1 00:00:41,299 --> 00:00:43,557 CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Hello and welcome to Nature Fix with me, 2 00:00:43,744 --> 00:00:47,744 Claire Hickenbotham. Every month we take you with us as we meet 3 00:00:47,745 --> 00:00:51,494 the people who spend their time outside and join them in a place 4 00:00:51,526 --> 00:00:52,885 that most inspires them. 5 00:00:58,392 --> 00:01:01,535 Today we're in the heart of South London to meet Lucy and 6 00:01:01,596 --> 00:01:06,543 Yaz, the co-founders of a hiking group for LGBTQ plus women, 7 00:01:06,660 --> 00:01:11,324 trans and non-binary people. After posting a call out on 8 00:01:11,387 --> 00:01:15,348 social media, their hikes were an immediate hit, creating a 9 00:01:15,410 --> 00:01:17,535 much needed community in the outdoors. 10 00:01:18,707 --> 00:01:22,973 They now take over 200 people to natural wonders just a two hour 11 00:01:23,098 --> 00:01:26,754 or less train ride away from London. But it's not always a 12 00:01:26,785 --> 00:01:31,148 picnic. As we walk, we hear about soggy Doc Martins, a 13 00:01:31,206 --> 00:01:34,730 wedding that nearly leaves them stranded in Balcombe, and pride 14 00:01:34,812 --> 00:01:36,394 in unexpected places. 15 00:01:40,339 --> 00:01:42,214 LUCY: I'm Lucy, I'm one of the co-founders of Dykes Who Hike. 16 00:01:43,183 --> 00:01:46,745 It's a LGBTQ plus women, trans non-binary people hiking group 17 00:01:46,886 --> 00:01:48,667 that we founded just over a year ago. 18 00:01:49,511 --> 00:01:52,355 YAS: I'm Yas, one of the co-founders of Dykes Who Hike. 19 00:01:53,073 --> 00:01:57,680 We're in the middle-ish of Clapham Common, kind of near the 20 00:01:57,700 --> 00:02:00,764 boating lake, I don't know if that's a boat making that noise. 21 00:02:00,902 --> 00:02:02,484 Yeah, there's lots of people out walking tonight. 22 00:02:02,485 --> 00:02:05,750 LUCY: It's been a very rainy day, so I think people are 23 00:02:05,751 --> 00:02:07,953 making the most of walking their dogs now. It's not pouring with 24 00:02:07,954 --> 00:02:10,992 rain. You can hear a lot of noises all the time, a lot of 25 00:02:11,016 --> 00:02:12,336 ambulances going past. 26 00:02:12,633 --> 00:02:13,641 YAS: A few Lime bikes. 27 00:02:13,812 --> 00:02:16,953 LUCY: A few near misses of the Lime bikes. It is pretty dark 28 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:18,719 right now. It's quite cute because you can see all the 29 00:02:18,734 --> 00:02:20,844 lights. I was thinking actually, when you look that way, 30 00:02:21,219 --> 00:02:23,500 Clapham's looking quite beautiful and the reflection of 31 00:02:23,501 --> 00:02:25,962 the water and stuff like that. But it is very dark. I'm 32 00:02:26,001 --> 00:02:27,622 grateful for the streetlights. 33 00:02:28,665 --> 00:02:32,067 YAS: You're much more optimistic about the dark nights than me. 34 00:02:32,126 --> 00:02:35,548 LUCY: There's something I like about the dark. I just really 35 00:02:35,610 --> 00:02:38,094 like being part of something and seeing how many cars are 36 00:02:38,095 --> 00:02:39,110 constantly travelling. 37 00:02:39,891 --> 00:02:42,032 When I was little, I used to live in the middle of nowhere 38 00:02:42,516 --> 00:02:45,172 and I'd wake up in the middle of night and I'd still be able to 39 00:02:45,204 --> 00:02:48,579 hear some cars go past and I'd be like, OK, someone else is 40 00:02:48,580 --> 00:02:51,032 awake at the moment. And it kind of feels like that, where you're 41 00:02:51,033 --> 00:02:53,640 in the middle of... something but you know there's still 42 00:02:53,861 --> 00:02:55,601 everyone out there living their own life. 43 00:02:57,661 --> 00:03:00,642 YAS: It does feel like that when you can see, I don't know a big 44 00:03:00,704 --> 00:03:03,282 distance or see loads of cars go by a lot of life being lived 45 00:03:03,759 --> 00:03:04,259 around here. 46 00:03:05,845 --> 00:03:08,970 LUCY: Last year, one of my main new years resolutions was that I 47 00:03:08,971 --> 00:03:11,486 just kind of wanted to meet more queer people. So, I joined a 48 00:03:11,611 --> 00:03:14,720 basketball team for queer people and that's where I met Yas. 49 00:03:15,251 --> 00:03:19,626 And I remember we did the session, and I'm just like not 50 