[q] Walks Advice
What to bring on a walk
For all walks you will need walking boots, waterproofs and a drink (at least 1 litre of water, consider 2 or more for longer walks or hotter days). In winter add to this extra layers and maybe a hat and gloves. For most walks you will also need to bring a packed-lunch and snacks for along the way - most walks last at least 4-5 hours. On the harder mountain and moorland walks you should also have gloves, hat, torch, a basic first aid kit, whistle, survival bag and spare food.
For more information on starting out read the Ramblers guide to getting started and for good tips on clothing see the Ramblers outdoor footwear, clothing and equipment page.
One of the advantages of walking with a group is that you will soon pick-up kit ideas and advice from other members. You will find yourself lusting after a Platypus 2-litre hydro-system in no time ...
Becoming a Walk Leader
Want to do your bit? We always need people to lead and come up with good ideas for walks, anything from shorter rambles to 12-mile (plus!) hikes. (For insurance reasons, to lead a walk you must be a member of the Ramblers, our about us page has more information on joining the group.)
If you are interested in becoming a walk leader or have an idea for a walk, or if you want your name added to the walk leaders email distribution list, please contact the Walks Secretary.
We currently aim to have at least two walks every weekend because we have a large group, even if they are both on the same day. We aim for moderate turnouts but currently err towards risking lower rather than higher ones for safety reasons, such is the variability of turnouts. There is no deadline for submitting walks but if less than a fortnight before the walks date then some general advanced warning (for example , a moderate Dales walk end Sept without specifying a route or weekend) is very helpful for diary planning purposes - we won't hold you to anything. Walk cancellations and changes can be a problem as people can then turn up at the wrong location/date/time. In this eventuality please see our below FAQs on changing or cancelling your walk.
Information for Walk Leaders
Downloadable documents for walk leaders, use right-click > Save Target As... (Internet Explorer) or right-click > Save Link As... (Mozilla/Netscape/Firefox).
Walk Leader Check List
Walk_Checklist.pdf (41 Kb Kb PDF)
Information for walk leaders, read this ideally before planning a walk
Includes advice in the event you have to change or cancel your walk.
Also see the Ramblers practical advice on more serious walking.
Walk Leader Submission Form
Walk_Submission.rtf (39 Kb RTF)
Use this form to submit the details of a walk for inclusion in the diary. The form is not essential, an email or letter with the same content is fine.
Walk Roster
Walk_Roster.pdf (36 Kb PDF)
It is essential that walk leaders take a copy of this form on every walk to record attendance.
Charity and Challenge Walks
The Ramblers Association is a registered charity promoting walking. Whilst we welcome representatives of other charities to forward details of walking events that may be of interest to our members and which are accessible from the West Yorkshire area, the only point of contact must be with the organisers, and Take a Hike takes no responsibility for these events. Any questions about the walk, insurance, legal liability etc should be forwarded to the charity-contact but any discrepancies that might make it sound unsuitable for it to go on the walks diary need be reported to the Walk Secretary so that we can ensure only safe, well-organised events remain on the diary, where possible. We welcome representatives of charities to forward us details of such events to put on our walks diary as they are popular with our members.
