Walking with a group

13 women, 4 days, 1 epic walk along the Cornwall coast

So many feet, so many steps taken, so much fun walking together (Photo credit: Sarah Middleton)

Hello and welcome to anyone new here. In case we haven’t met, I’m a writer who loves walking for all the positive ways it makes me feel physically, mentally and creatively. In these posts I share different ways of taking a walk and pair them with writing prompts to help spark your inspiration. So now you know what this is about, let’s stroll into this edition on walking with a group.

Walking

Are you a solo stroller or a team trekker?

I tend to be a solo stroller. I’ve always enjoyed the solitude of a long walk with only my thoughts for company. But walking alone was holding me back. My usual approach was to hike for a day, starting and ending in the same place by following either a circular or ‘out and back’ route. And while I love this approach – I’ve never met a walk I didn’t like – I was craving a bit more adventure. I really wanted to do a longer distance walk that would take me from Point A to Point B over a few days, stopping to camp each night. But I didn’t have the confidence to go it alone on a solo trek. I’m not good with heights, so I’d been avoiding mountains and vertiginous coastal paths, I wasn’t sure I’d cope with lugging a heavy backpack full of gear, and I was worried about camping alone – either in the wild or on a campsite.

Reader, if you haven’t guessed it by now, I might have a wandering spirit but I’m also a bit of scaredy cat.

Then I saw an Instagram post about a four-day walking adventure along the South West Coast Path in Cornwall. Sarah Middleton’s Walkabout felt like the perfect way to challenge myself with some longer distance walking with the reassurance of doing it with other people. It also took away the challenge of carting my camping gear, as she took care of transporting it to each day’s destination, together with outdoor meals, camp fires and the chance to spend a weekend with nine other women who all share a love of walking.

And what a weekend it was.

The path was challenging in places – lots of steep climbs and descents – but the views were worth it:

Wheal Edward mine, Botallack, on the St Just coast

Seeing the other women navigating the narrow path gave me the confidence to face my wobbles with heights. Because if they could navigate a steep, narrow path without missing a beat then so could I:

Stepping out together on the South West Coast Path near Treen, Cornwall

We met new friends who seemed to enjoy the views as much as we did:

Staring into the middle distance, trying to remember if I left the iron on

And for our last night together we enjoyed a magical sunset on a beach:

You couldn’t make this up

And there was so much more to the experience than walking.

Jess Holliday, a yoga and wellbeing coach, took us through some gentle meditation, yoga and reflective journalling. And outdoor facilitator, Jo Hellier, kept us fuelled with lush, home-made food at our campsites each evening. There was also the conversation and companionship shared along the way. United by a love of walking, we soon found lots in common with each other. We talked, we cried, we laughed and we found new friendships.

We finished our journey back at our starting point of Treen Farm Campsite where I decided to stay for one more night before heading home the next day. I’d never camped alone before, and while staying in a tent on a campsite is not the same as going it alone in the wild, it was a big step for me. And this wonderful bunch of lovelies helped me find the courage, and the confidence, to take it. Thank you, all.

Celebrating a challenging but beautiful day of walking together (Photo credit Sarah Middleton)

Walking with a group has a lot of benefits. If you’re new to walking it can help give you confidence, if you don’t know the area you want to explore it’s a way to learn more about it about from people who do, and it’s a fab way to meet people and make new friends. There’s even research that suggests walking groups can have positive benefits for your health, such as improving blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol and mood¹.

So my invitation to you this time is to go for a walk with a group of other people. If you don’t fancy a long walk then a short one, say up to an hour, is a great way to try it out. Here are a few ideas:

Free

• Plan a walk with your family, a group of friends or your coworkers.

• Check your local council or health service website – many public organisations have links to local walking groups.

Free or low cost

• Find a walking group through social networks like Meetup.

• Check out the Ramblers Association – a UK charity dedicated to helping people enjoy walking in green spaces. They have a network of 500 local walking groups and you can narrow your search to ones based on shared interests or age group. They’re free to join for the first few walks, but the Ramblers ask that you become a member if you decide to walk with a group regularly.

A bit more dosh

• Sign up for a walking weekend or holiday.

Writing

During the Walkabout weekend, Jess encouraged us to reflect on our experience by journalling each day. So for your writing, I invite you to reflect on your group walk. Here are some prompts:

• By walking with other people I learned…

• Walking with other people helped me to overcome…

• The things I enjoyed about the group walk were…

Happy walking and writing until next time,

Sarah

PS I’d love to hear your walking stories. Have you ever gone on a walking holiday, joined a walking group or even led a group walk? Please share your experiences in the comments.

1. Is there evidence that walking groups have health benefits? A systematic review and meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume 49, Issue 11.

For an easier-to-read summary of the research, see Group walking may have many benefits, few harms, published on Reuters online.