THE JOY OF RETIREMENT

Copyright © Summersdale Publishers Ltd, 2015

Images © Shutterstock

With research by Jennifer Barclay and help from Ian Robert Smith

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, nor transmitted, nor translated into a machine language, without the written permission of the publishers.

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eISBN: 978-1-78372-499-4

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Introduction

Chapter 1 – The Active Joys of Retirement

Chapter 2 – The Financial Joys of Retirement

Chapter 3 – The Joy of Nature

Chapter 4 – Enjoying Your Home and Garden

Chapter 5 – The Joy of Learning

Chapter 6 – The Art of Retirement

Chapter 7 – The Joy of Relationships

Chapter 8 – The Joy of Getting Away from It All

Chapter 9 – Finding Fulfilment

Chapter 10 – Extreme Things to Do in Retirement

Epilogue

You've heard it said many times, but now you'll see why: How did I ever find time to go to work? You're retired, and should have plenty of time on your hands. But with all those long-overdue DIY projects to be tackled, plus the expectation that you can now help with the local fete as well as looking after the grandkids every other day… You might find there's not very much time for merely putting your feet up and twiddling your thumbs – or for following your retirement dreams.

  But don't forget that this time is for you.

  You've earned the chance to do whatever you've always daydreamed about but never had the time to put into reality. Don't miss your opportunity. Make sure you think about what you really want to achieve – and make it happen. Always wanted to learn Italian, keep chickens, write a novel or spend more of the year in a place you love? Now you have control over how you spend your days, and the sense of freedom can lead to great things.

  Physical and mental well-being are the keys to a happy and satisfying retirement. Retirement gives you the leisure to keep health problems at bay by developing your exercise regime and losing bad eating habits you might have picked up during busy workdays. Physical activities will give you energy and positivity.

  This is not the time for gaining material things, but for enjoying each day of your life. What you do now will pave the way for the coming decades, so use your time wisely.

  Adapting to retirement can, for some, be a challenge that requires effort and patience. It's important to recognise that it's easier for some than others. Don't lose sight of the fact that this is not an end, but the beginning of the next phase of your life.

  These days most of us retire brimming with aspirations, ideas and a 'bucket list' of 1,001 things to do, including learning new skills as well as making time for old friends. You won't be alone and it doesn't need to cost the earth. There's a wealth of opportunities out there, and there are more retired people than ever before, feeling younger than ever before. This next chapter of your life could be the best yet.

  Retirement is the end of your time as a wage slave, and the beginning of reaping the rewards in a new and exciting phase of life. Not everything in this book will be for you, but I hope it will provide a taste of the potential joys of retirement in store.

Being physically active leads to better health and greater happiness. The level of strenuousness you should aim for depends on your current level of fitness, but retirement is a perfect time to develop an interest in physical activities such as hiking, cycling or gardening – or something a little more unusual like t'ai chi, horse riding or wild swimming. The rewards of exercise are many, and you may discover a new passion.

  Moderate exercise makes your immune cells more ready to fight off infection, while releasing those feel-good endorphins that leave you smiling and help you to relax. It also boosts creative thinking, builds self-esteem, releases tension and can be social and fun.

  Perhaps you are already physically fit and enjoy sports such as tennis or golf, running marathons or playing football. Now you have a great opportunity to improve your game and could also give something back to the community by coaching younger players or runners. Even if you're not sporty at all, some kind of activity will help break up your week and get you out of the house, as well as improving overall health and aiding sleep.

Don't underestimate how important exercise is for your health. Physical activity will reduce your risk of these common problems:

• Heart disease and heart attack
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Obesity and other weight problems
• Hip fracture

A long-term study carried out by Finnish researchers concluded that those who exercised at a moderate level for at least half an hour a day were half as likely to develop cancer as those who didn't.

  Studies have found that the average 65-year-old can increase healthy life expectancy by over 12 years through exercise – and this increases by an additional 5 years if you are highly active. So the answer is easy: find time every day to do something physical.

One of the simplest activities a person can undertake in retirement is to walk. Everyone knows the benefits to be gained in both body and mind merely by opening the front door and stepping outside for a stroll around the block. Extend this to include an amble through the local park or a brisk march along a windswept beach and you are well on your way to developing an allconsuming passion that may well open more doors than you suspect.