00:03:19,673 --> 00:03:23,471 very gifted in the sports world but I do really enjoy it. But, I 51 00:03:23,472 --> 00:03:25,592 remember just feeling like it was really fun it didn't really 52 00:03:25,631 --> 00:03:29,092 matter if you were good or you were bad And I met Yas literally 53 00:03:29,093 --> 00:03:31,155 was it the first week we literally went to the pub 54 00:03:31,702 --> 00:03:34,405 It's funny because you said before that you saw me and 55 00:03:34,585 --> 00:03:36,920 thought I wanted to be your friend but I saw you and I was 56 00:03:36,967 --> 00:03:37,999 like I want to be Yazs's friend 57 00:03:39,249 --> 00:03:41,842 Yeah we just started seeing each other every week at basketball 58 00:03:41,843 --> 00:03:44,249 and to be honest like we organized a hiking group I don't 59 00:03:44,250 --> 00:03:46,420 think we'd ever hung out outside of basketball 60 00:03:46,952 --> 00:03:50,289 YAS: We just sort of started it half as a joke. We're like, if 61 00:03:50,369 --> 00:03:52,191 nothing else, we'll just go for a nice walk. 62 00:03:52,631 --> 00:03:56,615 LUCY: Yeah. Some of it was I'd moved to London not that long 63 00:03:56,654 --> 00:03:59,861 ago, but I started to realise there's so many places that are 64 00:03:59,862 --> 00:04:02,658 so close to London that are really easy to get to, and I 65 00:04:02,659 --> 00:04:05,658 wanted to see them. But also just wanting to meet new people 66 00:04:05,689 --> 00:04:06,408 and get outside. 67 00:04:06,892 --> 00:04:09,220 There's loads of things out there now to try and meet new 68 00:04:09,283 --> 00:04:11,830 people, but at this time, at least, when we were setting it 69 00:04:11,846 --> 00:04:14,767 up, it felt like a lot of them were quite alcohol-based or 70 00:04:14,908 --> 00:04:18,377 nightlife-based, and we almost wanted something during the day. 71 00:04:18,944 --> 00:04:22,385 And hiking felt like a good..... good opportunity to tick a lot 72 00:04:22,405 --> 00:04:24,465 of things off our list. 73 00:04:24,465 --> 00:04:27,227 YAS: We both wanted to do more hiking but we just wanted to do 74 00:04:27,305 --> 00:04:31,906 it with the kinds of people that we would play basketball with. 75 00:04:31,906 --> 00:04:33,703 And we're like wouldn't it be great just to go hiking but with 76 00:04:33,704 --> 00:04:36,563 this lot. And kind of funny we were at the pub chatting about 77 00:04:36,625 --> 00:04:38,875 it and there was a few other people at the table that were 78 00:04:38,953 --> 00:04:40,672 like, "yeah yeah we'll go on the hike." 79 00:04:40,672 --> 00:04:42,953 And then when we actually did the hike none of them came and 80 00:04:42,954 --> 00:04:45,625 it was all just strangers of TikTok that came and like none 81 00:04:45,626 --> 00:04:48,881 of our actual friends were there. I mean, they've all come 82 00:04:48,882 --> 00:04:49,802 on something now, but... 83 00:04:51,045 --> 00:04:53,748 Yeah, on the first one, it was all just people on the internet 84 00:04:53,767 --> 00:04:57,713 that kind of had the same, I guess, desire to just meet new 85 00:04:57,759 --> 00:04:59,041 people and go for a walk. 86 00:04:59,377 --> 00:05:02,350 LUCY: Yeah. If you're going on a hike it feels a lot easier to 87 00:05:02,369 --> 00:05:04,891 kind of like meet people and have conversations and like it 88 00:05:04,910 --> 00:05:07,055 actually feels easier to get to know people because I think 89 00:05:07,114 --> 00:05:10,059 sometimes if you're meeting up and you kind of go to the pub or 90 00:05:10,060 --> 00:05:12,481 whatever and you sit down you're sat and that's it. 91 00:05:12,482 --> 00:05:16,942 Because actually, if you're on a hike you're moving every minute 92 00:05:16,943 --> 00:05:19,114 and there's always something new to see and something new to talk 93 00:05:19,145 --> 00:05:22,051 about. If you're not necessarily vibing with someone you can like 94 00:05:22,067 --> 00:05:25,145 tie up your shoelace and then meet other people on the hike. 95 00:05:25,146 --> 00:05:26,239 YAS: A tactical shoelace. 96 00:05:26,239 --> 00:05:27,192 LUCY: A Tactical shoelace. 97 00:05:27,584 --> 00:05:29,586 If anyone listens and sees us tie their shoelace. 