Pauline Davies - Llanelli Group
Traditional Ramblers walks are intimidating for some – too long and too fast for some older people. And then there is often the issue of needing a car to get to the start point. Llanelli Group solved this problem with their Monday Club.
The Monday Club was born purely out of self-interest. When my husband and I retired and joined our local Ramblers group in Llanelli there were 54 members. The group has grown larger much larger - to 300 - and we’ve grown older! I started to find the pace and the length of the walks on offer too hard. But I missed the countryside – and the company. It occurred to me that I couldn’t be the only person who felt this way, so I put a simple message in the library: “Short walks, no hills or stiles, nothing to pay or join. Bring your bus pass”.
The first walk was in pouring rain and just one game lady turned up. As time passed numbers grew and it was agreed we should all become members of the Ramblers, as a specialist sub-group of the Llanelli Group. So we found ourselves a name – The Monday Club – and specified that this group be for those over 60, with their free bus passes. Our simple formula of short (2 to 4 mile) walks accessible by public transport with no stiles, no hills, no nasty mud and a hostelry at the end proved almost too popular. We were soon in danger of over-crowding the buses.
We solved the problem two years ago by introducing two walks on most Mondays, one a local shorter one with a promise of a pub-type meal, the other further afield with the odd hill and patch of mud and various arrangements for food. We now have 48 members; most of them regular walkers who chose almost equally between the two walks.
To date we have found some 70 different walks that fit our strict criteria, and we keep finding new ones. Walks are led by experienced walkers and other members pitch in to help as back stops and with the organisation of social events.
I think more Groups should have Monday Clubs. “If you don’t have one, set one up!” is the message. People who would not have had the confidence to join the main Group because the walks are too long or too fast, or you need a car to get to the start, would have missed out on group walking. And it is fantastic when you hear many of those who have taken the plunge say how the Monday Club has changed their lives.
