Walking with new people, safely
Almost everyone here is exactly who they seem: someone who likes walking and would rather not do it alone. Even so, meeting someone new for the first time is worth a little thought. Here is what we would suggest, and what the site gives you to work with.
Before you walk
A few minutes on the walk page is usually all it takes to know whether a walk is right for you.
Read the walk page properly
Distance, route, difficulty, timings and who is organising it are all there. If the day sounds harder or longer than you fancy, that is useful to know now rather than at the trailhead.
Check the meeting point
Every walk page shows where the group meets. Good meeting points are public and easy to find — a car park, a station, a pub, a visitor centre. If a meeting point looks odd to you, ask the organiser about it before you commit.
Say hello first, if you'd like to
You can message the organiser or other walkers before the day. Plenty of members do, and it takes the edge off arriving. Ask about the pace, the parking, whether dogs are coming — whatever would help you feel ready.
Tell someone your plan
Good practice on any walk, company or not. Let a friend or family member know which walk you are doing, roughly when you expect to be back, and send them the link to the walk page — it has the route and the meeting point on it.
On the walk
Group walks on Walkmates are public and sociable. Anyone with an account can see them and join them, so you are turning up to something open rather than a private arrangement.
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Go at your own pace.
Nobody expects you to keep up with the fastest person there. Say so early if you would rather take it steadily — most walkers are glad of the excuse. If you want to turn back, turn back. Just tell the organiser so the group knows where you are.
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You are not obliged to share anything personal.
Where you live, your phone number, what you do for work — none of that is needed to walk together. Share what you are comfortable sharing, when you are comfortable sharing it, and no more.
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Come and go as suits you.
Plans change and there is no penalty for leaving a walk. You can drop out before the day from the walk page, and you are free to make your own way home on the day if you would prefer to.
What the site gives you
Four things you can use at any point, before or after a walk.
Member profiles
Every walker has a profile: their photos, the walks they have joined and organised, and the areas they walk in. It is a fair picture of whether someone actually walks.
Messaging before you meet
Message organisers and other walkers through Walkmates, so you can get a feel for a walk without handing over a phone number or an email address.
Block and report
Both are on every member's profile. Blocking cuts contact between you. Reporting sends the profile to us with whatever you want to tell us about it.
Updates from the organiser
Organisers can message everyone who has joined, so changes to the weather, the parking or the start time reach you before you set off.
To be straight with you about what we do not do: Walkmates does not verify identities, run background checks, or supervise walks. Organisers are ordinary members, not guides, and there is no insurance attached to a walk. Treat a walk here the way you would treat a walk arranged with anyone else — use your judgement, and the tools above.
If you are the one organising
Organising a walk is straightforward, and a little care in how you describe it makes the difference between someone turning up prepared and someone turning up worried.
Pick a meeting point people can find
Somewhere public, named, and easy to reach: a car park, a station, a pub, a visitor centre. Say where to park and how long the drive in takes if that is not obvious. A vague meeting point is the fastest way to lose people before the walk starts.
Be honest about the difficulty
Distance, ascent, terrain and pace, described as they really are. If there is a scramble, a long boggy section, or a stile every hundred yards, say so. People can only choose a walk that suits them if the description is accurate, and an honest hard walk fills up just as well as a flattering one.
Keep your group updated
You can message everyone who has joined. Use it when the forecast turns, the car park is closed, or the start time shifts. On the day, a quick head count at the start and again at the top costs nothing and means nobody is left behind.
If something feels wrong
Leave. You do not owe anyone an explanation, a polite goodbye, or the rest of the walk — head back to your car, to the station, or to wherever there are other people, and go. Trust the feeling; you can work out afterwards whether you read it right.
Then report the profile. Report and Block are both on every member's profile page. Reporting tells us what happened so we can look into it and act on the account, and it means the next person is not walking in blind. If you are in danger or a crime has been committed, contact the police first — in an emergency dial 999.
Most walks start with two people who had not met.
Have a look at what is on near you — it is free to join.