Benefits of Hiking Groups

Hiking, like so many things in life, is often best enjoyed in the company of others. However, it's entirely possible that you'll have some trouble convincing friends and family to join you if they're more the 'television and biscuits' types. Or perhaps you and your family just want to get involved with something in the local community and don't know where to start.

Fear not, help is at hand. There are many hiking groups and societies waiting to hear from you and share some fantastic trips. It's actually more popular than you'd think these days, and why wouldn't it be? Fresh air, the great outdoors, exercise and with the exception of some initial outlay for the correct clothing and equipment, it’s relatively cheap to do week after week!

There are quite a few demonstrable benefits to joining a hiking club or walking group. For example, the chance to meet people who you might not have otherwise come across should never be underrated. Interactions with other (sometimes more experienced) hikers will teach you all sorts of things about your new hobby and you'll no doubt soon find yourself picking up all kinds of hints and tips for making a hike run more smoothly.

Additionally, membership to a lot of rambling and hiking clubs will entitle you to discounts or special offers at most camping stores, which you can use to quickly recoup your membership fee.

Even if your club doesn't offer discounts in stores, experienced walkers will doubtless have second-hand but well maintained equipment that they're looking to offload at various points of the season. This helps keep your costs down, especially when you're just starting out. Not to mention the advantage of having organised expeditions which split groups into experience levels in order to avoid the frustration inherent in hikes where experts walk alongside amateurs! This is a great way to advance and get on in your new hobby!

So, how do you locate and contact your local hiking groups? Well there are quite a few sites that contain lists of the UK's clubs, and they're usually sorted by location so you only need find your nearest town in the list. If you're abroad, I imagine the process is much the same although I can't speak from experience. Simply type “hiking clubs” plus the name of your nearest town or city and most search engines should lead you to the right information.

Once you've found the correct society that you think is most suitable for you, make a phone call (or send an email if that's not possible) to the hiking club concerned expressing your interest. Describe your experience, and inform them of any additional family members or friends you'll be bringing along. This should help whoever organises the club to better tailor your membership to your needs.