside") and are going to walk all the way round the island - about 50 miles.

It started with the Dales Way back in 1995 and is all Audrey Jagger's fault. "I'd always wanted to do the Dales Way and wondered if anyone would come with me," she says.

Since then, they've done most of the great northern routes - the Cumbria Way from Ulverston to Carlisle; Lady Ann Clifford's Way from Buckden to Brougham Castle; the Cleveland Way; St Cuthbert's Way... They've ventured to Wales for the North Wales Path, to Spain for a bit of sunshine, and when foot-and-mouth closed the footpaths in the Dales, they went and walked round York instead.

"We did the Hadrian's Wall walk, which was wonderful. But as soon as we finished it, they closed it again. Not our fault, honestly," they say.

The one with the map is Kay Jackson "She was a geography teacher so she knows about maps." And in any case, the others say map reading's tricky now, without fishing out their specs.

The organisation is fiendish. Not many bed and breakfast places can put up ten people.

Then there's Monty, the dog, their mascot and the only male allowed on the trip. He belongs to Marjorie, who drives the back-up vehicle carrying the bags. "We couldn't manage without her," say the others.

Occasionally their fame goes before them.

When they were walking down the Northumbrian Coast, people kept saying "Ah, you're the women we've heard about"...

Although all retired, they are still incredibly busy. Some of them have husbands, some have grandchildren, some are knitters for Swaledale Woollens, or volunteers at the Tourist Information Centre. Some go to yoga, keep fit or WI. They are all an active, lively, interesting bunch - even if they do all speak at once.

They haven't always had good weather for their walks. Once they had snow on top of Skiddaw and the most frightening was a fearsome thunderstorm when they were on the moors above Osmotherly, "very exposed".

Audrey's the first aider but has never had to do anything more than find a sticking plaster and there have been no major incidents - if you don't count muddled boots, the time one of the women got the dog's biscuits instead of a packed lunch and an incident with someone's teeth, which is probably best left untold.

They say they "walk slow and talk fast", but still manage a respectable 12-15 miles a day, despite all that laughing.

"We leave the husbands behind and we just regress. It's like being teenagers again, but much better, because we don't care what people think any more," says Trixie Bradley.

They are experts on nice pubs and can scent a decent tea room from about five miles away.

The only problem, they say, is when they get home again.

"Post Walk syndrome," they say knowledgeably.

"We've had such a wonderful time - lots of fresh air, exercise and great company. Then it's back to the real world. It's an empty house for some, which can be a bit miserable, or the rest of us get irritable with our husbands. It always takes us a while to adjust."

Which is why, as they walk round Jersey, they'll be planning their walk for this autumn.

"Every year there are more walks opening and we hope to keep going for a good few more years yet. Unless we need carers, of course. And if we do, they'll just have to come with us," says Marian.