Walk this way…

Kate Chapman meets the Lincolnshire sisters who run a successful travel company for women who want to explore the county on foot.

Sisiters who grew up in Lincolnshire and now run a travel company providing guided walking and activity holidays exclusively for women have launched a new break – right here in their home county.

Ginny Lunn and Sara Pease-Watkin, who grew up in Tattershall, near Horncastle, took over Walking Women in 2021 and offer a range of guided treks and walking breaks around the UK, Europe and further afield. 

Always keen to add lesser-known destinations to their range of holidays, they’ve now turned their attention to Lincolnshire and created a three-night/four-day walking holiday to showcase the Wolds to new visitors.

Like all Walking Women holidays, Lovely Lincolnshire, which takes place for the first time in October, will be led by a female guide and will give walkers the chance to complete a seven-mile section of the Viking Way while a second walk covers a six-mile route linking Horncastle and Belchford.

“Lincolnshire is one of the least visited counties in the country,” said Ginny, who was previously a teacher before moving into the charity sector, where she worked for The Prince’s Trust and was later CEO for another charity.

“Initially, we were running trips to traditional Walking Women destinations, like the Lake District, Scotland and Norway, which is really popular due to the Northern Lights. Our dad questioned why we were going all the way there when you can see them in Lincolnshire, and that got us thinking that there is so much more to this county.

“Lots of us involved in the business have connections to Lincolnshire, but we weren’t offering a holiday here. We’re always looking to offer breaks in new areas and trying to find places off the beaten track so we can help people discover places they might not otherwise have known about – Lincolnshire is a great example of this.”

Exploring new adventures
Newly appointed guide Lizzy Mills will lead the trip, which also promises a visit to Woodhall Spa, the chance to sample some local produce and ale in a pub dating back to 1257 and the possibility of a visit to the village’s iconic Kinema in the Woods.

Ginny went on her first group holiday in 2016, the year after her partner passed away. She was worried she would not be able to enjoy holidays again, having always gone as part of a couple.

“It was tough, but there were so many other women in the same position as me. Friends suggested I try a group holiday and finally I joined a walking holiday to Norway,” she recalls.

“It was great, and then I did a few more Walking Women trips. Then Covid hit and that’s when I decided I wanted to do something different.

“Walking Women had been up for sale. I was about 57 at the time, I spoke to my sister, who was working in a Montessori nursery, but was at a loss as it was closed due to the pandemic. We’ve both always been adventurous, even as children, living in a village we enjoyed walking, cycling and the outdoors. After university I travelled around South America for a year with my friend Helen, from Lincolnshire, who also works with us. Between us we’d travelled, cross-country skied, walked, climbed Snowdon and a few other mountains.

“We decided to give it a go and bought the business in 2021. It had really saved me – it gave me a new lease of life and got me travelling again.”

Feet first
Walking Women was originally founded in 2000, to provide safe walking holidays for women. Its head office is in Ashford, Surrey, while its guides are based locally and hold mountain leadership qualifications.

The year after taking it on, Ginny and Sara ran 30 holidays for small groups of women, mostly to locations the company had previously visited such as the Lake District, the Cairngorms and Norway, along with a few new places.

In 2023, they organised 70 trips taking in places further afield including destinations in Africa, Canada and India.

“It’s about going to different places and supporting women as much as possible. We run women-led groups, all our guides are women and we use hotels that are safe for women, run by women.

“We try to support other businesses and activities run by women wherever we can, which is what makes it so unique,” adds Ginny, who when she’s not travelling splits her time between Switzerland, Surrey and Lincolnshire, where her parents still live.

“Since Covid we’ve found a lot of people want to travel. Our customers have been amazing – as we started building the business back up, people booked holidays and supported us.”

Each walk is graded in terms of ‘goats’, so walkers can gauge the fitness levels required to complete it. Levels range from one goat – easy hikes and the least challenging – up to four goats for more demanding routes. Walking Women also offers a one-day Get Goat Fit walk, which lets people test their fitness alongside an experienced guide.

“It’s all aimed at helping women to keep active and to keep walking. Most of our customers are over 50, although we do have some younger women who join us, including a young woman from Lincolnshire. She loves walking with older women and finds them inspiring as they seek to stay active,” adds Ginny. “We’ve also got a 91-year-old who is about to join us on a city walk around York, that will be her 20th walk with us, which is pretty amazing.”

Group adventures
Ginny says that she and Sara still like to complete the walks when they can.

“Last summer, we were joined by four American women to walk the highest mountain in mainland Spain, Mt Mulhacén. They were all in their sixties and seventies, but we all reached the top. We went slow and steady, made lots of stops, but it was amazing that everyone reached the top.

“I’m currently training for one of our longest walks, which takes place in September, it’s 200km along the Lighthouse Way, a coastal route in northwest Spain. We walk around 20 miles at a time – that one’s for people who really want to have an adventure!

“Our groups tend to be quite small, 8-10 people, sometimes a few more, but we walk together and there’s a huge amount of support right there. And that’s what Walking Women is all about – encouraging people to be active. Obviously you’ve got to put in the training, but it’s about doing something that perhaps you thought you couldn’t achieve and challenge yourself.”

Walking Women is always keen to welcome new people on its adventures and new guides to the company. To find out more visit walkingwomen.com

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