Outdoor Adventure Girls: The Best Group Walking Holiday for Women in the Yorkshire Dales
On one of the hottest weekends of the year so far, I drove the narrow country roads from The Lakes to The Yorkshire Dales, to join my first ever group walking holiday. A new year’s resolution for this year was to get back hiking, so when the opportunity to join the Outdoor Adventure Girls on one of their beginners hiking weekends came up, I jumped at the chance.
It was a weekend designed for new hikers to gain their confidence, learn more about how to plan your own walks, and get out doing it. However this weekend was about so much more than that. It was about bringing together likeminded women to connect in nature, and have a good time!
Who are the outdoor adventure girls?
The Outdoor Adventure Girls are an outdoor community providing safe and inclusive environments for women to reconnect with nature and the outdoors, through our local meetups, weekend getaways and international trips.
Their mission? To create a safe and inclusive environment for women, encourage women to feel confident outdoors, connect with other like-minded women, challenge the lack of representation of women in the outdoor space and to talk about mental health, and give women time to recharge, reset, and become their authentic selves.
The Outdoor Adventure Girls run a whole host of different types of trips. From walk meet ups organised in the regional group Facebook pages to UK weekend trips like the one I went on, to international adventures (including skiing, Madeira, India and even Everest Basecamp!).
what to expect on an outdoor adventure girls trip
The overview of what to expect on an Outdoor Adventure Girls trip is lots of ice breaker activities, time to build friendships and, obviously, lots of adventures! It really felt like a safe space as soon as you arrived; a space for you to be yourself and just have fun.
Before the trip started, we got an information pack with everything we would need to bring, and everyone was added to a WhatsApp group. This was a great way to start talking to everyone who was coming, and also anyone who was coming by public transport could organise lifts etc. As there were weather warnings for heat, it was also where Sophie and her team kept us updated with changes to the itinerary to keep everyone safe.
Friday
We stayed at Kettlewell Youth Hostel, and everyone started arriving around 5pm. After signing in, we got a little welcome goodie bag and shown where are rooms were. Because the sun was shining, after leaving stuff in the room, we all gathered in the garden and started introducing ourselves and getting to know each other.
Dinner was included in the package (and was delicious) and then it was time for the welcome talk. The founder of Outdoor Adventure Girls, Sophie, led the intro and delivered a workshop on Hiking 101 which was so interesting. It was then followed by Joe from Didricksons, who were sponsoring the weekend, all about finding the right gear for your adventures.
We finished the day with a walk around the village, and some of us went to have a drink at the local pub and enjoy the last of the sunshine (and say hello to the local dogs!). Others headed back to read in the garden, or get an early night before our early start!
Saturday – The best walk in the yorkshire dales national park
Our big hiking day – and the hottest day of the year so far!
We kicked off with a continental breakfast, before car sharing to Malham, where our walk began. We started earlier than planned, so we weren’t out in the midday heat. Our walk was Janets Foss, Gorsdale Scar and Malham cove and it was absolutely stunning. This is a walk that I have wanted to do for years, and if felt magical to actually be there doing it!
There was around 25 of us on the trip, and it meant there was always someone who was going at your pace. You never felt like you were going to slow down (or too fast), and it was a really lovely way to get to know people.
The views on this walk are breathtaking, and it’s a really good beginner hike as there’s clear paths, plenty of chances to stop and rest, and the views are an incredible reward!
The original plan was to have our packed lunch on the walk, but as we shifted the times forward, we had our lunches back in Kettlewell, where we also had some free time before our next activity!
Our afternoon and evening consisted of a very fun paint and sip session (with lots of delicious non alcoholic options too!), a dip in the river, and then the most incredible burger back at the hostel. We had a quiz in the evening, and our team may have been the winners after a nail biting tie breaker!
Sunday – our final day of our group walking holiday
Our final day gave us another opportunity to explore the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. After breakfast, we all packed up and headed to our cars as we drove to Grassington to start the mornings walk.
Grassington is a picture perfect village in the Dales, and also home to the filming of All Creatures Great and Small (one of my faves!). We did the Grassington to Hebden circular walk, and as we rambled through fields, over styles and crossed bridges, you really got to experience the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales.
What else do you do on a Sunday after a big walk? Go for Sunday Dinner of course! Included in the trip was a farewell Sunday dinner at a local pub, and it was a great way for us to all sit down, reflect on the weekend and wave our goodbyes.
The benefits of going on a group walking holiday
I’ve never been on a weekend like this before, but I can’t recommend it enough.
As someone who is pretty new to hiking, especially as an adult, something I’m really nervous about is planning routes, but I’ve come away with a real sense of confidence!
But the biggest benefit of going on a group walking holiday is that it ticks all of your wellbeing boxes. You have community and conversation, you’re spending time outside in the fresh air, and we were eating really good homemade food.
overall verdict on my first group walking holiday
If you’re wanting to start hiking, but don’t know where to start, or don’t have anyone to go with, get yourself booked on a group walking holiday. Outdoor Adventure Girls is the perfect place to start, as there are so many different ways to get involved.
If you don’t feel ready to jump straight in with a weekend trip, join your local regional Facebook group and see who’s nearby and wants to come on a super local walk with you. There are also some day events that are run, and lots of weekend and international trips too! A lot of the weekend group hiking holidays include iconic walks you’ll want to do like Snowdon, the Peak District and the Lake District.
Ready to go on an adventure? We have lots of microadventure inspo that you can check out here. If you’re looking for UK travel guides, click here, or if you’re looking to plan your next weekend break, this is for you.
