Walking in easy and lowland countryside

Description

Easy countryside includes urban areas, spare ground, recreational areas and parks, local woods, lanes, tracks and paths in your own locality where there is no danger of getting lost, nature trails and marked paths, and country roads.

Lowland countryside includes fields, woods and other non-remote lowland areas where it may be necessary to navigate using a map.

Click here for information on countryside classification. If you are unsure of the classification of the countryside where you are planning to walk, please contact your local Walking or Outdoors Activities Adviser.

Forms

For Easy countryside:

If the activity is starting and finishing at the usual meeting place and taking place during the usual meeting times, a Consent for Event/Activity form is not required. Consent has already been given on the Starting Form.

For Lowland countryside:

Participants must have completed an Information and Consent for Event/Activity form and carry a completed Health Information form. If younger than Guide age, these must be carried by the Leader.

Who can participate?

Open to all.

Ratio of adults to girls

Normal ratios for activities away from the meeting place are required. Guiding Manual ratios

After training and practical experience, groups of Guides and Senior Section members can walk without an adult in Easy and Lowland country.

Regulations

The Leader must ensure that all participants under 18 have written permission to take part from an adult with parental responsibility.
The local Commissioner must be informed that the activity is taking place, including your planned route and timings.
Carry out a risk assessment for the activity.
If you are planning an overnight hike or expedition, this is classed as a residential event and the Girlguiding UK guidance for residential events must also be followed.

Instructor qualifications

No formal qualification is required, but ideally the leader of the walk should have gained some experience of walking in easy countryside or completed some training (speak to your local Guiding Development Adviser to find out about available training opportunities).

If walking in Lowland countryside, Girlguiding UK encourages Leaders to hold Girlguiding UK Walking Scheme Level 1 or have equivalent experience.

Guides and Senior Section members walking without a Leader

Guide and Senior Section members may walk without a Leader as long as:

The group leaves a copy of their route and expected return time with a responsible adult who can be contacted by the group at any time during the walk.
All participants under 18 walking without an adult Leader must have completed an Information and Consent for Event/Activity form.
Senior Section members walking without an adult leader must have the approval of their unit Leader.

Their Leader must ensure:

The participants have had the necessary training and experience.
The participants have appropriate clothing and equipment.
If any girl is under the age of 14 there must be at least four, but no more than nine walkers in the group.
The minimum number of girls in a group may be reduced to three if they are all aged 14 or over (a group of four is recommended as this makes them more able to deal with any emergencies.)

A Senior Section member who holds, or is working to gain, a Senior Section Overnight Permit may, with the approval of her Leader, run an overnight hike or expedition for a small group of Senior Section members. See Events run by Senior Section members in the residential events section for more details.

All other relevant regulations for the type of countryside must also be followed.

The usual adult:child ratio for Guides would not be applicable in this situation.

Useful information

Ensure that all participants wear suitable clothing and footwear for the time of year and the area where the walk will take place.

Your County Walking Adviser, or Outdoor Activities Adviser, can offer advice, support and training in planning your walk.

Plan your walk taking into account the experience and ability of the girls, and wherever possible walk the intended route beforehand to be aware of any risks and plan how to manage any potential risks.

Leave your route details with a home contact.

Before setting off, brief participants about the walk and establish ground rules. If leading a large group, introduce a ‘buddy’ system so that participants walk in pairs or small groups for safety.

Walking on roads

Walkers must read and follow the advice for pedestrians given in the current edition of the Highway Code.
Ensure everyone follows the Green Cross Code.
Do not hitch-hike under any circumstances.
Groups should walk on the pavement wherever this is possible, facing the oncoming traffic. This enables the group and the leader in particular to watch the traffic and assess any problems ahead.
All those walking should wear light-coloured or reflective clothing.
The ratio of adults to girls may need to be increased depending on the route.

Where there is no pavement or path a group of fewer than 20 must:

keep to the right and walk in single file
keep close to the side of the road
take care at sharp right-hand bends; if necessary crossing the road before the corner then crossing back to face oncoming traffic.

A group of 20 or more must:

keep to the left and walk in single file
have lookouts at a safe distance in front and to the rear wearing fluorescent clothes during daylight and reflective items after dark; lanterns or bicycle lights may be suitable.

Walking at night

If walking at night on a road, all those walking should wear light-coloured or reflective clothing and the lookout at the front must show a white light while the rear lookout shows a red light visible from behind.

Walking near water

The Leader must ensure that all participants are given any necessary safety instructions. She may delegate this task to someone else, but remains responsible for ensuring it is done.

Leaders of groups walking near water should be familiar with the Water Safety Code and read Group Safety at Water Margins. You could also ask your local training coordinator for information on optional water safety training.

When walking near water, leaders should be aware of the dangers of Leptospirosis and Weil’s Disease.

Environmental factors

Walkers must follow the Countryside Code and be aware of countryside access and rights of way.

When walking in grazing areas, Leaders should be aware of the risks of E. coli and of the importance of hand washing before eating food. If hand-washing facilities are not available anti-bacterial wet wipes or gel should be provided.

Leaders should also be aware of tick-borne Lyme disease.

Find out and adhere to local and seasonal restrictions, particularly those relating to fire, water, shooting and blasting.

Girlguiding UK Training Opportunities: Walking Scheme (order code 6563) is available from your local depot/shop, from Trading Service on 0161 941 2237, or from the online shop.

Page last updated: 5/17/2012