INSIDE THE WORLD OF MEETUP

  Slightly disappointed with only 4 people turning out, free carpark, on a bus route and great scenery. Apart from a short section being overgrown (I was prepared with pruners) it was a clear walk all the way round. Everyone seemed to like the route along with the stop in the Star pub at West Leake. One of the girls was autistic and hadn't had much contact with anyone outside of family and one friend in 6 months. She chose my walk as the first thing to do and was exchanging contact details. Good to have made a difference. 

  Another walk with another reasonable turnout (10). We met at Newton lane carpark and followed an anti clockwise route. It was hillier than I expected since I always plan the opposite way around. The group kept getting strung out due to 4 being a bit slow which was a minor annoyance. Otherwise the rain held off until we reached the pub in Kimberley. After a good chat we headed off down the old railway line and back to the starting point via the canal.

  Another simple flat walk with a mixture of canal, woodland and open fields. A turnout of 10 out of 13 so percentage wise it was excellent. We headed down the canal where a few stopped to assist a boat going through a lock. An inexperienced man was shouting at his very upset daughter. Thankfully several of the group had experience. We headed into the woods where mud was minimal and the sun was out at the Malt pub. A few miles over fields where we encountered an unexpected display of blue flowers. No after walk drink but everyone seemed happy and I got good feedback.

Somewhere completely new was long overdue even though it required 3 buses. Starting opposite the gold course we headed towards Breadsall via Cloves Hill , Brackley Gate and Drum Hill. It was a great combination of rolling hills, t racks, fields and woodland . Breadsall seemed an upmarket type of place where we stopped for coffee and cake. From there we headed back to the starting point via Broomfield Hall, Morley Church and the Golf Course.

  Got up to 30 by Thursday, 20 by Saturday morning and 16 turned up which is my best to date. We set off from Rushcliffe park following the railway line south. Admittedly the narrow track wasn't good for having conversations with everyone in the group. This changed when crossing the fields towards Bunny. We had an interesting mixture of people. Everyone like the pub I choose for the usual half hour break. We followed the last 2 miles through the fields where a problem with my phone meant having to navigate from memory for half an hour. 4 of us went back to the pub in Bunny for an hour after the walk.

  A well planned walk in my opinion but I ran into a problem, only 4 people signed up. With an average dropout rate of 50% I was seriously considering cancelling the walk. I hatched a plan B where if nobody turned up I'd use the time to plan another circular walk in the area. Thankfully everyone turned up, we headed out of Keyworth through fields and the villages of Plumtree and Tollerton. I already got good feedback as we walked. I also noticed that 4 people were a lot easier to keep an eye on than a dozen. Especially when we crossed a busy main road.  We stopped for 30 minutes at the Goose pub before following the canal back to Trent bridge. We then stopped at the Brewhouse for an hour. Despite the low turnout I considered the walk a success.

 3rd walk I hosted and there was over 30 people signed up at one point. Only a 40% chance of rain but around 10 dropped out on the morning of the walk. There was 13 of us a the start. We headed out the castle grounds in an easterly direction, then followed the river to Ambaston. Down the country lane to the Harrington arms pub. Taking a half hour break before going back into the grounds. Overall the walk went well and the weather held off, some of them panicked towards the end due to the 4 hour carpark limit. But I improvised a shortcut and got them back in time. Nobody stayed for coffee and cake but I didn't mind.

  I started out 6th on the waitlist with 30 people on the walk. Mothers day combined with slight rain reduced the list drastically to 14 on the morning to only 5 people turning out for the walk. I went for the simple reason I'd never been Long Eaton before and it was convenient for the buses on Sunday. We headed along the canal north and turned west onto a footpath that went towards the M1 bridge. The walk was good so far if a little muddy but then a few problems began to occur. 1) The 3 others were too slow for the group leader and I got the not so subtle hint he was getting annoyed by this. Under normal circumstances with a bigger group slow walkers get the memo but not this time. 2) I mentioned in conversation that I started walking with this group at the end of covid lockdown. The conversation drifted towards anti vaccination and other conspiracy theories. I have a very low opinion of these people but couldn't be bothered to argue so ended up walking ahead alone for aroun...

  It was a rare (4th in a year) meet with Derby socials but I'd not been here before. Nursing a painful back injury walking was one of the few activities I could do. It didn't help when the organiser didn't put the map pin in the correct place and I was searching for the start point a couple of hundred meters down the road.  We followed the nutbrook tail for around 3 miles to the excellent coffee shop for a break. One of the group had a drone which he briefly flew to take this picture. The rest of the walk had a "make it up as you go long" feel but it was ok.

