Guided Hikes and Wildlife Walks

Easy to access from London | £25

  • Guided Hikes

    Join a women-only hiking adventure to explore nature.

  • Escape the City

    Reconnect with nature in a beautiful tranquil setting just a short train ride away from London

  • Meet New Friends

    Meet like-minded new friends; over 90% of our guests join solo!

  • Chess River Valley Walk

    Journey over beautiful meadows and across open fields with impressive valley views.

  • The Epping Forest Walk

    Explore the home of ancient pollard trees and vast beach woodlands.

Day Hikes

We’ve added three new exciting day hikes to our list of adventures this summer, both a short hop from London. Escape the city on a Gutsy Girls guided walking tour of some of the most beautiful countryside and wildlife within easy reach of the capital. 

Our day hikes are fully guided, women only walks with a focus on connecting with nature and reaping the rewards of time spent in the outdoors. We’ll be ambling through woodlands, meadows and riversides, spotting wildlife and soaking up the benefits of miles and miles of gorgeous green space. Leave the rat race behind and enjoy a slice of stunning English countryside while meeting like-minded women and making new friends.

Locations

  • Chess River Valley Walk, Herts

    Join us on an 11 mile walk of the stunning, undulating Chess River Valley in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a hike guaranteed to refresh the senses and leave you feeling rejuvenated by the power of nature.

    Starting from the peaceful town of Chorleywood, this guided walk covers a spectacular sweeping landscape, home to the Chess River and its sparkling chalk waters. Our journey will take us over pleasant meadows, along a winding riverside course, across open fields with impressive valley views, and through pine forests and a beautiful Beech woodland. Our route will loop back through this enchanting location to our starting point.

    Chess River Valley is rich in wildlife, with kingfishers, water voles, brown trout, orchids and dragonflies all local inhabitants of the stream.

    Meet Point: Loughton Station (central line)

    Time: 10am - 2:30pm

    Distance: 10 mile (16km)

    Difficulty rating: Intermediate

    Pace: Beginner to intermediate pace covering 10 miles with breaks and lunch.

  • The Epping Forest Day Walk

    Join us on a 10 mile walk into the heart and through the historic woodlands of Epping Forest, London’s largest open spaces at 6000 acres and home to over 5500 trees and plenty of wildlife too!

    Join us for a beautiful walk through the historic woodlands of Epping Forest, home to ancient pollard trees and vast beech woodlands. Our walk takes us on small trails following streams, through quiet and enchanting woodland. During the walk you’ll learn about tree species and how they can help us navigate and plants that can help us find water.

    Meet Point: Loughton Station (central line)

    Time: 10am - 2:30pm

    Distance: 10 mile (16km)

    Difficulty rating: Intermediate

    Pace: Beginner to intermediate pace covering 10 miles with breaks and lunch.

Chess River Valley Walk, Herts

Join us on an 11 mile walk of the stunning, undulating Chess River Valley in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a hike guaranteed to refresh the senses and leave you feeling rejuvenated by the power of nature.

Starting from the peaceful town of Chorleywood, this guided walk covers a spectacular sweeping landscape, home to the Chess River and its sparkling chalk waters. Our journey will take us over pleasant meadows, along a winding riverside course, across open fields with impressive valley views, and through pine forests and a beautiful Beech woodland. Our route will loop back through this enchanting location to our starting point.

Chess River Valley is rich in wildlife, with kingfishers, water voles, brown trout, orchids and dragonflies all local inhabitants of the stream.

  • Meet Point: Loughton Station (central line)

  • Time: 10am - 2:30pm

  • Distance: 10 mile (16km)

  • Difficulty rating: Intermediate

  • Pace: Beginner to intermediate pace covering 10 miles with breaks and lunch.

The Epping Forest Day Walk

Join us on a 10 mile walk into the heart and through the historic woodlands of Epping Forest, London’s largest open spaces at 6000 acres and home to over 5500 trees and plenty of wildlife too!

Join us for a beautiful walk through the historic woodlands of Epping Forest, home to ancient pollard trees and vast beech woodlands. Our walk takes us on small trails following streams, through quiet and enchanting woodland. During the walk you’ll learn about tree species and how they can help us navigate and plants that can help us find water.

  • Meet Point: Loughton Station (central line)

  • Time: 10am - 2:30pm

  • Distance: 10 mile (16km)

  • Difficulty rating: Intermediate

  • Pace: Beginner to intermediate pace covering 10 miles with breaks and lunch.

