Welcome to the “Walking With Us” page. Here you will find some general information about our walks, which are led by our team of volunteer leaders.
Outlined below are details of what to expect when participating in one of our led walks. Currently, the walks are classified as “Longer”, “Intermediate”, and “Shorter”, and each walk that appears in the monthly walking programme will have a mileage and a category, which will give an indication of difficulty. Please see below for the current category descriptions.
Longer Walks
These generally are our more strenuous walks which will be on occasion 9.5 miles or above. They will normally involve an element of hill/mountain walking, with the associated uphill and downhill, and there may be some rough paths and tracks in open country. These walks are often referred to internally as “A” Walks.
Intermediate Walks
Our intermediate walks range in length from above 6.5 miles, up to and including 9 miles. Although shorter these walks may still involve some element of up and down and some rough paths, but they will not be as difficult as the “Longer” walks. The category attached to the walk in the walking programme will however determine this. These walks are often referred to internally as “B” Walks.
Shorter Walks
Our shorter walks have an upper mileage limit of 6.5 miles. The amount of up and down on these walks will be considerably less than the “Longer” or “Intermediate” walks, and they are most suitable for those new to walking, or those wanting to sample the classification, pace and category system for themselves before perhaps progressing to the “Longer” or Intermediate” walks, although this is by no means a requirement. These walks are often referred to internally as “C” Walks.
Walk Categories
As mentioned above, in addition to the mileage, the walks are categorised in order to give the potential participant an indication of what to expect on a walk. The current categories and definitions are shown below.
Category 1. “Challenging” – Numerous steep gradients and/or rough, difficult terrain.
Category 2. “Strenuous” – Some steep gradients and/or fairly rough terrain.
Category 3. “Moderate” – Moderate gradients and/or uneven terrain.
Category 4. “Easy”. May include some easy gradients, uneven paths, steps and stiles.
Combinations of the above.
Where combinations of the above are used this indicates that there will be some of each category during the walk and that, for example, if a walk is categorised as a 3/2, this indicates that the larger percentage of the walk will be category 3. If the walk is categorised as 2/3 then the larger percentage of the walk will be category 2.
To pursue your interest please visit the Contact Us page and complete the form. The Membership Secretary will then send you a pack which will contain, amongst other things, the current walking programme. We strongly advise that, for your first walk, you attempt one with an easier category and shorter distance than you may think suitable for you. Please then contact the indicated leader of the walk to advise him/her that you are intending to join the walk and to discuss further the suitability of the walk for you.
The meeting place and start time for all walks, will be detailed in the monthly circulars.
You can in some cases receive a lift to the start point of the walk, and then back again once the walk has been completed, and for this service you will be asked to make a contribution to the driver’s costs. This cost will be shown in the details of each walk that appears in the monthly circulars. If you are a driver, and in the interests of everything being fair and reasonable, you will need to take your turn with the provision of lifts for your fellow walk participants, and if required, one of your passengers will direct you to the start point of the walk if you are unsure of the way.
Please note that for all walks in the countryside you will require walking boots, a waterproof coat and waterproof trousers, a rucksack, a personal first aid kit and enough food and water for the type/length of walk that you are undertaking.
