When you join in one of our Of Paths and Paddles events, you know you’ll be in good company.
- Away with like-minded women who ”get” you from the outset
- Make new friends
- Bond with like-minded women who support each other
- Build a network of trusted friends who support each other
- Try out new experiences, safe in the knowledge that the others in the group will support you through
- Laugh – laughter boosts your immune system
- Build a new peer group, who share stories and adventures with
We know we feel better for just putting on our shoes and going out of doors. But what other benefits can you think of?
Here are a few we came up with:
- Enjoy being out in the natural world and fresh air and feel better
- See the sky and lift your head and breathe deeply and feel alive
- A change of pace allows you to slow things down and think more clearly.
- If the outdoors is your “Happy Place”, go with friends, you’ll have fun, and feel better. It will set you up for the week(s) ahead.
- Freedom from the 4 walls – office, home, work, get out of your own head.
I’m Rosie Diver. I founded Of Paths and Paddles as I collected my last dose of pills for my stage 3 melanoma. Thankfully I’m cancer-free and have been for a year now.
I’ve been sharing my love of the out of doors, walking, hiking, trekking, yomping, canoeing, canoe-camping, expeditions on land and on the water as a volunteer for years.
And I want to share my love of the outdoors, and the freedom it affords and how it can recharge your batteries, and help you find headspace in your busy life.
And I want to share it with you. I know that women are under-represented in the outdoors industry as a whole. I know the difference it makes working/ walking and canoeing in women-only groups. There’s a feeling of community, of mutual support, of understanding, and of fun like you find in few other groups.
I was introduced to the joy of walking in hills when I was 15, with the Rangers (that’s the older Guides) and have spent my holidays doing something active ever since. And then, while I was volunteering with a Ranger Unit, I was introduced to canoeing.
And I’ve spent my whole life, when I wasn’t working behind a desk, outside in the hills or on the water.
Do you remember what your plans were at 18? or 21? Mine certainly never included 8 hours a day 5 days a week at a desk for 30 years – but that is what happened until BAM! A Cancer diagnosis and a re-think of life, the universe and everything.