98 00:05:29,705 --> 00:05:31,248 YAS: Yeah, maybe wear velcro from now on. 99 00:05:32,947 --> 00:05:36,674 When we go on one of our walks, it kind of feels like a big 100 00:05:36,815 --> 00:05:40,721 school trip. There's kind of about 200 people, everyone 101 00:05:40,722 --> 00:05:44,096 brings their packed lunch and we all get the train together and 102 00:05:44,143 --> 00:05:48,612 then we just go for a big walk. In the summer, we do lots of 103 00:05:48,627 --> 00:05:53,049 coastal walks, so we end up in the sea. And then go to the pub 104 00:05:53,127 --> 00:05:55,533 afterwards. But yeah, it's just like a big joyous affair, 105 00:05:55,612 --> 00:05:55,815 really. 106 00:05:57,324 --> 00:06:01,228 The feeling when you get to the meeting point or like you see 107 00:06:01,267 --> 00:06:04,150 everyone on the train, in the beginning I found it so 108 00:06:04,533 --> 00:06:05,314 nerve-wracking. 109 00:06:05,510 --> 00:06:10,080 I was just like oh my gosh all of these people, this is kind of 110 00:06:10,299 --> 00:06:13,080 overwhelming but also just really heartwarming because 111 00:06:13,182 --> 00:06:16,369 everyone's just smiling and like everyone's chatting and over 112 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,291 half come on their own and it's really cute to see that like 113 00:06:19,447 --> 00:06:24,353 right from the get-go everyone's just chatting and open to making 114 00:06:24,463 --> 00:06:25,713 friends and connections and stuff. 115 00:06:28,692 --> 00:06:31,912 Our first walk was the Seven Sisters hike from Seaford to 116 00:06:31,953 --> 00:06:32,392 Eastbourne. 117 00:06:33,154 --> 00:06:35,513 LUCY: It's like 21 kilometres or something like that, like it is 118 00:06:35,514 --> 00:06:39,174 a long one. And, I mean, spoiler alert, but I think there's eight 119 00:06:39,236 --> 00:06:40,931 sisters that you have to walk up and down. 120 00:06:42,072 --> 00:06:44,728 YAS: I'd started doing that route a lot when I was back home 121 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:47,760 living with my mum and I'd always walk from Eastbourne Town 122 00:06:47,900 --> 00:06:52,181 to Birling Gap or the Cuckmere, I think once. But then when I 123 00:06:52,384 --> 00:06:54,838 said to Lucy, oh we should do this, it's beautiful, it is a 124 00:06:54,853 --> 00:06:55,353 gorgeous route. 125 00:06:55,354 --> 00:06:57,869 But I forgot that, we wouldn't be coming from Eastbourne, we'd 126 00:06:57,870 --> 00:07:00,492 be coming from Seaford. And there's basically like a massive 127 00:07:00,551 --> 00:07:03,176 river, which I had just completely forgot we would have 128 00:07:03,177 --> 00:07:07,156 to go around. It basically added four kilometres to this already 129 00:07:07,297 --> 00:07:10,985 very lengthy hike. People didn't really realise that we were 130 00:07:11,024 --> 00:07:13,164 actually going to go for a proper walk. People were in 131 00:07:13,165 --> 00:07:14,992 their Converse and Doc Martens. 132 00:07:14,993 --> 00:07:18,867 LUCY: Converse and Doc Martens were working overtime that day. 133 00:07:19,117 --> 00:07:22,227 At that moment I think it had just started pouring rain. There 134 00:07:22,228 --> 00:07:25,117 was like an angry swan and we had to walk past it all and I 135 00:07:25,118 --> 00:07:28,081 remember thinking... This is really interesting, like I'm not 136 00:07:28,161 --> 00:07:31,046 sure what we're doing right now. It all just kind of worked out. 137 00:07:32,046 --> 00:07:35,011 YAS: When people turn up again on a walk, like people that were 138 00:07:35,012 --> 00:07:37,034 on that first walk and then they come to another walk where it 139 00:07:37,035 --> 00:07:40,073 was like, wow, you have a lot of trust in us that you came back. 140 00:07:40,597 --> 00:07:42,058 We learned a lot of lessons that day. 141 00:07:43,269 --> 00:07:45,503 LUCY: Yeah, we're in the middle of Clapham Common. I feel like 142 00:07:45,504 --> 00:07:47,941 this is the heart of Clapham Common. It's weird to see it 143 00:07:47,956 --> 00:07:50,019 kind of quiet because normally when I come around here, it's 144 00:07:50,050 --> 00:07:52,206 like buzzing, like you're lucky to get a bench. 