Why You Should Join Your Local Love Her Wild Group

volunteers who run regional groups. ‘I’ve been involved pretty much since the start,’ says Fiona. ‘I started as a volunteer and we’ve now got approximately 40 groups running at a local level. Most of them are free to attend and get women together to go walking, camping, swimming, cycling – it really depends on the area,’ she explains.

From nature newbies to hiking pros, there’s something for all abilities. ‘Everyone has a different reason for joining and wanting to meet like-minded women. Perhaps your friends aren’t into these sort of activities, or some women turn to nature to reconnect having been through a difficult period in their life,’ Fiona says. ‘For me, I went through a difficult time and the community was a commitment to get outdoors on a regular basis and to meet new people. Sometimes that’s what we need in our lives to take us away from the day-to-day.’

One of the group’s popular adventures are their Wild Weekends, which bring 50 women together to take part in outdoorsy activities over the course of a weekend. ‘Some are camping, others are in accommodation. We have wellbeing activities such as yoga and mindfulness, but also bush craft and adventure activities. We bring in inspirational speakers too – we’ve had some incredible ones over the years,’ Fiona says. ‘It’s hard to explain the magic when all of these women come together; it’s phenomenal. A lot of women come on their own, it’s such a supportive, welcoming space. We all have fun and let go and it’s a time to all be ourselves. Many women are busy with careers and families and get overlooked, which is why it’s a benefit to have a women-only group.’

Love Her Wild also run national and international trips. ‘This year we’re running wild surf for the first time which will be in Cornwall,’ says Fiona. ‘It’s a little bit more luxurious than our other UK adventures. The accommodation is stunning and has a hot tub and a fire pit close to the beach. We’ll be doing yoga and sound baths as well as the surfing so it’s a bit more luxurious compared to our usual stripped-back stuff!’

Love Her Wild also aim to boost women’s confidence and teach them the relevant skills they need to stay safe in the outdoors. ‘Confidence in the outdoors is such a big issue from a safety point of view. If there’s a group, you don’t need to do these things alone, and if you’re able to improve confidence in a group, you’re more likely to have the courage to undertake adventures alone as well. Lack of skills is also a massive obstacle to women getting outside so we ran a navigation day, where more than 500 women all over the UK took part. It only cost £15. There’s such a massive demand for things like that – it sold out within an hour.’

When exploring in nature, the group aim to be environmentally conscious and reduce their impact. ‘We always encourage people to lift share, we’re always looking at opportunities for trips that we can do to travel over land so that we aren’t creating the need to fly too much’ says Fiona. ‘A few years ago we did an expedition where women travelled the length of the UK collecting litter. We also did an expedition in Scotland, sailing around the islands and collecting plastic whilst working with local conservationists to report our findings. We try and have a conservational aspect in most of our trips.’

Although Love Her Wild have done a lot to level the playing field in terms of gender representation in the outdoors, there’s still work to be done. ‘In feedback from our members, unfortunately women are still perceived by many to be less capable than men. Attitudes are changing which is great, and we’ve come a long way, but there is still some way to go.’