IF A new year motivates you, why not set some new healthy' goals. Whether it is quitting smoking, taking up a new sport or activity or getting motivated to just get out there and walk through the Lakes, these web sites will help.

Quitting smoking is always a big winner for the top New Year's resolution - running neck and neck with losing weight. Visit www.nhs.uk for a National Health Service search page, www.givingupsmoking.co.uk for advice, support and a new Ask an Expert section.

Speaking of getting help for yourself, visit www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk for self-assessment guides online. It has an online encyclopaedia or you can email questions to an adviser and get a response in your home. This educational service is excellent. It is amazing what we don't know about looking after ourselves.

Fitness and spa centres are growing in numbers in the region, meeting the public's demand for a full package option. Windermere's Hydro Hotel, www.thehydro.co.uk , is joining the fitness centre crowd with a new spa centre at the hotel opening this spring. It joins the likes of North Lakes Spa at Orton Hall, www.ortonhall.com , and Cascades at The Whitewater Hotel in Lakeland Village, www.whitewater-hotel.co.uk . And these are just the tip of the spa selection iceberg in the region.

If you really want to relax and de-stress, maybe a retreat is in your cards. From Rydal Hall in Ambleside, www.rydalhall.org , to Wordsworth's grandfather's cottage near Ullswater (www.english-country-cottages.co.uk) , to the Manjushri Kadampa Meditation Centre at Ulverston's Conishead Priory online at http://www.manjushri.org.uk/ , the selection is endless. It would be difficult not to find something that suited every taste.

If you are travelling to a foreign destination for some rest and relaxation, you might want to check in with the department of health travellers' advice web site at http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAdviceForTravellers/fs/en . With the year showing signs of dangerous weather conditions around the globe, you won't want to complicate things by exposing yourself to other dangers that can be avoided.

Walking is one of the best, easiest and most flexible ways to get in shape and in this region we have some of the best areas, greatest variety and largest number of options for types of walks in the country. There are a number of companies offering guided walks services. Visit our own Lakes Guide Walking and Cycling section for news on walks, important developments in the region and walk routes. Our regular walks columnist Sean McMahon resides online at www.stridingedge.net .

For a site on preparing for walks, which is perhaps a bit time worn like your favourite hiking boots, but still quite useful, visit http://www.ruby3.dircon.co.uk/ . In the Coast-to-Coast walk section (the links don't work but scrolling down will get you there), two sections entitled General Fitness and Walking Fitness will help you out.

If you are feeling really ambitious and want to become a walks leader, check out the Brathay Exploration Group at www.brathayexploration.org.uk . It provides expeditions and leadership training. Why not go for it?

For other Lake District sites with walking information, visit Cumbria Tourist Board at www.golakes.co.uk and www.lakedistrictoutdoors.co.uk for ideas on where to get fit in the Lakes. You may not think of the CTB when you think of eBay but it sold a bottle of fresh Lakes air, taken from Helvellyn, as a promotional gimmick for £60 at Christmas. It became one of the number one items on the site! The funds are going to the Lake District and Tourism Conservation Partnership.

What's New on thisisthelakedistrict.co.uk: We have added a couple of new sections to Lifestyle. Check Your Money and Health and Wellbeing for interesting information. If you have any ideas for these or other sections, email the web editor at kate.whiteside@kendal.newsquest.co.uk.