Do you run a community group in London or Manchester that supports vulnerable people, brings together people of faith or celebrates a shared culture in your community?

The Ramblers, Britian’s walking charity, wants to hear from community groups that would like to add walking to their current activities programmes but are not sure where to start.

• Would you like to lead regular walks to a local food market for your cookery group, so that you can exercise and source fresh ingredients for your dishes together?
• Do you want to help your community gardening group connect to nature or other community gardens? Could leading a regular walk help your group to get inspired?
• Do you run a group for vulnerable people who’d benefit from spending time together outdoors or getting used to a new area? Learning to lead a walk safely for your group could be the first step helping them build confidence.

Contact katie.phillips@ramblers.org.uk for more information.

 

What will the training cover?

The Ramblers provide training and support to help people lead walks in a safe and enjoyable way. This training will help you identify how you could set up a walking programme, so you group can enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of walking, alongside your current activities.

We will work with your community members to understand and overcome any barriers or concerns that might mean people don’t currently feel walking is for them. 

You’ll also benefit from being paired with an experienced Ramblers walk leader, who can provide mentoring support to the group as needed.

What does the commitment involve?

• First, we’d work with you to arrange an introduction session with your community.
• Following this introductory session, we’d hope to identify at least five community members who would like walk leader training. You would work alongside The Ramblers in planning and delivering the training sessions, so they suit your community needs.
• You’ll also have the opportunity to feedback on the drafts of the new training tools, to help others lead walks.
• Finally, representatives of your group will be invited to attend a celebratory event at the end of the project!

The project is expected to be delivered over 12-18 months. For each group, this will involve attending a couple of in-person sessions throughout Spring/Summer 2025, and we will work with your group to agree suitable locations for these. The Ramblers have also set aside funds to cover session, travel and related subsistence expenses to enable community members to attend the training.

Contact katie.phillips@ramblers.org.uk for more information.

Image courtesy of the Centre for Ageing Better.