Leading walks

By leading a walk you are making a significant contribution to the success and enjoyment of the group.  So, first of all - thank you.  The leader takes on great responsibility, much, if not all of which, lies in common sense and being prepared.  A walk can take on a different perspective when you have got a group of people behind you, and there are lots of resources on the web site to help you lead walks - as well as other members who are experienced leaders and can help you with planning routes, doing recces, and setting up the sign-up page and sending out the email to members.

The essentials of planning and leading walks are covered in a short pdf document, Leading walks.  

If you need ideas for routes, a lot of our previous walks are linked from this page:  Walking routes. 

If you are not sure about map reading, grid references, using a compass etc., here is a package that will help: 2025 navigation v4 (3.47 MB). 

There are also plenty of resources about walk safety: start with the page Safe walking.  All walks can have dangers, more so where you are walking along/crossing roads, walking on remote moorland, or walking on difficult terrain or along cliff paths.  

Do familiarise yourself with the emergency procedure and how to call for help if needed: Emergencyprocedure.  This is also available as a small laminated card.

We're using Framadate to let people register that they are going on a walk and tick options such as meet points and tea/cake.  Setting up a Framadate poll is easy, provided that you remember to select the right options.  The instructions for setting up the Framadate and sending out the email are now in Leading walks.  There's also a Word copy of the email template here: Template.  Just copy and paste the template into your email, overwriting the blue text with your own details.

Please note that the email address to send out your walk details to members is now footloose@emaildodo.com

Obstructed paths.  If you come across a blocked or overgrown footpath, here are the links for reporting it: Reporting footpath problems   Don't expect the council/National Park to have cleared it by the time of the walk, though!