And now they’ve changed their name! They’ve become Barrow upon Soar Wellbeing Walks but they still meet at 10.30am every Tuesday at the Three Crowns Inn car park; split up into different levels of length and difficulty and return to the village happier and fitter. Well, most of them say they do at least! And it’s free.
But how did it all begin? In 2016 June Exley and Heather Dipple started the Walking for Health Group under the auspices of Charnwood Borough Council’s ‘Active Together’ walking initiative. They attended the borough’s leadership training course and, thus qualified, they began to publicise their walks; originally just a one-hour walk. The walks soon took off, more leaders were needed so more did the course, and by 2019, 50 people were regular attenders. Four walks were offered in those days ranging from a slow 30 minutes to a fast- paced one-and-a-half hours with others in between. Then came Covid and all the walks stopped.
They resumed later in 2020/2021 but uptake was lower, and some leaders had dropped out. All the leaders, by the way, are volunteers. Also, people had to register online, and the walks had to have different start times. Fortunately, things got back to normal as Covid abated and these days you can, once again, just turn up on a Tuesday at 10.30am and take it from there. A register is taken so nobody leaves never to return.
Nowadays there are always three walks: a Short Walk of 45 minutes, within Barrow, which is flat and often easy enough for attenders using buggy walkers or in wheelchairs; an Hour Walk, within Barrow and Quorn, which is more taxing for people who can cope with steps, stiles and uneven surfaces; finally, a Long Walk of an hour and a half for those who are experienced walkers. Long Walkers may venture as far afield as Quorn, Mountsorrel and Walton.
Walking provides a double whammy. Your body will definitely benefit from the exercise and increased enjoyment of life from the companionship. There’s a lot of catching-up chat taking place as members walk along and move between different little groups of fellow walkers saying hello and learning the latest. Many very good friendships have been made this way; one group of ladies now regularly holiday together and one member, Mike Bernstein, organises Curry Club evenings to which everyone is welcome. They’re a very friendly bunch.
The group would particularly like to thank their wonderful walk leaders: June, Anne, Gerald, Audrey, Annette, Jan, Paul, Martin, Havilland, Ali and Vicki and The Three Crowns Inn for the use of their car park every week. So, step out boldly and on to the next ten years!
Gaynor Barton