Led by Lance Chilton, the 5 or 6 walks over
the week are minutely planned in advance, sequenced to start off gradually and
culminate in a splendid final day's walk. Lance has previously visited, and
knows well, every resort. The atmosphere is informal and friendly. There are
frequent stops to identify the flowers, to ask and answer questions, and simply
to admire the scenery. The plants are not the only wildlife to attract our
attention - we also observe birds, butterflies, lizards, geckoes, snakes, frogs
or almost anything else that moves. Even the locals may be watched, particularly
during our refreshment stops in local bars or cafés. Mostly we try to choose a
site with a view for a picnic, but in some resorts, a few lunches are taken in
small country tavernas. In addition to lunch-stops, we frequently have
mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks at a site of
interest.
We offer you complete flexibility - to book
your own choice of package holiday or to make your own independent arrangements.
You can have as many or as few of your party join in the Walks Week as wish to
do so. You can spend as long in resort as you wish - arrive earlier, or stay on
after the Walks Week. The walks may be on dirt tracks,
tarmac roads and on footpaths. The walks generally start between 9.00 and 9.30
a.m. and finish late afternoon, but the pace is reasonable. Often local
transport is used at the start and/or end of the day, though usually for a
distance less than 12km. All the resorts are hilly and at least some routes
during the week will involve ascents and descents - so you need to be reasonably
fit. When there are (occasional) steep footpath ascents, we will always wait for
anyone who has difficulty keeping pace with the group. We try, where possible,
to make routes circular, rather than out and back, but it may occasionally be
necessary to return by the same route, in order to reach particular
sites.
The Autumn walks with flowers are a little faster paced than the Botanical
Walks, though there are still stops to look at views, wildlife, local
activities, and some flowers. They may follow similar routes, or may be
completely different.