Have you thought about leading a walk with Take A Hike but don’t feel confident enough? Look through the walks diary you will see that a lot of walks are led by the same people week-in, week-out so we always need new people to come forward as walk leaders – don’t you think it’s about time you gave it a go?!
You don’t have to have lots of experience, you don’t need to be a mountain-trained emergency first-aider – you just need to be a Ramblers member so the walk is covered by our group insurance.
So where do you start? First you have to come up with an idea for a walk. The easiest way to do this is to buy a book of local walks, or find some routes online. Start with somewhere you know or have walked before and scout out a start point that has plenty of places for people to park and if possible links to public transport. Next, get a friend and go try the walk out together! If you are struggling to find someone put a message on the messageboard asking for someone to come with you. If you are struggling we also operate a “buddy” system where we will try to match you with an experienced walk leader to lead the walk with you – contact the Walks Secretary for more information.
Once you have gone out and recced the walk you then need to email the Walks Secretary with your Ramblers membership number, who will send you a link to our online walks submission form for you to fill out. For help with how to grade your walk (and for lots of other useful information!), download our Walk Leader Checklist from our Walk Leader page. The Walks Secretary will review your walk, and once OKed publish it to the walks diary.
A lot of new walk leaders are concerned about getting too many people on their first walk – you don’t need to be! Just think about your walk beforehand: if you put a walk on starting mid-morning from the centre of Leeds there is a good chance you will get a very large turn-out, so make sure you have a buddy who can act as a back-marker. Also, winter walks always have lower numbers of people than summer ones, so this time of year is a great time to lead your first walk.
Finally, have fun. Leading a walk is a great way to put on a walk that you want to do. Pick somewhere interesting or seasonal – a walk that takes in some sculpture or art trail, a hill that you’ve always wanted to climb or even a walk that just ends at your favourite pub! Once you’ve led your first walk, you will get such a buzz you will start planning your second straight away!
Photos by Rob Dearden