  Walking is free and full of life-altering potential. Best of all, there are many ways of going about it. If, for instance, the idea of walking alone leaves you cold, consider joining a local group to learn interesting routes and establish new social contacts. Similarly, if the urge to travel strikes you, join a walking tour to some far-flung destination that is not only visually striking but also culturally and historically fascinating.

  Established walkers will find that retirement offers opportunities to embark upon lengthier treks than were previously possible. Longdistance footpaths with time and planning offer scope for joyful and possibly even life-changing expeditions. The opportunities are, quite literally, unlimited, with so many routes suited to different capabilities.

  Many bookshops cater to walkers with a vast array of guidebooks and more literary works, and some popular walking sites on the Internet include:

• www.walkingbritain.com

• www.nationaltrail.co.uk

• www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/activities/walking

• www.ramblers.org.uk/info

• www.walkingworld.com

Some of the best walking in the UK is on the national trails; not everyone is ready for a 630-mile (1,013-km) commitment (this is the length of England's South West Coast Path), but you can choose a section of any trail that appeals to you. You can also search for walks depending on your area of interest:

Coast: spectacular coastal scenery is a big attraction around Britain, not least on Scotland's Kintyre Way, Wales' Pembrokeshire Coast Path, England's South West Coast Path, and Northern Ireland's Causeway Coast Way.

Coast-to-coast: the remote Southern Upland Way across the Borders region of southern Scotland satisfyingly starts and finishes at the sea, as do a number of other such walks in Britain.

Wildlife: depending on the time of year, on many national trails you can spot orchids and other wildflowers, birdlife and butterflies, and a wide variety of animals – on Scotland's West Highland Way, for example, you could see several species of deer, hares, badgers, foxes, otters and numerous birds of prey including eagle, falcon, osprey and buzzard.

Following in the footsteps of your favourite poet or writer: try the West Sussex Literary Trail, the circuit walk around Tennyson Down on the Isle of Wight, or the Laurie Lee walking trail in Gloucestershire.

Ancient monuments: stone circles, chalk giants and Neolithic burial mounds can all be seen on the Wessex Ridgeway Trail; Offa's Dyke Path has sections of the 1,200-year-old Anglo-Saxon boundary wall; and Hadrian's Wall Path, of course, has Roman remains.

Rivers: at least you can't get lost, and there won't be too many hills, if you follow a river; a selection of river walks can be found at: www.ukrivers.net/walkcycle.html

Mountain scenery: some of the great hikes for this are to be found at Helvellyn in the Lake District and Tryfan in Snowdonia. Check out www.fellwalk.co.uk if mountain hiking is an area of interest.

Refreshments: fortify yourself with cream teas on the Cotswold Way from Bath to Chipping Camden, or with real ale in Yorkshire Dales country pubs on the Pennine Way.

What's so good about cycling? Well, first of all, biking around town is a way to save money on petrol and car maintenance, or even on keeping a car in the first place. Or you can give up waiting at bus stops when you embrace the freedom of two wheels. In the meantime, you're doing your heart and body a whole lot of good, naturally. The British Heart Foundation says that cycling 20 miles (32 km) a week reduces your risk of heart disease to less than half that of those who take no exercise. Cycling gets you outside, relieves stress and makes you feel great.

  The only problem with biking around town is that you're not always breathing fresh air. That's why you'll soon want to seek out scenic roads where the traffic is light, or off-road bike trails through parks or along canals. Once you get a taste for recreational cycling and develop your strength, you may end up swapping your road bike for a mountain bike. The views just get better if you can tackle a national trail or even an international route. A love of cycling lends itself well to longer routes, so if you're already a keen cyclist, maybe it's time to take on a fresh challenge, such as cycling across an entire country?

• Travel extremely light; a good bike lock, repair kit and water bottle are essentials, but if you're going to be camping then you'll probably only have space for one change of clothes.

• If you're travelling alone, make your bike look as unattractive to thieves as possible.

• Look for scenic old railway tracks that have been developed into cycling trails, and bike-friendly cities, where you'll find two wheels an excellent way to explore.

• Map out your journey in advance; you might have a smartphone and GPS but are you sure you'll always be able to charge it? Try a solarpowered charger that straps to your back if you need to stay connected.

• A breakdown is a great way to meet people, but learn some basic maintenance.

• Be prepared for a change in the weather.

The Grey Panthers dance troupe in Darwin, Australia, believe that dance helps to keep the brain sharp within a creative, social environment, as well as maintaining health and fitness. As Glad Morris, a founding member, says: 'It's better than taking a pill.'