Lovely group, but concerns about organisation
I attended two Coastal Gals walks on Dartmoor. I really love the idea behind the group - bringing women together, encouraging friendships and making the outdoors feel more accessible. I enjoyed meeting some lovely people on both walks.
However, a few aspects of the organisation left me feeling concerned. On both walks, the group became quite spread out on hills, with some participants finding the pace or terrain challenging. At times, the slower walkers were a considerable distance behind the main group. At one point, those of us at the back were out of sight of the main group for what felt like around ten minutes. I was reassured that the leader did come back to check on us, although the experience left me wondering how the group was being monitored when we were separated
I appreciate that everyone walks at different speeds, but I would have liked to see a clearer system for keeping the group together and making sure everyone was accounted for.
On the first walk, there were also a few navigation errors while the leader was following the route on a navigation app. I heard the leader mention that she hadn't remembered the route involving such a long steep hill, which added to my concerns about how thoroughly the route had been recced or checked.
A few participants also said they hadn't anticipated how challenging the walk would be. I felt that clearer information about the route difficulty beforehand would have helped everyone know what to expect.
After attending the walks, I contacted the leader via private message to share my concerns and ask about the safety arrangements, including first aid, emergency procedures, risk assessments and public liability insurance.
She explained that she has first-aid training, carries a first-aid kit and has a second person helping on every walk, which was reassuring to hear. I followed up with a few questions about how the second-person arrangement worked on a particular walk, particularly when participants were spread out, and whether risk assessments and insurance were in place.
My intention was simply to have a constructive conversation and better understand the arrangements, rather than assume anything was missing. Unfortunately, those specific follow-up questions weren't answered. I was reassured that everything was under control, but was subsequently removed from the group's WhatsApp chat without an explanation, which I found disappointing.
I fully appreciate the time and effort that goes into organising walks, and I genuinely believe in what Coastal Gals is trying to create and I want these walks to be safe and successful. I wanted to share this because I think leader familiarity with the route, clear difficulty indication on booking and thoughtful group management are especially important when welcoming walkers of different abilities for a paid event.
I hope this feedback is taken in the constructive spirit in which it's intended, as I'd really like to see a community with such a positive concept succeed.
