We do longer walks in the range 8 to 10 miles. We meet at the starting point of each walk, where there is always parking, usually free. People who live near each other often share lifts, as the walks can often be half an hour or more away from Saltford.
Everybody brings along elevensies (drink and possibly cake/biscuit) as well as a packed lunch. Starting out at 9.30am, we are usually back to the starting point between 2pm and 3pm, depending on the length of the walk, and walks are almost always circular.
We walk at a reasonable pace; that is, it is not forced, and no-one is expected to walk faster than they are comfortable with. However, the pace is not particularly slow, as the distances are quite long, and we wouldn’t want to arrive back after dark! Having said that, we are not all super fit, and some of us huff and puff a bit going up the hills and often have to stop to get our breath back part way up the longer ones. We walk at the pace of the slowest walker and allow breaks if required.
If you are wondering whether you can do the distance, we would encourage you to give it a try if you think you might be able to. You can always decide afterwards, if you found it a struggle, to walk with the Amblers group instead.
Our emphasis is on the social aspect of the group rather than serious walking. We enjoy positive conversations with each other as we walk round, and if we become physically fitter in the process, then this is a bonus.
We tend to want to walk with a minimum of 4 of us, though typically the group size is 7 to 14. If the weather is particularly bad, we will cancel the walk and announce the fact on the website (which triggers an e-mail to all blog subscribers). None of us enjoy being soaked to the skin in heavy rain or getting heat stroke if it is exceptionally hot.
We recommend wearing proper walking boots, and in winter, many of us wear gaiters, as it can sometimes be very muddy when it has been raining a lot. We recommend wearing long lightweight trousers, even in summer, as they dry out quicker than, say, jeans, and they protect from ticks that can be picked up on bare legs in long grass (and ticks carry Lime’s disease). It is also not uncommon to encounter brambles at ground level.
We don’t have dogs on these longer walks.