145 00:07:52,706 --> 00:07:56,292 We've got the big grandstand, I guess. I've seen people do... 146 00:07:56,312 --> 00:08:00,114 gymnastics and band performances and stuff on there which is 147 00:08:00,115 --> 00:08:03,173 really cool. And then they're a lovely little cafe where you can 148 00:08:03,454 --> 00:08:07,618 sit outside in the summer like listen to music and all these 149 00:08:07,634 --> 00:08:08,696 lmassive trees. 150 00:08:08,696 --> 00:08:09,438 YAS: Some big trees 151 00:08:09,759 --> 00:08:13,751 LUCY: Beautiful leaves right now. I wish it hadn't rained 152 00:08:13,782 --> 00:08:16,235 because then they'd be so crunchy to step on which is like 153 00:08:16,313 --> 00:08:19,970 one of my favourite things but alas, it's been raining all day 154 00:08:20,610 --> 00:08:28,100 it's not quite the same..... but still pretty. 155 00:08:28,100 --> 00:08:31,224 I moved to London and I was like, OK, well, I've heard the 156 00:08:31,244 --> 00:08:34,486 word Clapham before. And then when I was looking through Spare 157 00:08:34,505 --> 00:08:37,330 Room, I saw Clapham Junction and I was like, that sounds similar 158 00:08:37,392 --> 00:08:41,275 to places I've heard in London. So I just got the room and I've 159 00:08:41,276 --> 00:08:43,173 lived in Clapham Junction ever since. 160 00:08:43,197 --> 00:08:46,822 So this is one of my closest parks. So I come here a lot, go 161 00:08:46,853 --> 00:08:49,494 for walks with my friends and my housemates and always get a 162 00:08:49,525 --> 00:08:50,416 coffee and just wander. 163 00:08:50,744 --> 00:08:53,822 I think there's something really nice about that. I try and do 164 00:08:53,838 --> 00:08:56,588 quite a lot of meeting people for a walk and it's quite a good 165 00:08:56,666 --> 00:08:57,761 spot to be able to do that. 166 00:08:58,501 --> 00:09:00,784 YAS: There's a feeling that you get in London parks that does 167 00:09:00,823 --> 00:09:03,126 feel different to parks elsewhere because I think people 168 00:09:03,165 --> 00:09:07,173 are so thankful for the space and the greenery and people are 169 00:09:07,188 --> 00:09:07,892 always using them. 170 00:09:08,431 --> 00:09:11,017 In the summer it looks like a festival or something. No matter 171 00:09:11,018 --> 00:09:13,602 what park you go to, it's always just rammed with picnic blankets 172 00:09:13,634 --> 00:09:15,962 and people catching up and walking. It's nice. 173 00:09:17,337 --> 00:09:20,931 I guess my initial connection to nature, I really didn't have 174 00:09:21,009 --> 00:09:25,431 one. As a kid I was always inside watching TV. It really 175 00:09:25,493 --> 00:09:29,353 wasn't until I was older. And then during one of the 176 00:09:29,596 --> 00:09:33,439 lockdowns, I was listening to a podcast about how being by water 177 00:09:33,459 --> 00:09:34,760 is really good for your mental health. 178 00:09:35,178 --> 00:09:40,068 And then that really sparked for me wanting to go on walks. I 179 00:09:40,069 --> 00:09:42,974 grew up in Eastbourne, so it's coastal. And yeah, being by the 180 00:09:43,006 --> 00:09:47,256 sea was really calming. And that for me was when I really got 181 00:09:47,318 --> 00:09:50,881 into hiking. And if I go on holiday, I always want to try 182 00:09:50,882 --> 00:09:51,834 and get a big walk in. 183 00:09:52,396 --> 00:09:53,896 LUCY: It's kind of funny you're talking about being younger 184 00:09:53,897 --> 00:09:56,130 because I remember when we were little. Me and my little 185 00:09:56,131 --> 00:09:58,876 brother. My mum would be like, go outside and play. And we'd be 186 00:09:58,877 --> 00:10:00,440 like, no, I don't want to go outside. 187 00:10:00,500 --> 00:10:02,662 She basically forced us to go outside for like an hour or 188 00:10:02,663 --> 00:10:05,086 whatever. And in the end, as soon as we were outside, we did 189 00:10:05,145 --> 00:10:09,188 really like it. We'd always play a lot of imaginary games and 190 00:10:09,227 --> 00:10:12,109 stuff like that. But then as I got a bit older, I feel like 191 00:10:12,469 --> 00:10:13,875 it's easier just to stay inside. 192 00:10:14,594 --> 00:10:17,234 I live in the middle of nowhere. I basically had one road that I 193 00:10:17,235 --> 00:10:19,812 could run up for two and a half kilometres and then I'd turn 194 00:10:19,844 --> 00:10:21,922 around and just run back and that was as far as it got. 195 00:10:22,328 --> 00:10:26,250 And it wasn't actually until lockdown that I was back in 196 00:10:26,281 --> 00:10:29,260 Suffolk. And, I suddenly realised there were so many 197 00:10:29,300 --> 00:10:31,861 public footpaths around my house that I'd never really noticed. 