Недавно я начал ходить пешком другим маршрутом.

Recently I started walking a different route on foot.

Breakdown of Недавно я начал ходить пешком другим маршрутом.

• я: I
• ходить: to walk
• маршрут: the route
• начать: to start

Questions & Answers about Недавно я начал ходить пешком другим маршрутом.

Why is it начал ходить, not начал идти?

Russian motion verbs distinguish between:

• идти = moving in one direction right now/one occasion (single, unidirectional)
• ходить = moving on foot habitually, repeatedly, or back-and-forth (multidirectional)

Since the sentence describes a new habit (“I started walking by a different route”), ходить is the correct choice. Начал идти would mean “I began to walk (at that moment),” a one-time event in progress, not a habit.

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Could I say Недавно я начал идти пешком другим маршрутом?

Grammatically yes, but it changes the meaning to a one-time “I began to walk (then) by a different route.” For “I’ve started doing this regularly,” stick with начал ходить (or стал ходить, see below).

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Do I even need пешком if ходить already means “to walk”?

Often you can omit it: начал ходить другим маршрутом still implies walking. However, in everyday speech ходить пешком is common to emphasize “on foot (not by transport).” It also avoids the broader idiomatic sense of ходить (“to attend/go regularly”) which doesn’t necessarily specify the means.

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Why is другим маршрутом in the instrumental case and has no preposition?