Nationwide released the results of a poll revealing that the average cost of a date – and some of Britons’ biggest “icks”. The building society and banking provider commisioned a survey of around 2,000 people asking their preferences around walking dates to mark The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity’s annual Walk 50k challenge throughout September.
It revealed the average date now costs £56.76. Meanwhile, a walking date costs just £12 on average, and around one in five said they like doing walking dates specifically because of the lower cost.
However, most said they wouldn’t go on a stroll for a first date, but 14% said they would be up for one further down the line.
The top reasons people pointed to for going on a walking date are that:
- it’s relaxed and low-pressure (55%)
- it’s healthier (38%) – (walking burns off around 200-300 calories per hour)
- it’s a way of seeing how your date interacts with the world (34%)
- environmentally friendly nature (28%)
Meanwhile, 27% said it’s a chance to hold hands and be tactile.
Nationwide said the poll also revealed the “top ten walking date turnoffs” which it says included:
- Checks phone constantly (41%)
- Flatulence (25%)
- Walks three steps ahead (21%) – a bigger ick for women at 26% vs men at 16%
- Sweats excessively (21%)
- Talks too loud (20%)
- Walks too fast or too slow (16%)
- Bad dress sense (12%)
- Doesn’t plan anything (11%)
- Tries to hold hands too soon (10%)
- Weird walking style / bad shoes (8%)
Meanwhile, among the top “green flags” were good manners (30%), walking at your pace (25%), a good laugh (24%), smelling amazing (18%) and giving undivided attention (also 18%).
A beach promenade was the preferred option for a walking date (34%) closely followed by a mosey through a local park or nature trail (34%). The third most popular was a walk along a river or canal (32%).
The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity is a charity that partners with Nationwide’s Fairer Futures – a social impact programme to that hopes to “change hundreds of thousands of lives for the better” by addressing various issues including homelessness and poverty.
You can find out more about the survey and the results here.
As of 3.35pm on Friday, 2,565 participants had raised £135,581 for the charity’s 50k fundraising challenge, and have racked up a total of 23,555 kms.
Charlotte Kensett, customer experience and social impact director at Nationwide, said: “Walking has a wonderful way of bringing people together and through Nationwide Fairer Futures we’re delighted to be supporting The Royal Marsden Cancer charity walk 50k challenge.
“This month we have seen colleagues up and down the country taking part to help save and improve the lives of cancer patients across the UK and around the world.”
