Enjoying Your Walk
We choose to walk together for the friendship and company and for the enjoyment of the “great outdoors”. As a caring and supportive group, we want to do our best to make walks safe and enjoyable for all of our walkers and leaders.
The guidance below has been based upon national guidelines in The Walk Leader Handbook and upon consultation with Reigate Ramblers members to encourage enjoyment and ensure the safety of all our fellow walkers. At the bottom of this page you can also find some notes on how to deal with incidents and accidents.
- Please listen to your leaders, follow their instructions, and be prepared to give practical help if needed. At the same time, take personal responsibility for your own safety and preparedness.
- Most of our leaders like to lead from the front in order to set a pace suitable for the group. Please assume this to be the case unless the leader has indicated otherwise.
- If your leader is happy for people to go ahead, then please follow their instructions and, in the event of any doubt, wait at any junction so the leader can indicate the correct route.
- In larger (possibly stretched out) groups please check behind you at any turns to make sure that the walkers behind are within sight. If they aren’t, then wait until they are so that they will take the correct direction.
- When walking on roads/lanes use any pavement available, in single file if necessary. Where there is no pavement the safest option (in most cases) is to walk on the right-hand side, facing any oncoming traffic. However, please try to follow any specific instructions given by the leader as they will have risk-assessed the route, taking into account any bends.
- Please consider sharing the back marker duties occasionally, even if only for part of the walk – particularly if you are an experienced walker. Everyone should have a chance to talk to all the members of the group.
- Occasionally walkers may be struggling or simply having a bad day. Please support and encourage them and alert the leader or back marker if you have any concerns.
- Let the leader or back marker know if you intend to leave the walk, whether by going on ahead, taking another route, or dropping out. Failing to do so could potentially cause a great deal of stress and possibly sending off a search party to make sure that you are safe.
- But most of all – enjoy the experience of a good walk!
Leading Walks for the Enjoyment of All
As a walk leader your role is to do as much as you can to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all the members of the walking group. While our leaders should and do enjoy themselves, caring for and supporting their walkers must be their prime concern. The guidance below is intended assist in this.
- Our first principle of leadership should be that “no walker is left behind” – we are, after all, a walking group and we choose to walk together.
- Please tell your group how you want to manage the walk, ideally in your introduction. Do you want to be at the front all the time or do you want to be in contact with walkers across the group? If you are not going to be at the front for a period, explain to the walkers who will be ahead of you what you want them to do (eg: go to the next junction at a sensible pace and then wait).
- Please regularly check the pace and tiredness of everyone – not just those at the front. Be prepared to adapt the walk if some of the walkers are uncomfortable or unable to keep up with the pace.
- Please allow time for walkers to catch their breath after significant ascents and check that everyone is happy to continue whatever the pace of the walk.
- Please allow regular pauses for the group to come back together, particularly in larger groups, after crossing stiles and after road crossings. These may require careful management to ensure that walkers do not rush on ahead or fail to move on sufficiently to avoid blocking the way for those that follow.
- Make sure that there is a back-marker, unless the number of walkers is small. Check regularly that your back marker is within sight, and consult with them, as opportunities arise, on how the group is doing. This is particularly important if you intend to lead from the front.
Dealing with walkers with difficulties - based upon national guidance
Occasionally there may be a particular problem if individual walkers are clearly struggling and as a result holding the whole group up. Please try not to show any annoyance or irritation. If necessary, be prepared to consider one or more of the following:
- Slowing the pace or taking more breaks.
- Changing the route.
- Asking the back marker to give them extra support or
- Asking someone specific to look after them and possibly drop out of the walk with them to help them safely back to the start.
- Advising them at the end of the walk that they should consider less strenuous options “at this stage”. Wherever possible give them positive alternatives.
"In Case of Emergency"
Nothing’s going to happen to us, walking across some fields and along quiet lanes, the occasional hill or steep descent. Or is it?
In the event of a rare incident or accident, walking with our group provides the reassurance that others can help. There are some measures we recommend to keep you safe and to help you if you are the unfortunate one!
Carry an ICE (In Case of Emergency) card in your bag, rucksack or coat pocket.
As well as your personal details, these record your emergency contact information (usually a phone number) and any medical conditions that might affect your walking or how you are looked-after following an accident. We also recommend you record your car registration number. These basic details will help others help you.
Ramblers can supply these cards in waterproof format or you might want to make your own, on a piece of card for instance. Ask the leader next time you walk with us and they may well have a spare card or two.
First Aid
Most of us will have some basic idea of how to deal with a casualty. Some of us may have had First Aid training. Ramblers does not require any of us, even leaders, to have formal first aid skills but it is as well to be prepared. Consider carrying a basic first aid kit – any walking shop (or Amazon!) will have examples – and learn first aid basics for your benefit and maybe for the benefit of others.
Let’s hope nothing ever happens but be prepared if it does!