Plus-size walkers seek to improve access to the great outdoors

From the blustery, rugged footpaths of the coast, to the green, meandering routes of the Dales, Yorkshire is seemingly a county made for walkers.

But, according to one campaign group, not everybody feels welcome to lace up their walking boots and explore.

We joined Claire Wood, who is from Manchester and Clare Birnie, from Bradford, on a sunny autumn walk around Swinsty Reservoir near Harrogate to learn more about their plus-size outdoor experiences.

The women are part of the Yorkshire branch of Every Body Outdoors – a group dedicated to improving access to the great outdoors for plus-size people.

“There is no competitive element, we’re not racing, we’ve got no target,” Ms Wood said.

“It’s literally just because outdoor spaces are traditionally not welcoming for those of us in bigger bodies.”

The 45-year-old has enjoyed walking all her life because she grew up with dogs.

She said she had never tried to join a “traditional” walking group because she assumed she would slow everybody down and was worried that she would need to stop for a rest while the rest of the group carried on without her.

Ms Birnie, 40, who described herself as a “comfortably fat woman”, recalled a time when she tried to join a walking group.

She said: “I’m actually quite an experienced walker with my husband, we’ve been going out for 15 years, but I wanted to go on a group hike.

“I contacted the organiser and said, ‘by the way I’m in a bigger body, I am capable and happy walking a distance and I can absolutely achieve what we’re looking to do, but I just will be slower’.”

“It felt like they didn’t even look at what I’d written,” she said angrily when referring to a walk she went on with the group.

“Within the first 200m they had just bounded off with the rest of the group and it made me feel very unwelcome.

“It made me feel very excluded and I got very upset during the day.”

But then she discovered the Every Body Outdoors group and has since become one of its volunteers.

The organisation currently runs 26 walking groups across the UK and plans to expand into other activities, such as climbing, over the next few years.

It also campaigns for clothing, gear and representation for plus-size bodies in the outdoor movement.

Ms Wood said there was a lack of outdoor clothing available for plus-size people.

“We have money to spend, there’s money to be made, we want to buy these things, we need these things,” she added.

Ms Birnie, who started a plus-size sewing pattern company, said finding outdoor clothing that would fit was so difficult, she started making her own.

“I made waterproof over-trousers, actual walking trousers, some gaiters, which are the lower leg protection – because I couldn’t get waterproof trousers that would fit my body, ” she added.

Rebecca Dawson, one of the founders of Every Body Outdoors, set up the clothing company Vampire Outdoors in 2022 – because she was so fed up with not being able to find suitable outdoor clothing that fits plus-size people.

She has been a keen hiker for more than 10 years and said: “It’s 100% a problem.

“There is a size bias to people doing outdoor activities.

“A lot of clothing manufacturers and retailers don’t recognise that people in bigger bodies want to do outdoor activities, including the more adventurous things like long-distance hiking and mountaineering.”

She said there was some entry-level clothing in larger sizes in some shops, but for anything more advanced above a size 20 the choice was “severely lacking”.

Another small family run business, Topsy Curvy, which is based in Manchester, was set up by Jo Frost in 2013, because at 25 years old she struggled to buy clothes in stores and online that would fit.

She said there was “definitely” an issue for plus-size people being able to access outdoor clothing that fitted, in particular waterproof clothing.

“Outdoor clothing and especially waterproof clothing is on our radar and is something we’re hoping to do as a tiny family run business. If we can do it, why can’t the corporations,” she added.

Angela Horner, associate director at the Browns of York department store and one of the founders of York Fashion Week, said: “Retailers are operating to such tight margins, they tend to just operate in the size 8 to 16 market.

“The more size ranges you sell, the more it costs.

“Some manufacturers don’t even make bigger sizes, so it’s hard to get the stock.”

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