Interested in becoming a Walk Leader?
Have you thought about becoming a walk leader and participating in the Eastbourne Walking Festival? Perhaps you’ve lead a walk before and want to put it on again, or you have a great idea for a fun new walk that you want to share with your fellow walking enthusiasts. This page will give you all the information you need to know. If you have any other questions or need a bit of help creating your walk, just Contact Us and we will get back in touch.
What do you need to become a Walk Leader?
Being a walk leader is easy. Here are some key points to help you understand.
Create a walk
Think of an area that you love to walk in. Somewhere that you know your way around and can easily guide others around. Ideally this walk would be accessible by public transport or have parking nearby. It can be anything from a slow pace along a flat smooth terrain, or an intense walk that lasts a few hours and takes in a number of inclines. There will always be someone interested! It's best practice to walk your route before deciding on it. Perhaps take a friend with you too for another opinion. Make sure you time your walk, any areas of terrain, incline or decline, and any obstacles that need to be overcome and added to your risk assessment. Are their toilets on the way, places to stop and eat, any main roads that need crossing? All of this information is essential.
Consider any points of interest along the way
Perhaps there are some landmarks along your route, or a view of a particular area, identify these spots as places to stop and discuss with your walkers. It doesn’t have to be a long chat, but it’s nice to point out these focal points and adds a nice touch to your walk. There may be points of historical interest, Eastbourne is rich with culture and history, you could do some research and read out some fun facts to your walkers.
Decide on the finer details
Once you’ve decided where you’re going to walk and what you might consider talking about along the way, you need to decide on some of the specifics. Identify a date for your walk. Remember, people are interested in walks during weekdays as well as weekends, and all different times of the day. You will need to decide how many people you feel comfortable having on your walk and give us your capacity. Usually this is up to approximately 20 people but it can be more or it can be less. All walks must be free of charge.
Submit your walk to us
Once you’re all ready to go. When submissions are open, just submit your walk with our easy form. We will then get back in touch once we have had a chance to review it. We can chat it through with you to make sure you have everything you need and we can work together to make it a success. We will also ask you to submit a risk assessment for your walk. Don’t be put off by this, we have a very simple template for you to follow and we will ask very simple questions.
Is training provided?
Yes, whether in person or via video call, we will provide FREE training.
What about insurance?
The subject of insurance may seem daunting, but it really shouldn’t be. As long as your walk is free, you are covered under Eastbourne Borough Council's Public Liability Insurance. For more information on insurance, click here
What happens when people start signing up for your walk?
Once you have submitted your walk and your risk assessment, and we have spoken with you, your walk will be live on our Walk Calendar for people to sign up for. When they sign up we will collect all necessary information and they will be issued with an automated ticket. You can check in with us at any stage to find out how many people have signed up for your walk, or you can sit back and relax while we handle all the admin. We will invite you to one of our Walk Leader Briefing sessions closer to the event where we will issue you with equipment such as a first aid kit, and a full updated list of your walkers so you know who to expect on the day.
Click below to download our Walk Submission form. Once complete, please email it to us.
