Walking Group

Welcome to St George’s Walking Group, set up by Alison Oldfield and Rachael Howard in 2010.

We love being outdoors, hiking and meeting new people and would love to welcome you to the group – especially if you’re new to St George’s. We think that walking is a great way to chat and get to know one another, whilst enjoying the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales and the fabulous walking on our doorstep.

Usually we’ll walk in the Yorkshire Dales or Moors and our starting point will be under an hour’s drive from Leeds- although in the summer months we might go a little further afield.

We’ll tell you the walk distance and roughly how long we expect it to take to walk in the details we publish. Generally speaking however we will walk between 10 and 13 miles (around 15-18km). Usually we’ll start walking at 10.30am (meeting at the start of the walk) and will finish between 5-6pm (although don’t forget we’ll then need to drive back to Leeds!). Whatever else we guarantee we’ll be walking through some of the best countryside in Britain!

We’ll always walk on public footpaths or bridleways although sometime the paths can be a bit tricky underfoot- and often muddy! You will always need walking boots or shoes with good tread and ankle support.

2010 Highlights

We started our programme in February 2010, walking through the country lanes around Gargrave and taking in part of the Pennine Way.

March saw us walking in the shadow of the White Horse at Sutton Bank. The slice of cake at Sutton Bank tea rooms was very welcome after our 10 mile walk finishing with a steep climb back up the bank across the White Horse!

Through the longer summer months we bagged some dales further afield - taking in Nidderdale, Wensleydale and Swaledale along the way. There were some steep ups and downs but we were always rewarded with truly beautiful views across the Yorkshire dales and beyond. Our highlight of the year came in June. Christened the “Kilimanjaro training walk”, our route took us from Kettlewell up and across the hills to Buckden Pike and then back along the Dales Way. During the day we saw views of the 3 peaks and 4 dales of Yorkshire - Stunning.

cold shot

In August we had a weekend away in the Peak district staying at Hathersage YHA and completing 2 routes near Edale and Grindleford (and enjoying a hearty evening meal in a local pub in between).

By September the nights were drawing in so we regrouped closer to home. We had several walks in Wharfedale, taking in Settle, Grassington and finishing for a snowy mince pie at Christmas in Ilkley.

And so began 2011 - with a chilly but very scenic walk from Bramhope across the Chevin.

So many beautiful places to walk on our door step. So little time......

Programme and kit list

Download our 2012 programme of walks. We also recommend reviewing the kit list before you come.