The Covid pandemic and lockdowns ruined many lives, but every cloud has a silver lining, or at least that’s the philosophy of Errol Hamlet, a son of Carriacou in the Grenadines who’s spent most of his life in Huddersfield. Lockdown confinement was driving Errol nuts but, out of curiosity, he joined a neighbour who was spending her 60-minute outdoor exercise allowance walking local footpaths.

Errol had never seen the point of walking for the sake of it – until he started walking. It filled him with energy and optimism, chasing away many of the physical and mental ailments that had been dogging him. Errol has lived with prostate cancer for over a decade, as well as having hip and knee replacements. He also tragically lost his wife suddenly to cancer 2 years ago. Walking also appealed to Errol’s inquisitive and sociable nature as he realised that, once off the beaten track, he knew very little of the town that had been his home for over 50 years.

As lockdown eased, other West Indian seniors joined Errol and were hooked and, before long, they were walking most days of the week. But they avoided “Funeral Fridays” which have, in the Caribbean community become the fixture for regular and numerous requiems. They had a stark realisation that, owing to a cocktail of chronic conditions, a whole generation of their retirement-age contemporaries were disappearing, before they’d had the chance to enjoy their leisure time. Walking, they realised, really changes lives.

And so the We In Front walking group was born. After getting wet feet a few times, the early members all piled into a specialist outdoor shop, and asked what they needed to survive on the hills. Togged out in sturdy boots, waterproofs and with sticks, there’s now virtually no kind of weather Yorkshire can throw at the group that will deter us from walking.

Originally with no concept of rights of way or ordnance survey maps, the group got lost a lot, so they always tried to stay in sight of Huddersfield’s major landmark of Castle Hill. Occasionally getting into scrapes with landowners and farmers, it is Errol’s bonhomie that always ensures such encounters end with smiles all round.

A few years on and people of all ethnicities and backgrounds have been welcomed into the group, although the vibe is still mainly West Indians in their 50s, 60s and 70s determined to have a good time in the fresh air.

History of the Group

We love a bit of publicity. In January Clare Balding visited and walked with us for her “Ramblings” Saturday morning radio 4 programme, the podcast is available on BBC Sounds listen, it gives a great flavour of what we are about.