Everyone
The community agreement.
Sessions work because everyone holds up a small, simple deal. Here it is, in full, in plain words.
Things you never need to do
- Pay to join a free session. Free means free, with no cut of any kind.
- Explain why you came, or share anything personal you do not want to.
- Talk, if you do not feel like talking. Walking quietly alongside people counts.
- Be fit, fast or experienced. The group sets the pace, and every pace is welcome.
- Worry about being left behind. When the group moves, someone’s job is to stay at the back, so nobody ever finishes last.
- Stay to the end. Leave when you need to, without making a thing of it.
- Come with someone. Arriving on your own is completely normal; most people did their first time.
And if the group looks like it already knows each other, you are not interrupting. Making room is the whole idea.
The few things we ask of everyone
- Go at the group’s pace, and be patient with every body and every ability. Nobody gets left at the back.
- The host’s call is final on anything touching safety: route, weather, turning back early.
- Ask before photographing anyone, every time.
- What people share on a walk stays on the walk.
- Keep it kind. No selling, no recruiting, no lecturing anyone about their fitness.
Stay for the tea
The activity is the excuse; the people are the point. Lots of sessions end at a cafe or with a flask on a bench, and the tea, coffee, biscuits and chat afterwards are not an optional extra. They are where the session actually happens: names get learned, lifts get offered, next week gets planned. If you only have time for one half, some weeks the second half is the better choice.
Where the boundaries are
Hosts are volunteers, not counsellors or medics, and sessions are company, not crisis support. If you need someone to talk to right now, Samaritans are open 24 hours a day on 116 123, free, and you do not have to be in crisis to ring. In an emergency, call 999.
If something at a session does not feel right, you can block and report from your account, and a person, not an algorithm, will look at it. The full safety model is on the safeguarding page.