  • Chess River Valley Walk

    Chorleywood, Hertfordshire

    10am outside Chorleywood train station

    Circular route returning to Chorley around 2:30pm

    Epping Forest Walk

    10am outside Loughton Station (central line)

    Circular route returning to Loughton station around 2:30pm

  • The best way is to take the train:

    For the Chess River Valley Walk we will meet at 10am outside Chorleywood train station

    For the Epping Forest Walk we will meet at 10am outside Loughton Station (on the Central Line)

    • Packed lunch and snacks

    • Sun hat

    • Sunglasses

    • Comfortable hiking clothes

    • Walking boots, walking shoes or sturdy trainers

    • Waterproof jacket

    • Sunscreen

    • Water bottle or water reservoir 

    • Backpack to carry it all!

  • You will need to arrive dressed for the activity.

    • Sportswear like leggings, or hiking trousers / shorts and wicking t-shirts

    • Choose clothes without heavy seams that won’t rub and will dry quickly if it gets wet

    • Layers you can take on and off throughout the day 

    • Walking shoes / hiking boots or trainers with good support and grip (not Converse!)*

    • Raincoat

    * We highly recommend hiking boots or shoes for your safety and comfort when walking. 

    If you do choose to wear trainers, please make sure they are supportive and have good grip. You will not be allowed to join if you wear Converse or plimsole style shoes. 

Join for £25

  • Meet like-minded new friends

  • Expert guiding from outdoor guides

  • Small group experience created for solo guests

  • Easy to access from London by train

  • Discover beautiful countryside to explore at the weekends!

Back in Spring 2025

Our guided hikes are taking a small pause for autumn and winter. We’ll be back to exploring in spring 2025. Join our newsletter for updates!

  • Absolutely! These hikes are created for anyone who loves being in the outdoors, you just need to be happy walking approximately 11 miles over a day. 

  • Yes!  If you’re a keen walker, you’ll enjoy these routes which will take you through magical locations a stone’s throw from London with experienced and knowledgeable guides. 

  • You just need to be happy walking around 11 miles over the course of a few hours. 

  • All Gutsy Girls events are for over 18s only

  • There is no upper age limit for our adventures - we have women up to 70 years old join us. The Gutsy Girls community is filled with fun, friendly and supportive women from 18-70+. We never ask your age, just that you are up for an adventure!  

    As a rough guide, most Gutsy Girls guests are 24-60 years old, with around 60% in their 30s-40s. After a day learning to surf, mountain biking over the hills, hiking to peaks for incredible views or exploring remote locations by paddleboard, everyone’s ages merge together, all connected by their experiences.

  • 100% join alone, the vast majority of guests come along to our events and retreats solo.  

    Our aim is to connect you with like-minded new friends! We are a very friendly bunch, come as you are, we can’t wait to meet you!

  • Once we have reached minimum numbers you will receive a WhatsApp group invitation to arrange travel together. 

    We cannot add you to the WhatsApp group unless you have booked a spot. 

    We are unable to tell you other guests' travel plans. 

  • Please bring a packed lunch and some snacks to keep you going for the day. 

  • We love dogs, but unfortunately, they are not allowed on our guided hikes.

  • Whenever possible we use female instructors and guides on our day events and trips, however we cannot always guarantee this, simply because there are fewer female instructors available!

    Our first priority is to work with the most highly experienced and considerate instructors and guides, who are patient,

    friendly and as passionate as we are about building women’s confidence in the outdoors.  Simply due to the ratio of men to women in the outdoors industry, sometimes this means our guides and instructors are male. We keep a close eye on the feedback our guides receive from our guests as we believe that overall this is more important than their gender.

    We sincerely hope that as more women are introduced to adventure sports and activities, the amount of female guides and instructors in our industry will increase.

  • For the Chess River Valley Walk we will meet at 10am outside Chorleywood train station 

    For the Epping Forest Walk we will meet at 10am outside Loughton Station (on the Central Line)

  • Chess River Valley: The walk should take around 4 hours, so including a stop for lunch you should be back at the train station by approximately 3pm. 

    Epping Forest:  The circular walk should take around 3.5 - 4 hours, so including a stop for lunch you should be back at the train station by approximately 2:30pm.

    Please ensure your travel is flexible though as things may take longer or shorter depending on the group’s speed, interests and needs! 

  • Yes! 

