We are a medium sized friendly walking club based in the Berkshire area. There are about 40 members with an average walk turnout of about 15-20 people.
We walk in all weathers and throughout the year. There is an all day walk of 6-8 miles every third Sunday.
Usually somewhere within a 60 minute drive of Woodley This covers a huge area and means we get to walk in a great variety of scenery and terrain, including the local Chiltern Hills. and the adjoining counties of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Surrey.
Stride was formed in June 1994 by a group of like minded people, members of the local National Trust Volunteers, who felt there was a need for a walking club catering for the needs of the younger age ranges. The first Stride walk was organised by our current Chairman and founding member Graham Baker in the Hambleden valley, near Henley. Since then we have increased our membership and age restrictions have disappeared. Anyone over 18 is welcome.
A typical Stride walking day will normally consist of a walk of approx 6-8 miles starting at 10.00am. We walk for about 4 hrs with a stop for lunch usually about halfway which is either a picnic or a pub and finish at about 3.30pm.
These are set in areas that are too far away for a day walk, and have included the Lake District, North & South Wales, the Yorkshire Dales, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Dorset and the Peak District. For a normal weekend we travel on the Friday evening, have a full day walk on the Saturday, a half day on the Sunday returning in the afternoon. Some trips are at Easter or on Bank Holiday weekends and are a day or two longer. The group accommodation booked for weekends is usually some sort of holiday accomodation catering/self catering for large groups .
These are occasional shorter and more local walks of up to about 5 miles that almost always conclude at a pub!, and are arranged at short notice.
The best way to find out for sure whether STRIDE is for you is to come along to one of our walks and find out first hand. We invite you to walk with us up to three times before asking you to become a member (currently a very reasonable £10 a year).
All of our walks are led by experienced volunteer members. We aim to take a common-sense approach to the safety of our members and those present at STRIDE events, but all those attending do so entirely at their own risk. The walk leader carries a basic first aid kit.
Most of our local walks are mainly on footpaths, taking in fields, woodland and heathland. Sometimes (especially in the Chilterns) there will be quite a few hills, other times the walk will be fairly flat. If this is a concern, a phone call to the walk leader will give you an idea of what to expect.
There is a basic calendar of one Sunday walk every third weekend (i.e. every 21 days) . Our day walks take place in all weathers, occasionally the route may change or the walk cut short if the weather is especially bad.
You don’t have to be hyper-fit to join STRIDE, most people find 6-8 miles quite a comfortable distance to cover in a day. We tend to walk at about 2 mph. Any weekend trips away are often in areas that have more challenging terrain with steeper hills and rougher ground but often the walk length is reduced to compensate, so there is nothing too extreme.
We have no rules about the type or quality of clothing you choose to walk in for day walks, but it is necessary to have suitable footwear. Most people will have a decent pair of walking boots and a day sack / rucksack, and have adequate waterproofs, warm clothing, drink etc. with them. It’s worth mentioning again we walk in all weathers and very rarely cut a walk short due to rain!
When you become a member you will pay an annual subscription of £10, which covers the cost of group administration.
Sorry, no dogs allowed on Stride walks.
Thanks very much for visiting us! Here are a few of the sites around the web that we recommend.
Hundreds of FREE walks to download, details of all the books, maps and walking groups in the country
Thousands of FREE walks to download, details of all the books, maps and walking groups in the country
UK Youth Hostel Association
The Lovely Lake District
Our Local Hills
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