Love of walking brings
Club members together
A gentle stroll through Cambuslang certainly gets air in the lungs and gets you out the house.
But joining your local walking club will give you so much more than some exercise and an excuse to get away from the television.
Get Walking Lanarkshire hold various health walk programmes and we decided to see what members of the Westburn group felt they got out of the activity.
And the overwhelming response I got when speaking to regulars was the benefit of interacting and meeting up with others who perhaps do not have the same hobbies as them, but who also have a love for walking.
Robert Bell, 71, believes his wife’s passing is one of the reasons why he decided to join the walking group.
“I enjoy walking generally but one of the good things is to have contact with other people.
“I am widowed, my wife died seven years ago so it’s another reason to get out of the house. I’m also a member of various groups like Friends of Cambuslang Park and I do volunteer work once a week.
“I just enjoy the experience of walking and it gets me out as an excuse for not doing all the things I should be doing at home.
“And it’s nice meeting other people, the people in the club are lovely and quite friendly. It’s also very relaxing.”
Around six to seven people attend the group every week starting from Westburn Nursery on Birch Drive at 9.30am.
Once everyone gathers in the nursery lobby, the group decide which walk - out of three or four choices- they’d like to go on.
I joined Robert and five others on the walk down by the Clydeside off Western Road and was greeted with a warm welcome.
The weather can play an important factor in an enjoyable stroll but luckily the sun was beaming down on us on what was a frosty Friday in February.
“Usually round about a half a dozen people in the group come along but people come and go,” Robert explained.
“Others have temporary jobs so are able to make it. But people of all ages are welcome to come along too. It would be difficult if someone had a regular 9- 5pm job as we walk on Friday mornings.
“All our walks last around an hour but it depends who is on the walk.
“We can always stop earlier if someone wants to or is less fit but if regulars on the walk and everyone else is fairly fit, then we can extend it a little longer.”
Robert is enthusiastic about his hobby and spoke of his expeditions to Austria and Switzerland on walking holidays.
Meeting new people is something he looks forward to and he has even taken up German speaking lessons to help with the language when travelling.
“When I climbed up Ben Ledi in Callander I was all on my own so it’s less pleasant. It’s having somebody to talk to which helps.
“I have not yet found anyone who has been less than pleasant when part of a walking group.”
Maureen Driscoll is the group leader and has enjoyed taking the group ever since it started two years ago.
“It’s about a wee bit of exercise and companionship I think. It’s a hobby and social activity and helps us stay that wee bit healthier these days. It’s for anyone who wants to take part.
“We go on some lovely walks like the one we’re on by the Clydeside.
“There’s a new big fire station along here with a big massive training centre for firemen so the ladies quite like when they go by that, it just makes me laugh, it’s so funny!
“We spend the morning walking and then go back for a coffee and sometimes people get their lunch.”
The group has a nice friendly atmosphere to it, so it was no surprise that members were ever so welcoming. And I managed to grab a word with some regulars like retired nursery teacher Muriel Bell. She told me she wasn’t local but she didn’t mind travelling from her home in East Kilbride to meet up with the group.
“It’s great to get outside and it’s nicer than going to the gym,” she said. “It is a well-organised group.
“You do need to dress for the weather though but we’ve been very lucky because most of the time the weather is nice.” David McTweed added: “A walk a week is good for you, it’s nothing at all really.”
* Get Walking Lanarkshire hold two walks a week in Cambuslang. There are walks in Westburn village from Lallis Foodmarket on Westburn Road, at 10am on Mondays; and from Westburn Nursery on Birch Drive, at 9.30am on Fridays. The walks last no longer than an hour and avoid tricky terrain. There is no need to book, just turn up. Anyone interested is asked to wear suitable footwear and dress for the weather conditions on the day. For more information about the walks go to www. northlanarkshire. gov.uk/getwalking or call 01698 402077 or email getwalkinglanarkshire@ northlan.gov.uk