Tips for Walk Leaders

Before the Walk: Choose your route carefully. Your local library and bookshop will stock many guides under local information and travel. Give some thought to distance, terrain, and the time of year;; Plan to use a public car park as the start point if at all possible;; Always walk the route beforehand, preferably with a fellow Lampeter Ramblers' member who can help out with back-marking or navigating on the day. An ordnance survey map provides visual detail and a guide book ideas and narrative for those who find it difficult using maps exclusively;; Plan where you are going to have coffee/rest stops and lunch. Generally speaking, a break half way between the start and lunch and another break half way between lunch and the finishing point gives most walkers sufficient time to rest and recover without losing momentum;; Please pass on all the walk details to our walks co-ordinator, James, at least one month before the next walk programme is issued. This makes the walk co-ordinator very happy, and prevents them from hassling you for walk details.
Before you start the Walk: Nominate your back-marker, and do a quick head-count;; Make sure you and your back marker have a map and a fully charged mobile phone with you;; Give a little introduction to say who you are, where we are going, how long it's going to take, lunch details, and points of interest along the way. This is much better than pointing towards the car park exit and saying “it's this way”. If you're a bit nervous about this, ask a committee member to do the intro;; If there are any new members, point them in the direction of a committee member so they can get more info about the group.
During the Walk: Walk at a pace that keeps the group together and gives people the opportunity to absorb the beauty of our countryside. If the people at the back are struggling to keep up, slow down;; For those that follow, please be patient and avoid the temptation of advancing too far ahead of the Walk Leader as this may affect the rhythm of the group. It can also distract or hinder the Walk Leader who will have gone through a great deal of preparations in ensuring that everyone enjoys the walk;; The most important point - Enjoy it! If you've done all of the above and problems still arise, don't panic, and ask for help.
After the Walk: Do a final head count - have you lost anyone?; Receive rapturous applause and free drinks at the bar for doing an outstanding job!

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