After organising dozens of parent and baby group walks now, I’ve realised that walking and friendship goes like this:

🌿 You turn up a stranger in a new place, with your young baby and a bag full of things you don’t know if you’ll need on a ‘hike’, maybe knowing one or two people but not everyone - this takes guts

🌿 You start to gather, smiling at each other’s babies (some snoozing, some gurgling, ready to go), comparing notes on how much sleep you had last night, and finding out who’s explored these parts before.

🌿 You set off, starting to chat with those nearest you, feeling yourself relax, and the conversation moves to what you do in your ‘real life’, how you chose your baby’s name, how you managed without any help during lockdown - who knows, you name it, it comes up...

🌿 As we stop for a nappy change, or to tie a shoe lace or to just catch our breath, the group shifts shape and you talk to new folks, whoever you happen to wander near - more chatting, more realisations of connections you share

🌿 By the time we get back to base and sit down for a well-earned coffee together, we realise we spoken with everyone, about loads of different things, sometimes baby-related but equally as often not.

🌿 All grateful to each other for showing up and giving us the reason to get out of the house and go and achieve something for ourselves.

🌿 We go away, feeling happy, looking forward to the next walk, with some of the same people and some new faces too. Next time not as strangers but as friends who walk together 👣

If you’re even sliiiightly tempted to come on one of our walks, just do it! There are lots of different ones coming up in the calendar and a whole bunch of awesome people waiting to walk with you…

Katy