A trial was carried out to determine if walking unpremedicated patients to the operating theatre would prove acceptable to the patients. One hundred surgical patients from a short-stay-ward were randomised into experimental (walked to theatre by ward nurse) and control (taken to theatre on a hospital trolley) groups. Seventy-eight patients responded to a questionnaire; a large majority indicated they would like to be given the choice of mode of conveyance and perceived this as an improvement in patient care. The results showed that a more favourable impression of walking to the theatre was given by patients who had actually experienced it, and of those given the opportunity to walk, almost all reported that it made them feel more relaxed. The findings are discussed in relation to patient choice, efficiency gains and a reduction in manual handling.