198 00:10:32,302 --> 00:10:35,603 And so every day I'd do one of those footpaths. 199 00:10:36,166 --> 00:10:39,806 Since then I've just always wanted to be outside in some 200 00:10:39,861 --> 00:10:44,884 form. Even in London, if there's a way I can cut some of the tube 201 00:10:44,900 --> 00:10:47,791 journey and do some of it walking instead. Just being 202 00:10:47,838 --> 00:10:52,369 outside, just trying to get some form of fresh air I think is 203 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:56,119 really nice. It just makes me feel better set up for the day. 204 00:10:59,032 --> 00:11:01,175 CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Dykes Who Hike was always meant to create 205 00:11:01,195 --> 00:11:05,480 community, but it's exploded in popularity. The first hike had 206 00:11:05,597 --> 00:11:11,206 60 attendees, the second had over 200. What is clear is that 207 00:11:11,245 --> 00:11:15,769 this space for LGBTQ plus women and trans non-binary people is 208 00:11:15,831 --> 00:11:18,894 not just creating community in London, it's giving them an 209 00:11:18,910 --> 00:11:22,472 opportunity to see places they might otherwise never see. 210 00:11:24,175 --> 00:11:26,732 LUCY: A lot of the time I think people I'm really excited about 211 00:11:26,733 --> 00:11:31,293 the opportunity to go to new places and be around all of 212 00:11:31,294 --> 00:11:33,434 these beautiful sites that they might not have even known 213 00:11:33,594 --> 00:11:34,196 existed. 214 00:11:34,696 --> 00:11:37,657 I think that's sometimes quite nice when we go on hikes that we 215 00:11:37,711 --> 00:11:41,516 hadn't even heard of before. It's really nice to suddenly 216 00:11:41,774 --> 00:11:44,196 unlock a new place that you never realised was just an hour 217 00:11:44,243 --> 00:11:45,336 from London or something like that. 218 00:11:47,477 --> 00:11:50,133 I always get really excited before a hike because you never 219 00:11:50,180 --> 00:11:52,414 quite know what's going to happen and who's going to be 220 00:11:52,524 --> 00:11:54,861 there. The connections you're going to make and the things 221 00:11:54,862 --> 00:11:55,401 you're going to see. 222 00:11:56,201 --> 00:11:59,820 I remember on our second hike, actually we stopped at a 223 00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:03,262 National Trust lighthouse and we stopped there for lunch and 224 00:12:03,559 --> 00:12:06,402 there was obviously over 200 of us and we took up all this 225 00:12:06,660 --> 00:12:08,824 grassy space and we were sitting, eating our picnics and 226 00:12:08,825 --> 00:12:10,371 everyone was just having such a good time. 227 00:12:10,372 --> 00:12:13,824 We were doing handstands in the grass and it was so beautiful 228 00:12:14,012 --> 00:12:17,262 and the people working at the National Trust were like, oh, 229 00:12:17,309 --> 00:12:18,418 what's going on? Who are you? 230 00:12:18,512 --> 00:12:21,840 And we said, we're Dykes Who Hike and this older guy who was 231 00:12:21,887 --> 00:12:25,805 working there ran inside and ran back out with loads of pride 232 00:12:25,824 --> 00:12:29,426 flags and he was wearing a pride t-shirt over his shirt that he'd 233 00:12:29,445 --> 00:12:33,066 like found and he brought it out for us all. And we all got a 234 00:12:33,090 --> 00:12:35,809 photo in front of the lighthouse of all these big flags and 235 00:12:36,387 --> 00:12:39,629 everyone was like so excited and it was just one of those things 236 00:12:39,630 --> 00:12:42,363 that you would never expect and we would never have imagined 237 00:12:42,364 --> 00:12:44,410 that that would have happened that day when you're getting the 238 00:12:44,411 --> 00:12:47,973 train on the way up but it was one of those moments that was so 239 00:12:48,176 --> 00:12:48,582 special. 240 00:12:49,457 --> 00:12:51,410 YAS: I think that's always a really heartwarming thing. 