I’ve joined two local groups since Christmas in an effort to try and get out a bit more and meet new people. I’m loving retirement but I realised my hobbies are mainly home based, I need to get out more. I joined a patchwork and quilting group which meet twice a month and I’ve also joined Otley Walkers.

I’m always a bit wary of walking with strangers as I have a major balance problem, like I don’t have any balance from my ears, so I’m not very good at walking in a straight line and occasionally I do lose my balance and fall, not what you want to do in front of strangers! I was upfront with the organisers that I do have my issues but they seemed quite happy.

OW aim to have a walk three times a week, with anything from 5 miles upwards. I’ve been on two walks now and every one seems very friendly and not at all cliquey. We stop for morning coffee and lunch and they often finish with a drink in a cafe. Some walks are from Otley or a short bus ride away, others are further afield and they car share.

Last week we drove to Wetherby and walked a roundabout way to Thorp Arch village. We had been warned it would be muddy and it was very muddy for a lot of the walk! We stopped for lunch at Thorp Arch church and walking into the church yard was a bit of a Wow! moment as the snowdrops were beautiful, carpeting the churchyard.

As you can probably tell from the photo it was a pretty damp murky day, mizzling most of the time, but there were wooden benches to sit on round the other side of the church and we had a good walk anyway, covering about 9 miles altogether. It’s certainly helping me to get my miles up for the 1000 miles in 2026 challenge!