The trail blazer: the rewards of setting up a walking group

Wanting to stride out into the countryside with like-minded people, our writer established Black Girls Hike in 2019 and has never looked back

I became a walking group leader by chance. In 2019, I was on a train going through the Peak District, and I watched all these hikers getting on and off. I wanted to do something new for my wellbeing, so I set up a Black Girls Hike instagram page a few days later. I didn’t want to go by myself and I wanted to feel safe and supported so I set up a group for black women.

It absolutely took off – for our first walk we had 14 people. A group is good for making connections. Manchester’s quite a transient city. People move here for work, or stay on after uni, and their friends are elsewhere. It’s a good way to make new friends. Everyone’s on the same page – you’re a group of strangers looking to meet people and do something you all enjoy. If it were a speed dating event, you’d have ticked loads of boxes already.