241 00:12:51,976 --> 00:12:54,078 Especially when it's people that are just like members of the 242 00:12:54,098 --> 00:12:57,402 public or in this instance like someone who just happened to be 243 00:12:57,481 --> 00:13:00,867 working at a place that we were passing by that day. 244 00:13:00,867 --> 00:13:03,727 And when you interact with them and it's like not just a nice 245 00:13:03,766 --> 00:13:07,734 reaction it's like here we'll put these flags out for you like 246 00:13:07,750 --> 00:13:11,133 they're not for us they're for like everyone. It's forming 247 00:13:11,180 --> 00:13:14,398 connections with people that you didn't expect to. I think those 248 00:13:14,414 --> 00:13:16,164 are like really heartwarming moments for me. 249 00:13:17,086 --> 00:13:20,481 LUCY: Yeah that's really special. We just get so many 250 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:23,141 nice comments of people saying that they just feel really 251 00:13:23,420 --> 00:13:24,600 thankful for the space. 252 00:13:25,119 --> 00:13:27,260 YAS: Because a lot of these places are just small towns and 253 00:13:27,261 --> 00:13:31,026 they'll have one or two pubs in them. And we always phone up the 254 00:13:31,041 --> 00:13:34,205 pub beforehand and book a space. And that's always so funny when 255 00:13:34,206 --> 00:13:37,463 you're like, oh yeah, we're this LGBTQ plus walking group called 256 00:13:37,479 --> 00:13:41,088 Dykes Who Hike, and can we book a pub garden for 150 people? 257 00:13:41,572 --> 00:13:45,244 And then one pub we turned up to, they'd put all these pride 258 00:13:45,260 --> 00:13:48,777 flags out for us. And like they called all the local lesbians 259 00:13:48,796 --> 00:13:50,257 from the town to come out. 260 00:13:51,939 --> 00:13:54,618 LUCY: We actually crashed a local wedding because it was 261 00:13:54,638 --> 00:13:58,458 this tiny village and it had a pub and it had a social club. 262 00:13:58,841 --> 00:14:02,036 And the social club, half of it was a pub that had a pool table 263 00:14:02,037 --> 00:14:04,216 and the other half was like a wedding venue. So there was a 264 00:14:04,247 --> 00:14:06,419 wedding going on in that side, but the local lesbians took us 265 00:14:06,622 --> 00:14:10,747 there. We've got photos of the last of the hikers and the local 266 00:14:10,763 --> 00:14:12,966 lesbians and all of these random bridesmaids. 267 00:14:13,341 --> 00:14:15,877 It's so random. But it was fun. 268 00:14:15,877 --> 00:14:18,919 YAS: It's all community building. 269 00:14:18,919 --> 00:14:21,142 LUCY: And actually that kind of reminds me of a few comments 270 00:14:21,161 --> 00:14:23,282 we've had from people before when they say they've never had 271 00:14:23,767 --> 00:14:27,188 queer representation in this part of the world or whatever 272 00:14:27,688 --> 00:14:30,938 and all of a sudden there's 150 of us right there where they've 273 00:14:30,939 --> 00:14:32,267 like grown up. 274 00:14:32,267 --> 00:14:36,938 If I was 15 and I saw 150 LGBTQ plus women trans non-binary 275 00:14:36,939 --> 00:14:40,704 people walk past my house I think I would die. 276 00:14:40,704 --> 00:14:43,072 Like it's crazy to actually think about it. 277 00:14:43,072 --> 00:14:46,896 I think sometimes if someone's suggested a hike to us, that's 278 00:14:46,937 --> 00:14:49,980 always really fun because they know it really well. And a lot 279 00:14:49,981 --> 00:14:52,620 of the time we'll have someone who's like, oh, this is near 280 00:14:52,644 --> 00:14:55,667 where I live. I can run the route for you. Which is nice 281 00:14:55,668 --> 00:14:57,910 because we like to have a navigator on the hike because 282 00:14:57,911 --> 00:14:59,847 we're not as good as reading maps. 283 00:15:00,188 --> 00:15:04,112 YAS: I'm really bad at reading maps actually, yeah quite bad. 284 00:15:04,113 --> 00:15:04,813 LUCY: It's not our talent. 