How to find your fellow Mighty Hikers and ramblers

Social media is a great place to start.

If you’ve already signed up to take on a Mighty Hike, you can join our Mighty Hikes Facebook groups:

• Giant's Causeway
• Rob Roy
• Norfolk Coast
• Peak District
• South Coast
• Lake District
• Yorkshire Dales
• Gower Peninsula
• Jurassic Coast
• Thames Path
• Northumberland Coast
• Cotswolds.

If you use Strava, you can join the Mighty Hikers Club too.

Fellow hikers often share training tips, and there may be people in the group looking to hike with others, both in preparation and on the day.

You can also ask the Facebook group members for advice and tips for finding local walking and hiking groups, too!

Many other hiking and walking groups use Facebook to promote their groups. Some may also use social media networks like Instagram, Meet Up and TikTok too.

There are also specialised hiking groups based on shared characteristics and backgrounds. For example, there are many hiking groups across the UK for:

• women such as Outdoor Adventure Girls or Women Who Walk
• people from ethnically diverse backgrounds such as Black Girls Hike, Soul Trail Wellbeing, Muslim Hikers and Bristol Steppin Sisters
• LGBTQIA+ people such as Queer Out Here and Out & About Hikers
• people with disabilities such as Disabled Ramblers 

Some organisations like Ramblers UK have walking groups across the UK. These can be great to join, but you have to pay.

Other places you can look for local walking groups:

• Parish news
• Local community centre
• At local shops that specialise in hiking and walking gear
• Sports centre
• Place of worship.

If you can’t find a group to hike with that already exists, why not create your own? This could be a great way to connect with your friends, family, colleagues or people in your community.

You don’t need to be an expert to start a walking group – just a passion for exploring and meeting other people.

• Someone to connect with. Walking groups are a great way to meet new people and make connections. You already have one hobby in common – why not see if you have any other similar interests?
• Pacing. By having someone with you, you can help each other keep a steady pace. This can help to keep you on track, remind yourself to take regular breaks, and not start off too quickly and wear yourself out.
• Build your knowledge. Other walkers can give you helpful tips such as what routes are good for training or what hiking gear they prefer.
• Support throughout the walk. This can help you to feel safer and have someone with you in case anything goes wrong.

Whether you take on your Mighty Hike in a group or as an individual, you’ll help to make a difference in the lives of people living with cancer.