leading a walk

If you've ever thought about leading a walk but were unsure what's involved or worried your map reading skills are not up to it then help is at hand. Any of the committee members or walk leaders will be able to assist you personally or put you in touch with someone who can. This can be for planning the route, map reading, use of a compass, recce'ing the route or help on the day of the walk. If you are still nervous about the thought of leading on your own then you can "buddy up"with a friend or an experienced walk leader. With more walk leaders we can offer more choice of walks, more Sundays with a choice of two walks, more Saturday walks, more weekday evening walks. So why not give it a go ! The notes below give you some guidance on what you'll need to think about and do but if you have any questions on submitting a walk please contact the Programme Secretary Plan and Recce the walk first pick your route for your first time walk leading choose a route that is not too long or tricky to navigate maybe use one from a book or take suggestions from experienced walk leaders. You can even recycle a walk someone has led before the best type of map to use for walking is an Ordnance Survey Explorer map which are 1:25,000 scale and have an orange banner on the front cover. These show better detail for walking than larger scale maps and make it much easier see where footpaths go eg. is it left of that barn ? and to see the slope of the land as well as public footpaths there are also a large number of permissive paths which can be found here and may allow you to link up paths to complete a circular route otherwise not possible recce the route if possible find someone else from the walking group to recce walk with you, the Committee can offer a "buddy" system note any tricky sections, broken and slippery stiles, steep slopes etc. Don't forget that the changing seasons can make things look very different time the walk and allow for the pace of a group being slower than your pace on your own as people will bunch up at stiles etc.  especially for winter walks check the daylight hours here when you will be doing the walk and whether you might need to start a bit earlier than usual to get back in full daylight if you found any obstacles such as broken stiles or locked gates on your route you might want to report these, see the footpath problems page. You might then even find the problem fixed by the time you come to lead your walk work out refreshment and other break stops think about places for food and drink stops during the walk i.e. picnic or pub stops, and work out when you are likely to arrive at each ask pubs or tea shops about opening and closing times, if are walker friendly, if can handle size of group, arrangements for food orders etc. make a note of any toilet facilities on the route and if they are likely to be open on the day... check out parking and public transport is there enough car parking at your start point and could there be other demands on parking space, such as church services, or whether there are car parking charges consider whether you may have to restrict numbers due to limited parking or enforce car sharing, perhaps by having a meet point at one of the Oxford "Park & Ride" sites is it possible to start/finish the walk near public transport ? do buses or trains run on a Sunday and times? as this could make it easier for some people to attend Submit Your Walk Once you are ready to submit your walk you can use the form on the 'submit a walk' page to send all the details to the  Programme Secretary or just send by email or in person. Please try to include all the information you can but if you are open on date or something else do still submit the walk but don't forget to send the rest of the information later and check with the Programme Secretary. If possible, include the grid reference for your start point as this makes it easier to link an online map in to the walks programme listing so that people can easily find it.  There is an easy guide to the National Grid reference system here   On the day of the walk make a final decision on the exact walk route based on the weather forecast and ground conditions get to the start point or meeting place early, 30 mins before start time if possible   At the start of the walk introduce yourself as the walk leader and give a short briefing - walk route, distance, pace, breaks, lunch stop and pubs/tea shops and estimated times check whether there are any "newbies" and introduce them to other members of the group. Try to make sure someone talks to them about membership check that everyone seems to have suitable clothing and gear plus water. If you know the route has some very muddy sections let people know so they can put their gaiters on etc. volunteer a back marker and run through the route with them do a headcount (usually done by the back marker)   During the walk ensure gates are closed and any dogs are under control when livestock are around think about rest/water stops and pauses to regroup and keep an eye out for anyone struggling keeping up check the headcount with back marker watch the pace and check timings keep a watch at stiles and obstructions remind people to keep into the side on road sections don't be afraid to ask for help or a second opinion, especially in the event of something unforeseen e.g. blocked paths, getting lost or accidents/illness, and keep everyone informed.   At the end check "newbies" have enjoyed the walk and been spoken to about membership let everyone know which pub or tea shop people are heading to for that post walk drink or cuppa. thank your back marker and congratulate yourself on a job well done! ...hopefully someone will buy you a drink