285 00:15:04,814 --> 00:15:06,594 YAS: No, it's not. But some people love it and are really 286 00:15:06,633 --> 00:15:10,141 good at it and it's really nice when someone's really proud of 287 00:15:10,180 --> 00:15:13,500 their town and they're like, oh yeah my friend works at the cafe 288 00:15:14,243 --> 00:15:17,672 or the pub and we can do a stop there and that's always really 289 00:15:17,719 --> 00:15:17,907 nice. 290 00:15:18,563 --> 00:15:21,782 LUCY: We also use social media as well and there's a lot of 291 00:15:21,783 --> 00:15:25,672 really great creators who make videos about places that you can 292 00:15:25,719 --> 00:15:26,032 get to. 293 00:15:27,891 --> 00:15:31,092 YAS: So, when we set up Dykes Who Hike, It just got so big so 294 00:15:31,233 --> 00:15:34,253 fast that we got a lot of questions about like, oh, can I 295 00:15:34,273 --> 00:15:38,995 bring my friend who's an ally or like my gay male bestie? Which 296 00:15:39,191 --> 00:15:41,738 we had a lot of sympathy for, but there was just so much 297 00:15:42,316 --> 00:15:46,628 demand from queer women, trans and non-binary people. We were, 298 00:15:47,128 --> 00:15:51,191 yeah, let's like prioritise this group of people. Kind of anyone 299 00:15:51,222 --> 00:15:54,738 who identifies with the label dyke is welcome. 300 00:15:55,863 --> 00:15:58,524 Yeah, that was kind of why we capped it as well, because I 301 00:15:58,525 --> 00:16:01,727 think on the second hike we got over 200 people and we couldn't 302 00:16:01,766 --> 00:16:05,212 all fit..... Well, we did all fit but it was like sardines on 303 00:16:05,213 --> 00:16:09,294 the train like over to Dover and then the train conductor 304 00:16:09,356 --> 00:16:11,575 couldn't reach their telephone to do the announcement. So we 305 00:16:11,576 --> 00:16:14,926 had to like pass it along like a line of us and they just found 306 00:16:14,927 --> 00:16:17,661 it really funny how many of us there were on the train. 307 00:16:18,989 --> 00:16:20,942 LUCY: And I think there's something nice about yeah 308 00:16:21,083 --> 00:16:25,712 knowing that you're in a space where you can kind of just be 309 00:16:25,832 --> 00:16:29,094 fully yourself without having to have the initial kind of 310 00:16:29,977 --> 00:16:31,317 conversation. 311 00:16:31,317 --> 00:16:35,743 YAS: Like you don't have to explain the details or things 312 00:16:35,821 --> 00:16:39,009 that just come with being queer. Like you just don't have to 313 00:16:39,024 --> 00:16:41,876 think about it when you're surrounded by those people and 314 00:16:42,563 --> 00:16:44,532 you're not othered because there's just so many different 315 00:16:44,829 --> 00:16:47,891 ways of being a queer person. 316 00:16:47,891 --> 00:16:50,954 You see that every type when you're in a group of that size 317 00:16:51,016 --> 00:16:55,704 so that's kind of why we we did it I guess it's just like to 318 00:16:55,984 --> 00:16:59,107 create a space for just that group of people. 319 00:16:59,808 --> 00:17:02,269 LUCY: Yeah, and I feel like there's something really nice 320 00:17:02,289 --> 00:17:04,515 about when people say about how they've never really been in a 321 00:17:04,531 --> 00:17:08,000 space with that many other people like them, especially 322 00:17:08,039 --> 00:17:10,218 outside, like when you're not in a club or whatever. 323 00:17:10,617 --> 00:17:12,765 And so I think that's really nice and kind of a space that's 324 00:17:12,796 --> 00:17:15,718 quite treasured. I think people are often surprised by the 325 00:17:15,719 --> 00:17:17,500 amount of people that do come on the hikes, but there is 326 00:17:17,546 --> 00:17:20,250 something really powerful in feeling like a big group where 327 00:17:20,312 --> 00:17:22,656 you're all on a similar vibe. 328 00:17:23,052 --> 00:17:25,175 And yeah, you are able to go into spaces that you might 329 00:17:25,394 --> 00:17:28,495 normally feel a bit weird in yourself, but suddenly it 330 00:17:28,496 --> 00:17:32,519 doesn't feel that scary because you're all surrounded by so many 331 00:17:32,558 --> 00:17:36,269 people who are so confident in themselves. It just like rubs 332 00:17:36,308 --> 00:17:37,410 off on you, you know? 333 00:17:38,425 --> 00:17:41,503 YAS: The thing I always think about is I have like a bit of a 334 00:17:41,550 --> 00:17:43,113 fear of public transport. 335 00:17:43,613 --> 00:17:46,910 And I had an incident on a bus a few years ago where basically 336 00:17:46,972 --> 00:17:51,738 just these like two random guys went a bit on a homophobic rage 337 00:17:51,816 --> 00:17:55,967 at like me and my girlfriend at the time. And I think since then 338 00:17:56,006 --> 00:17:59,112 I've just been a lot more aware of being like oh try and fly 339 00:17:59,190 --> 00:18:02,276 under the radar or something on public transport. 