    The best way is to take the train:

    For the Chess River Valley Walk we will meet at 10am outside Chorleywood train station

    For the Epping Forest Walk we will meet at 10am outside Loughton Station (on the Central Line)

  • You'll find car parks at and around the train stations where we will be meeting. Please check online for parking charges.

    Another site to look for parking is Just Park.

    We encourage car sharing on this adventure, so if you are driving and would like to offer a space in your car to another guest, this can be arranged via our WhatsApp group. 

    You should be able to park your car at the relevant train station; all have station car parks. Please check online for parking charges. 

    • Sportswear like leggings, or hiking trousers / shorts and wicking t-shirts

    • Choose clothes without heavy seams that won’t rub and will dry quickly if it gets wet

    • Layers you can take on and off throughout the day 

    • Walking shoes / hiking boots or trainers with good support and grip (not Converse!)*

    • Raincoat

    * We highly recommend hiking boots or shoes for your safety and comfort when walking. 

    If you do choose to wear trainers, please make sure they are supportive and have good grip. You will not be allowed to join if you wear Converse or plimsole style shoes. 

    • Packed lunch

    • Snacks

    • Waterproof jacket

    • Water bottle

    • Sun hat

    • Sunglasses

    • Sunscreen

    • Backpack to carry it all!

  • Please only bring what you’ll need for the hike and what you can carry in your backpack as there is nowhere to leave extra belongings.

  • There will be limited toilet facilities on these hikes.

    We have toilets at the start point and finish point at the train station, after that we are on footpaths and over the landscape so nature provides the facilities. There is plenty of seclusion and woodlands en-route if you do need to nip off and we can be discreet about it for you. 

    We understand this is not ideal, and over the winter we will look for routes which will have toilet facilities en route as we want to be inclusive of everyone's needs.

  • We walk come rain or shine!  

    Whilst we hope the weather is kind to us, British weather is unpredictable. We will still walk in the rain, so please pack a raincoat if the forecast is wet. 

    If the weather conditions are unsafe, we will notify you as soon as possible to rearrange your adventure.  Make sure your travel tickets are flexible in the rare instances this happens. 

  • Please leave the weather watching to us! 

    Our guides will be monitoring the weather conditions in the lead up to your session and we will be in touch if we need to cancel. (Please also see "What if it rains"!) 

  • Please contact the GG WhatsApp group you'll have been invited to. We will try to accommodate you but we need to be fair to the group and we cannot guarantee we will be able to wait for you.

  • Please check your spam folders before contacting us. Hotmail in particular like to put our emails in spam. You'll need to add events@gutsygirls.co.uk to your safe list. 

  • Cancellations by You

    You can cancel your day event booking with us at any time.

    Your cancellation will be effective from the date that the cancellation is received in writing by email.

    Cancellation Fees

    If you cancel more than 30 days before your day event, we will refund you 50% of your payment.

    If you cancel within 30 days of your day event, no refund will be given

    How to Cancel

    If you want to cancel your booking, send us an email with your name, details about the event that you booked and the date that the event is due to take place on.

    We will confirm cancellation of your booking.

    If you’re due a refund this will be facilitated and be in your account within 5-10 working days.

  • As an alternative to trip cancellation we also offer the option of rescheduling. This can be done at any time on the condition that Gutsy Girls are able to fill your spot. There is a £20 admin fee for rescheduling if your spot is filled.

    If we are not able to find a replacement to take your spot, then rescheduling will not be possible. Your payment is non-refundable, but no additional admin fee will be charged.

    Just to note:

    If you want to reschedule because the weather forecast for your event is looking like it will rain, it is highly unlikely that your spot will fill. We recommend joining us in the rain, bring a raincoat! 

    The sooner you notify Gutsy Girls that you want to reschedule the more likely it is that your spot will fill. Last minute rescheduling is not advised as we are unlikely to fill your spot at short notice. 

    How to Reschedule

    If you would like to reschedule your booking, email us your name, details of the event that you've booked and the date that the event is due to take place.

    Gutsy Girls will cancel your spot on our booking system and open the spot up for others to book. If another person books the spot, you will receive a credit voucher for the amount you paid, minus the £20 administration fee.

    You can use your credit voucher to rebook onto any Gutsy Girls Day Event. The voucher is valid for 6 months from issue.

    If you would like to use this towards the payment of a Gutsy Girls holiday, you'll need to get in touch via email.

    Gutsy Girls will notify you if we are able to fill your spot.

  • You'll see our full booking terms and conditions here