WALKING ADVICE

DON'T BE OVER AMBITIOUS : If you're new to walking and unsure of your fitness level, try a short and easy walk first - it's much better to find a walk a little too slow and easy than to make yourself miserable and exhausted. If you have any doubts about your ability to do a walk , phone the leader or contact us.

BE PREPARED : It’s important to wear suitable footwear, trainers with good grip can do in dry conditions but in wetter conditions you will benefit from something stouter. Don't forget to bring plenty of liquid refreshment , particularly in warmer weather.

SAT NAV USERS : You can find a walk start point more accurately by keying in the OS Grid Reference or latitude and longitude coordinates rather than using post codes which in rural parts can cover a wide area. We have drafted an instruction (click here) enabling these coordinates to be input to your Sat Nav.

CAR SHARING : for Sunday full day walks, a number of group members gather to share cars and drive to the start of the walk. They meet at Southampton Central Station, in the car park, South Brook Road, just beyond the station entrance (Mayflower Theatre side - see map). Meeting times at Southampton Station are 'ready to leave' and are shown in the walk description. We cannot guarantee that there will always be cars available. If given a lift, please contribute to fuel expenses.

WALK CANCELLATIONS : we put on well over 200 walks a year. Very few are cancelled due to adverse weather but the decision is down to the discretion of the leader who may consider driving and walking conditions. If they decide to cancel their decision will be published on our Web site and Facebook . If you are thinking of going on a walk and the forecast is uncertain please check our Web site Home page or FB page for updates and if you’re still uncertain about whether it’s going ahead phone the leader : avoid frustration and don’t waste a journey.

DOGS ARE WELCOME ON OUR WALKS but please see this advice, particularly the "Dog Walking Code"

CAR BREAK-INS ARE VERY RARE BUT YOU CAN REDUCE THE RISK (click here for useful tips)