340 00:18:02,276 --> 00:18:06,135 But then yeah when we get the train back from a hike and 341 00:18:06,136 --> 00:18:10,877 there's like a hundred of us or whoever's left and like we're 342 00:18:10,878 --> 00:18:13,908 all having some tinnies and eating our fish and chips on the 343 00:18:13,924 --> 00:18:18,190 train...... not being rowdy but being like loud like people are 344 00:18:18,191 --> 00:18:21,252 like chatting or singing or playing music or something..... 345 00:18:21,252 --> 00:18:24,571 and then I'm not worried at all, like it's never even crossed my 346 00:18:24,610 --> 00:18:26,854 mind. What are they going to do, there's like 50 of us. 347 00:18:28,975 --> 00:18:31,580 LUCY: I think people who aren't in the community might not 348 00:18:31,635 --> 00:18:36,120 always understand why the hiking group is so important to us and 349 00:18:36,121 --> 00:18:39,112 to lots of different people and I think sometimes people might 350 00:18:39,127 --> 00:18:43,534 not quite get how important it is but it's not just going out 351 00:18:43,862 --> 00:18:44,502 with the dykes. 352 00:18:44,534 --> 00:18:46,409 Like a lot of people always joke that their dad was like oh 353 00:18:46,424 --> 00:18:48,330 you're going out on the dykes tonight, da da da da. 354 00:18:48,940 --> 00:18:52,717 But actually it's a deeper feeling of... finding people 355 00:18:52,737 --> 00:18:54,258 that you can just exist with. 356 00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:00,504 SPK_3: I think one of the most important things about creating 357 00:19:00,746 --> 00:19:05,848 community outside is when you're outside, you enjoy it even more 358 00:19:05,973 --> 00:19:09,480 because you're getting to see so many beautiful things whilst 359 00:19:09,496 --> 00:19:12,215 this beautiful thing between you and these people is happening. 360 00:19:12,777 --> 00:19:15,918 YAS: I think someone's put it really nicely on the second walk 361 00:19:15,980 --> 00:19:19,746 where they said that normally they're just used to going to 362 00:19:19,747 --> 00:19:20,949 catch-ups with friends. 363 00:19:21,672 --> 00:19:25,874 But when you spend the whole day together you go beyond all of 364 00:19:25,917 --> 00:19:29,077 that and then you start like actually living life together. I 365 00:19:29,101 --> 00:19:31,023 think was the way that she put it and I was like oh wow that's 366 00:19:31,038 --> 00:19:33,343 very profound. 367 00:19:33,343 --> 00:19:36,710 Oh yeah, we've done a big loop of the park now coming back to 368 00:19:36,726 --> 00:19:42,694 the boating lake where this walk began we can we see some of the 369 00:19:43,148 --> 00:19:47,835 street lamps shimmering in the in the water. 370 00:19:47,835 --> 00:19:49,398 That was a Lime bike going through a puddle. 371 00:19:50,856 --> 00:19:54,506 Which seems to be a real theme of this walk. And also quite 372 00:19:54,507 --> 00:19:58,336 fun, we can see some basketball courts off to the side. And that 373 00:19:58,375 --> 00:20:01,521 also feels full circle because Me and Lucy met at a basketball 374 00:20:01,561 --> 00:20:04,281 club, so really coming back to the roots. 375 00:20:04,602 --> 00:20:07,301 LUCY: I can't believe it's been so well planned to end like 376 00:20:07,302 --> 00:20:07,582 that. 377 00:20:12,141 --> 00:20:15,703 YAS: My hope for the future of Dikes Who Hike is just to have a 378 00:20:15,742 --> 00:20:19,938 group set up in every town and city in the UK, if not the 379 00:20:19,939 --> 00:20:20,203 world. 380 00:20:21,719 --> 00:20:25,531 We've got a few set up across England already, like up in 381 00:20:25,547 --> 00:20:29,737 Manchester and Leeds and Shropshire and Norwich. Yeah, 382 00:20:30,057 --> 00:20:33,143 it's really great when people either come on the walk and then 383 00:20:33,144 --> 00:20:35,909 they think, oh, this is what my town needs. I want to go and 384 00:20:35,928 --> 00:20:39,209 bring it back there. Or they just see it on Instagram and, 385 00:20:39,655 --> 00:20:40,756 yeah, think the same thing. 386 00:20:42,577 --> 00:20:46,108 It's just like this web that can spread and, yeah, hopefully 387 00:20:46,186 --> 00:20:48,124 people can find a few more friends out of it. 388 00:20:58,712 --> 00:21:00,294 CLAIRE HICKINBOTHAM: Thanks for listening to this episode.