We are always very appreciative of new leaders coming forward, so wanted to provide some pointers that might help you get started on what can be a really enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Back in 2019, after discussions about falling membership numbers and problems recruiting, Kent ramblers decided to use a 'meetup' site called Kent Hikers, set up by West Kent Walking Group, to encourage new members. For those not aware of it, Meetup is an online service aimed at helping people with similar interests get together. Of all the Kent groups, so far only EKWG have used the facility by linking several walks to our programme. It's very easy to use and helps us caste our net that bit further.
Some of you might be put off by the possibility of too many people joining a walk, and we don't want that either, but the great thing is each walk leader can choose how many people to invite through meetup.... 4, 6, 10, it's completely up to you. We'll never force any walk leader to use it or dictate numbers. We really appreciate our volunteers and don't want to discourage anyone coming forward. If you are happy to have your walk linked to meetup, please let either myself or Nick (both Kent Hikers administrators) know and we'll do that for you. It would literally be a copy and paste from the website and we'll deal with any meetup correspondence. On the day, they'll either be there or not at the start time. Like EKWG members, they may contact you if they're running late, but there's no need to treat them any differently, and walks shouldn't be disrupted at all. So far we've had some lovely people turn up, and some have already joined our group, so it looks very promising.....
We recently launched a new How-to page on our website, that provides an archive of emails and articles that we've previously sent to the group with useful information that you may no longer be able to find in your inbox! For instance you'll find this very email on that page if you ever need to refer back to it. There are some potential useful things coming up in the next sections - so read on! You will have to be logged in to the EKWG website in order to see the How-to articles. If you've forgotten your password or you've not yet logged on to our website, there is a forgotten password facility where you can reset it yourself.
Some of the walk leaders in EKWG have found the OS Maps App really beneficial in helping plan and follow walks and don't use paper maps at all now! It works equally well on laptops, PCs and mobile phones. One of the best things about it is that the chance of getting lost or off-track is reduced to almost zero because a pointer on the screen shows you exactly where you are. We generally plan the routes on laptops or PCs, then follow them on our phones on the reccie and day of the walk. If you want to find out more about how to use this app, have a look at the How-to article on OS Maps, including login details that you can use for our 'group' OS Maps account (we have a recurring annual subscription for this that you can use for no cost). This account has all of the EKWG routes stored over recent years where our walk leaders used the app. You are more than welcome to use any of these routes as a basis for leading your own walks.
If you are nervous about getting lost on your first walk leading 'mission', don't worry we'll always promise to have someone from the Committee present on the day or your walk, and/or we could join you on your preparatory reccie. We can also provide a paper map if you haven't got one or even plot your walk on OS Maps for you as a backup navigation aid.