"As soon as I'm there and as soon as I'm walking, I feel great."
Helen grew up in Sussex and spent years living in London before moving out to Surrey in search of green space - and people to enjoy it with. She joined Surrey Young Walkers in April 2024, after finding the group on Meetup, and signed up as a Ramblers member after just one walk. Her story is about building a new local life, one weekend walk at a time.
I grew up in Sussex, I lived in London. So I have friends in London, I've got friends in Sussex. But I moved because I wanted to get out of London. I wanted to have more green space around me, and to enjoy it - but I didn't want to have a really awful commute.
So I'd ended up moving somewhere where I didn't really have that support network or that base around me. The primary driver was that I wanted to meet people locally – people who could almost have made a similar decision to me: living in an area surrounded by green space, and wanting to get out and use it.
I was actively looking for something. I'd looked at some other walking groups, but they were all much older – weekend walks doing four or five miles. I thought, “that isn't what I want, and it isn't what I need either. What I need is to be around people more my age, who want to do some more challenging walks as well as some more sedate walks at times”.
The very first walk I went on, I was a bit apprehensive. It's always a bit daunting, isn't it, going into an established group? But I immediately felt really welcome. I think I spoke to everyone that day, and after that first walk, I signed up to be a member of Ramblers – and the rest is history.
I enjoy exploring areas I haven't explored before. And I selfishly really love that all I need to do is turn up and just follow everyone else — I get to sheep while someone else shepherds everyone. There's something quite nice about that - none of that stress or that worry.
I enjoy talking to different people from the group at different points of the day, and if I just want to walk quietly for half an hour, I don't feel uncomfortable doing that either. I think that's quite special. You can be in that group of people and still feel like, if you want to just be peaceful, you can.
I enjoy the pub at the end, too. And when you've climbed up Box Hill at mile 19, and you know you've survived. It's nice to feel that sense of achievement. I'm not the greatest fan of the wet weather. Starting a walk when it's raining, I find very difficult. It's just stepping out of the car into the rain, knowing it's like that all day. But if it starts raining once we're out walking, I'm fine. I've got my wet weather gear, off I go.
I find going into new groups quite difficult sometimes. Some people walk into a room and they are phenomenal at connecting with people, at finding something to talk about. I find that a bit harder – it's not my natural way. But the fact that you're all out walking means you already have something in common. That's kind of the icebreaker in itself.
Has it changed my life? Yes, I think it has – and I think it's better for it. It helps find consistency with actually going out walking. And every time you meet new people, finding things to talk about, finding something to connect about, gets easier and easier. It's nowhere near as daunting as doing it the first time. I find being outside and walking to be really mindful. Sometimes I might have had a stressful week, and the fact that I've signed up gives me that motivation to go. Sometimes, if you're not feeling it, you're like: “well, I have signed up. Come on”.
"Give it a go. What's the worst that could happen?"
Being part of the group has been really good for me. It's something I really value. I don't think I've ever gone on a walk and not felt comfortable – there's always someone that you'll be happy to talk to. Whenever new people come on the walks, everyone is very open, very welcoming.
When I'm booked in for a walk at a weekend, I know it's something I will enjoy no matter what. So if you're a bit unsure: do it. You'll meet a bunch of really nice people.