With 5 star reviews and excellent feedback I quickly started planning the second walk to host. I opted for a circular walk this time (to help the motorists) and also found a starting point with free parking. We started in Shardlow and headed north doing a circuit of St chads nature reserve before heading towards Breaston via coffin walk. I was worried about the mud that I encountered on the test walk but it turned out to be a lot drier. One of the group happened to live in  Breaston and recommended the Chequers inn on the high street which turned out to be a nice place to stop. It got a little too comfortable and we all had to persuade each other to move on.  We had to take a detour for a mile due to mud but that was pre planned. Then followed the canal from Sawley back to the starting point. Had a few drinks and a good chat in the new inn after.

  Normally I wouldn't be bothered to travel to a walk that was only 3-4 miles but it was the most boring weekend of the year. After a catch up we headed past the nice houses and into the fields where it got very muddy very quickly. We went down the appropriately named "bog lane" where it was so bad I had to hold on to the fence all the way down. The rest of the walk was done on solid ground, they opted for a walk around the lake at the end but I lost them in the last 10 minutes and got the bus home. 

  I'd been given an organizers spot on a drunken night out years ago but never got round to actually using it. I used a day off work to plan a route that I posted on meetup. Initially I was a bag of nerves especially having to post details on parking (I don't drive), planning for bad weather and what to do if people turn up late. The attendee list never went higher than 16, overall 26 people signed up, 7 attended including myself, some dropped out on the day and some dropped out without updating on the website. Expecting a mud bath we headed into Cotgrave country park and followed the Grantham canal all the way to Bassingfield. The ground was reasonable, the weather was mild and the conversations were flowing. It's a lot easier with a  small group. We crossed the fields, the busy main road and had a short pitstop at the garage before heading into Skylarks nature reserve. The path to the river Trent was the only major muddy part which we overcame in a few minutes...

  Meeting in Weatherspoon's for a well needed breakfast it was cold crisp but clear day, perfect for walking. We headed downriver across the suspension bridge onto Melton road, I thought it was going to be a mostly urban walk until we got to an old trainline called the green line all the way to Edwalton.  The half hour stop for coffee was well needed.  We headed past the gold course and followed the canal back to the city as it was starting to get dark. An excellent walk, unfortunately no pictures.

    I had a choice of Strelley on Saturday or Beeston canal on Sunday. Having done Beeston only a few months earlier I opted for the Saturday walk. We met at Strelley hall and headed west crossing the M1.  It was a warm sunny day and a flattish, easy enough walk. We headed south then back to the road near where we started. Had an hour of coffee and cake at Strelley hall then headed home.

  It was a good turnout of around 20 people and great weather, meeting outside the very busy Jenno's coffee house. The walk followed the canal north past the past the tea rooms where we previously had an issue with the owner.  I was hoping that we wouldn't be repeating too much of that walk but we only did about 20% of it in the end. We turned around following an old railway line back for more coffee.

  Derby Sociables has been a bit thin on the ground for suitable events so it was good to get a walk not too far from home. Despite the weather forecast the turnout was around a dozen in Aston on Trent. I'd never been here before.......... We set off across the fields in the direction of Shardlow where the festival was taking place. It was very busy in terms of people and boats. There was a temptation to have a stop in a pub but the queues and risk of getting "too comfortable" made us decide against it.  The route back was along the canal, by this point the heat was getting far too much and it was very uncomfortable. I was glad to get to the malt for a large diet coke with ice. 

  I hadn't previously planned to do this walk due to having covered 90% of the route before in the last year. However after a recent family bereavement I needed to get out the house. It was a hot sunny day but there was a big turnout of over 20. Starting off at Trent bridge we followed the river south towards Clifton.  Had a stop at Owen's beach which in reality was just a big Stoney riverbank. Going away from the river we stopped at Macdonald's for a much needed shade stop. Passing some expensive looking houses we went mostly via road towards Ruddington. We stopped for one drink at the Frame breakers pub before the bus took us back to the city.

  It was a simple repeat of the walk we did last summer. Straight down the canal path then turn off to the Victoria pub. Stayed for about 90 minutes then headed home. A good sunny day after some terrible weather.

  It was a refreshing change to do a walk in my own area, especially after all the travelling of the last few weeks. I'd done Coalville before but it was a slightly different route this time. We headed round Coalville town football ground, I even covered ground I'd never walked on before. It was through the industrial estate to Swannington, where we followed the train line until a blockage caused us to make a detour. Crossed the field to Thringstone where we has a pitstop at the Bulls Head. After Gracedieu ruins a couple got lost and a couple more bailed out of the walk to the bus stop. We were doing far more mileage than planned so it was slightly rerouted going back.  At least the rain held off......................

Walking friends put on a 4 miler every Friday evening. Normally I wouldn't attend due to travel time vs length of walk. However I was in town for the weekend music festival so I thought "why not". We met at the train station and proceeded in the direction of Beeston and passed the marina. It was a warm sunny evening with a lot of people.  We went by the river Leen which in reality is a wide brook. Onto the river Trent then back to the train station via the meadows.