Author Topic: Guided walks worth it?  (Read 4062 times)

Ronin83

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Guided walks worth it?
« on: 17:39:12, 30/07/18 »
WereW not talking about an expedition up a serious mountain here, we're just talking a 10 mile or so walk.


I might give one a go, but it costs money and I've always thought, why do I need to pay money to go walking when I can do it myself?


Having said that, the one I'm considering is led by someone who promises a deep understanding of the landscape, history and survival.


How much would you pay for a guided walk with only knowledge provided, nothing else?

Mel

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #1 on: 18:33:49, 30/07/18 »
I think I'd pay to go on a guided walk if it was over and above "just a walk".  Like you say, if they have a specialist knowledge and the walk is sort of educational, or possibly if they had special permission to walk somewhere otherwise off-limits.


I'd also possibly pay for a guide if I wanted to do something like, eg. climb Tryfan.  It's not something I'd want to do alone and I'd want someone experienced and knowledgeable with me.  Having said that, if I was expected to jump Adam and Eve as well once I was up there then they'd have to pay me back, and then some  ;D


As for price... not sure.  I'd be happy to pay more for the technical knowledge and guidance of a mountain guide as opposed to someone who just "knows stuff" about an area (flora, fauna, archaeology, geology, etc.) but I don't know any going rates for either, so I can't really comment on that aspect.




jimbob

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #2 on: 20:35:05, 30/07/18 »
Cost depends on how many  are on the walk.
How much preparation time has the guide spent preparing, the guides expenses. After all it is either partially or wholly their means of income.
Add the sum of the prep hours,  travelling to and from venue hours  and the actual walk hours. Multiply that sum by at least the minimum rate., add guides out of pocket expenses then divide that total by the number of people on the walk.
That would give a fair starting point. It may cost extra if the guides expertise is worth more than the minimum rate.
Too little, too late, too bad......

Ronin83

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #3 on: 20:47:01, 30/07/18 »
The particular walk I was looking at shouldn't really have any expenses. Nothings provided.


jimbob

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #4 on: 20:49:32, 30/07/18 »
Well that would be a zero in that column.
Too little, too late, too bad......

BuzyG

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #5 on: 23:34:44, 30/07/18 »
I was planning to do a guided walk over 4 days taking in All .the Scotiash 4000s, this year.  Alas injury required my withdrawal.  My thinking was a group would also provide additional motivation and I don't know the Scottish Highlands very well.  My point being there was much to be gained by shedding out a few bob. 


When I fancy a group walk localyl I simply turn up at a ramblers gig and join the walk.  There have been some hits and misses doing that, but I now know which ones to go for and several have been led by very knowledgeable folk, covering industrial, millitary and Neolithic sites across the moors over the years.


Thoroughly recommended if you have not tried it and free apart from the small annual subscription.

dank86

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #6 on: 07:23:31, 31/07/18 »
It can be worth it other times it's a waste of money. I'm the same that a feel a small jaunt around isn't worth paying for when I've got Google for the history etc, Iused to lead tours in France around towns and castles as part of a job I had, lunches were provided, entrances fees etc.

The thing you really need to ask yourself is does it add value to the walk for you and if so how much?
I've seen guides charging from £10ph up to £70ph offering different things in different locations

richardh1905

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #7 on: 07:40:27, 31/07/18 »
WereW not talking about an expedition up a serious mountain here, we're just talking a 10 mile or so walk.



I have to say that I would find the experience frustrating - I'm always the one at the back whenever I have been on any kind of guided tour with my family, but being 'guided' (talked at) for ten miles; no thanks! Not what walking is about for me.


IF (and it is a hypothetical 'IF' as I'm not into lists) I had climbed all the Munros except for the Inaccessible Pinnacle, I don't think that I could bring myself to pay to be guided up on a tight rope by a professional. Again; not what walking in wild places is about.
« Last Edit: 09:06:27, 31/07/18 by richardh1905 »
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

Lakeland Lorry

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #8 on: 09:04:20, 31/07/18 »

How much would you pay for a guided walk with only knowledge provided, nothing else?


I think people generally pay for a guided walk because they a) can't navigate, or b) want to learn more about the particular area they are walking in.


In my role as a Voluntary Ranger for the Lake District National Park, I lead guided walks for the public, which the Nat Park charge for.   The maximum cost of the walks is £10, which helps pay for our training, insurance and the Nat Park staff who coordinate and organise the walks.   


The people who come on our walks often comment afterwards about how much knowledge of the area, myself and my fellow walk leaders, pass onto them.   They get much more out of our walks then they will learn from reading about it in a guidebook.   So they   are quite happy to pay the £5 or £10 for a good day out.  




pleb

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #9 on: 09:59:10, 31/07/18 »
Never paid, never will. Just not needed, unless its a foreign trek or something.
Whinging Moaning Old Fart

Ronin83

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #10 on: 10:45:50, 31/07/18 »
I think we're mostly the same sort of wavelength.
I'd pay for a guide on something more serious or let's say i'd definitely want one on the Inca trail, but a mooch around a hilly landscape?
I'm not as experienced as a lot of the people on here with navigation/map reading, dodgy terrain etc, but I imagine if I was i'd be even less inclined.



Rather be walking

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #11 on: 12:34:08, 31/07/18 »
Quote
I think we're mostly the same sort of wavelength.
I'd pay for a guide on something more serious or let's say I'd definitely want one on the Inca trail, but a mooch around a hilly landscape?
I'm not as experienced as a lot of the people on here with navigation/map reading, dodgy terrain etc, but I imagine if I was I'd be even less inclined.
I totally agree.

I sometimes I help out a friend of mine whose business is guided walks on and a round the South Downs, tourists mostly from USA, Australia, Canada, China, etc.
Single person to max group of 8. They are totally happy to go out for the day and have lunch and a pint of warm beer in front of a roaring log fire (winter of course) in a British pub.
 
Jon.
““The hardest part was coming to terms with the constant dispiriting discovery that there is always more hill.”
― Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods

ninthace

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #12 on: 15:39:10, 31/07/18 »
I took part in a guided walk across the Warcop Range once.  Excellent value; the guide was a font of knowledge on the fauna, flora and history of the area as well as knowing the best routes to take - knowledge and experience is what you pay for in a guided walk.  Only two frustrations, the pace of a group walk is inevitably a bit slow and the time wasted by the summit baggers on Little Fell arguing about and photographing each other on every conceivable mole hill in an effort to be sure they were on the summit.
Solvitur Ambulando

phil1960

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #13 on: 18:43:35, 31/07/18 »
For me I wouldn’t pay, rather do my own thing with my other half and the dog. Much like I don’t summit bag or worry about how fast we walk or how long the walk is, it’s all about the quality of the walk on our own and what we get from it for us.
Touching from a distance, further all the time.

fit old bird

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Re: Guided walks worth it?
« Reply #14 on: 18:25:39, 01/08/18 »
I think I would be frustrated at having to keep stopping and listening to the chat. I'm not interested in flora and fauna. I like old buildings and churches, but are not fussed about the history, don't need to know all the details. I would have forgotten what was said the next day anyway.


If I have taken photo's I look it up on the internet when I get back home. I like to discover things for myself.

ilona

 

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