Welcome

Bienvenue
Willkommen
Benvenuti
Bienvenido
Witamy
Dobrodošli
Καλώς Όρισες
ยินดีต้อนรับ
Namaste
歡迎光臨

Plus many other languages, too numerous to list.

Whether you are new to the South Herts Area or whether you have always lived here, you are welcome to join us to find some new walks.

How to try one of our hiking events

There are three ways to sign up for our events

Meetup:

  • First, you need to set up your own Meetup login if you don’t have one already. Anyone age 18 or over can set up a Meetup login free of charge. Meetup is not connected with Facebook or Google but if you already have a Facebook or Google login, you can use this to set up a Meetup login quickly with just a few mouse clicks. Then, you can use your existing Facebook or Google user name and password to log in to Meetup.
  • If you don’t already have a Facebook or Google login of if you prefer a separate Meetup login, you can set up a new Meetup login by entering your user name, email address and password.
  • Meetup may offer you a Meetup+ paid subscription with additional features but you don’t need this, you can sign up for a free Meetup subscription and if you are offered an upgrade then you can continue with the free subscription.
  • Log in to Meetup and find the South Herts Hikers Meetup Group
  • Click the Join Us button on the Meetup Group. You then immediately become a prospective member of South Herts Hikers (see below). There is no membership subscription until you attend an event.
  • Find an event that you would like to attend on Meetup and click Attend. For most events, you can add one guest. There is no charge to sign up for an event and no charge if you cancel but you will need to pay an annual subscription (£1 if you join Jan - June or 50p if you join July onwards) plus a weekly subscription (£3) when you attend an event. You only pay a weekly subscription for weeks when you actually attend an event and you can pay at the start of an event using cash or PayPal.
  • If all spaces are full, you can join a waiting list and you will be notified automatically if a space becomes available.
  • If you change your mind about an event, please change your RSVP to ‘Not going’ on Meetup, if possible. This allows someone else to take your place if there is a waiting list.

Facebook

If you don’t use Meetup then you can use the South Herts Hikers Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576698587198 but it is only accessible if you are logged in to Facebook. If you have a Facebook login, please like our page and follow our page. You can find forthcoming events on our Facebook page and you can select “going” but we do have a limit on numbers so for some events you would need to get a ticket on Eventbrite. If a ticket is required, the Facebook event details contain a link to the Eventbrite ticket page.

Eventbrite

If you don’t use Meetup or Facebook then you can get a ticket for some events directly from Eventbrite. To find our events on Eventbrite, go to the Eventbrite web site and search for South Herts Hikers. This should give you a list of our events and some other events that partly match the search term. Click the Get Tickets button. You can also click Follow to follow South Herts Hikers on Eventbrite.

Types of membership

Prospective member.

If you join the South Herts Hikers Group on Meetup or if you subscribe to our email list, you are a prospective member until you attend an event and pay an annual membership subscription and a weekly membership subscription. You receive notifications of forthcoming events via Meetup and/or by email and you can register for events.

Annual member

Although our events are shown on Meetup as free, so you don’t need to pay when you sign up, we have annual and weekly subscriptions to cover the running costs of this Group including Meetup Organisers’ subscription, affiliations and other costs. These subscriptions only apply if you actually attend an event and they apply to everyone including guests.

Annual membership subscription

We have an nominal annual membership subscription of £1 if you join 1st Jan - 30th June, 50p from 1st July - 30th November and free in December. To attend an event, you need to pay an annual membership subscription and also a weekly subscription (see below). Annual members can also join our group email list and receive details of our walks programme. Annual membership is valid for both sections of our group, South Herts Hikers and South Herts Footpath Society.</p> Weekly subscription We also have a weekly membership subscription of £3 but you only pay for weeks when you actually attend an event. We normally have only one event in any 7 day period but occasionally we might have two, e.g. Saturday and Sunday, In that case, a single weekly subscription would cover both events.

If you pay 10 weekly subscriptions in any calendar year then you don’t need to pay any more in the current calendar year. That’s £4.00 for your first hike after 1st Jan 2026 or £3.00 per event after that. The membership subscription does not include any cost of travel, meals, accommodation, etc. You can pay using cash (preferred) or Paypal. Details are on Meetup events or you can scan a QR code at the start of an event.

Membership criteria

New annual membership subscriptions and renewals of existing annual membership subscriptions are only accepted if in the opinion of the organizers, you fulfil the criteria for membership (see below). It should be noted that the Meetup Terms of Service Overview currently state, “Organizers may establish membership criteria for their own Meetup groups. While there is probably a Meetup group out there for everyone, not every Meetup group is for you.”

A Meetup Help Page also states,

Organizers essentially own and operate their Meetup Groups. They often establish membership policies or ground rules for participation, and are responsible for moderating the content on their Meetup Group pages. (Organizers may also remove members at their own discretion.)

Our membership criteria are as follows:

  • Membership is open to anyone aged 18 or more who has an interest in hiking, regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or other beliefs, provided they fulfil the following criteria:
    1. Being friendly towards all other Group members, treating other members with respect and as equals.
    2. Avoiding any conduct likely to discourage any other member from participating in future Group events or from organising future group events. In particular, this group is a “Grump Free Zone” especially on Group weekends away!

The Group Organisers reserve the right to exercise their discretion as permitted by Meetup Inc. (see above) in the following ways:

  • decline to accept an annual or weekly membership subscription in which case the member would not be permitted to attend any more events
  • restrict membership, e.g. to day hikes only, not weekends away.
  • refuse, expel or suspend any person from membership of the Group

In the unlikely event that the Group organizers decide not to accept an annual or weekly membership subscription, the member will also be notified by a direct message sent via Meetup and the member will not be eligible to attend further events. The member will also be removed from the South Herts Hikers Meetup Group and from the email list.

  • The group is run on a not-for-profit basis. Annual and weekly subscriptions contribute towards Meetup organizer subscriptions, web hosting costs, Internet domain name registration, affiliation costs etc.

Etiquette

These aren’t rules but advice for a friendly group

  1. The walk leader sets the pace suitable for the slowest member, as long as we can complete the walk in a reasonable time. It is not a race to finish first nor a training event nor a non-stop work-out. We stop from time to time to regroup (for example after going through a gate), to have a rest, a drink or a snack, admire the view or take photos, etc. You may need extra clothing to put on for stops in colder weather.
  2. We have members of different ages and genders and we like everyone to relate to each other on an equal basis.
  3. We have members from different nationalities and cultures. We like to make everyone welcome and we don’t quiz anyone about their background or country of origin, they can tell us if they like but this is optional.
  4. Conversations on a group walk or other event can often be overheard by others so we avoid discussing anything that is out of place in a friendly social group. This would include avoiding heated debates or any discussions about controversial or unpleasant subjects that others may not wish to hear about, including religion, UK politics or politics of any other country.

Page last updated 31 Jan 2026