Walking With Friends

About six times a year, during the summer months only, I go walking with a couple of friends from Leeds; Chris and Maureen, a married couple. Chris is a hardcore walker and can walk all day - he'll even eat his sandwiches on the go. Maureen isn't really a walker, it's more of a day out for her. So...planning suitable walks can be difficult; we need to start our walk where there's free parking and toilets [for Maureen], the route needs to be quite flat and with as few stiles as possible [things that aren't shown on any maps], preferably stay well away from rivers, and usually be about five to seven miles long with plenty of interesting things to look at. On a couple of occasions another friend has joined us; his requirements are pretty similar to those of Maureen, so I don't need to worry about this.

It can be challenging, but satisfying, choosing somewhere suitable - but we've managed to visit quite a few places in the Peak District, and also done some local walks in the Doncaster, Rotherham, Pontefract, and Selby areas.

There are other issues to be taken into account as well; pacing the walk, when to take a break, suitable toilet stops if we aren't near any public conveniences, trying to stay away from cows, not getting my boots or clothes too muddy [although I'll take a change of footwear and some clean overtrousers for when I'm sitting in the car], sometimes needing to navigate in the car as well...and finally, trying to persuade Chris not to talk about rugby league for the entire day. 

A day walking with other people is a totally different experience for me than when I'm in my own - it's equally enjoyable...or even more so.

UPDATE: Reading people's comments and contributions to the online walking forums I've thought of some more personal annoyances:

Signs written in large letters informing you that it's a private road...but it's still a public footpath.

Waiting for people to move out of the way so that I can take a photograph.

Bags of dog poo left hanging from trees.