Hannah Atkinson has been putting one walking boot in front of the other for the past three years, building an award-winning, inclusive hiking community from the very ground up. She speaks to Rosanna Spence about Queer Hiking Bristol’s swift ascent in popularity and why these groups are so important for people who experience barriers accessing outdoor spaces. Image above: Emli Bendixen (@emlibendixen)
Imagine it’s a Saturday morning. You fancy going for a hike, so pull on your boots without much thought, grab a lightweight waterproof, perhaps sling a backpack over your shoulder and head out with friends or family once you’ve checked the weather and chosen a route. For many people who enjoy nothing more than finding their next adventure along a walking trail, this entire process might feel seamless. But what if each of those steps came with some friction? The gear might feel prohibitively expensive if it’s been difficult to maintain job security, transport becomes tricky with no access to a car, plus the social setting could feel intimidating and the space itself potentially unsafe.
As Hannah Atkinson, founder of Queer Hiking Bristol tells us, for some Queer people, and particularly those in the Trans community and Queer people of colour – it’s not just unpredictable weather that might stand in the way of a hike; there can be this patchwork of obstructions to navigate too, ranging from mildly inconvenient to incredibly exhausting.
Queer Hiking Bristol aims to build bridges over these barriers that exist before the boots even go on for many people in the community, instead creating a positive, safe and welcoming space for people to access the great outdoors near and far.
When asked how the group began three years ago, Hannah is refreshingly honest about its origins.
“I feel like I’ve been asked this question quite a lot, and I should have come up with a really inspirational answer, but actually, I just wanted some people to go on walks with, and I’m Queer – and that’s how it came about. It was January and lots of my friends who I went walking with regularly had moved out of Bristol, and I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to try and find a group that I can join’, and then I noticed that there wasn’t really a Queer space for that. So, I thought I’d try and start a little group and see what happened.”
At the time, Hannah’s expectations were initially modest: “I thought perhaps 10 people would come and that’ll be it, a very small thing. But it wasn’t; it just skyrocketed. So, I set up an Instagram account and a logo – I think we had around 100 followers before I’d even made the first post.”
Three years on, Queer Hiking Bristol is no longer a “little group”. It’s a thriving, volunteer-led community with hundreds of members, a packed calendar, national connections and a growing reputation as a model for inclusive outdoor organising.
Mind the gap
The rapid growth enjoyed by Queer Hiking Bristol hasn’t been by chance. As Hannah explains, the group recognised a need that wasn’t being met elsewhere: “I think I just really tapped into a bit of a gap in the market. There’s Bristol Hiker Girls, which is quite a big group for women, and then I think there were a couple of small walking groups that seemed to be targeted at gay men. And I wanted a space for any person who identified as Queer to be able to join. Although there are a few Queer outdoorsy groups located around the country that have taken off, Bristol was missing one at the time.”
Since then, Queer Hiking Bristol has become part of a wider informal network of Queer outdoor groups across the UK, linking up for joint walks and trips.
“We’ve met up with a few of these groups; we went to the Peak District, Cheddar Gorge with Queer Hikes South Wales, and we’re going to Cornwall in the summer (date TBC) as the Truro Queers group, which also organises hikes, wants to meet up.”
With this growth came greater complexity, which has led to a subtle shift in Hannah’s role over time, from solo hike organiser “for pretty much the first year” to operating with a more shared leadership of walks when she realised “I needed help with that”.
“As we’ve evolved, I’ve learned a lot. We’ve got more safety things in place. Nearly all of our leaders are first aid trained, for example, and we’re looking at funding some navigation training for them soon. I’ve got maybe 15 volunteer leaders at the moment who can dip in and out of leading hikes every month, and now we always have two on each walk.”
This growth has also been supported by external funding and careful financial stewardship – with the rewards being funnelled back into the group to further enhance support for its members.
“We’ve had some funding from the National Lottery Awards for All, which has been great, and some from Quartet Community Foundation, which is Bristol-based. And we’ve also made some money from our events by accident, really. I’ve been careful to make sure that we cover costs, and left a bit of a buffer.”
The group’s official kit fund addresses one of the most tangible barriers to outdoor access.
“We want to make sure that we’re making the group as accessible and inclusive as possible. You don’t need lots of fancy gear for hiking, but there are a couple of essential things I think everyone should have and we want to help people to get them. So, we are using that money we’ve made over the last couple of years for a kit fund that people can apply to if they need new hiking gear – like walking boots and a good walking jacket – because it’s expensive.”
These boots were made for walking
Across the year, Queer Hiking Bristol runs a varied programme of walks, led by trained volunteers, with an emphasis on approachability. Walks are clearly described in advance, including distance, terrain, pace, and transport options. There are also “quiet walks” designed for people who want a lower-social-pressure experience – something that can be particularly important for those who are Neurodivergent, anxious or simply seeking a different way to engage with the outdoors. Crucially, many walks are planned to be accessible via public transport, reducing reliance on cars and lowering another common barrier to participation; and when it comes to which routes are most popular, a few locations consistently stand out.
“Anything around Bath or Saltford,” Hannah confirms. “And there’s a place called Kelston Roundhill Walk on the Cotswold Way where The Bath Soft Cheese Café is located – we’ve been there a few times and that’s always a popular one.” She laughs, joking: “…Nothing to do with the cheese, obviously!”
Walks by the coast also tend to prove popular (“Clevedon, Weston-super-Mare and Portishead”) and the group organises city hikes on summer evenings too (“Plus we explore lots of local green spaces like Clifton Down and Ashton Court”), which always do well as people find it easier to slot in some activity for a few hours after work, rather than setting aside an entire day.
Feeling the benefits
At its core, Queer Hiking Bristol is about more than walking; Hannah knows that there are huge social, mental and emotional benefits to the group too – even if you want to come along, wear a pair of headphones and feel absolutely yourself.
“What we hope people get out of it is kind of an appreciation and access to green spaces, being outside, getting some movement – all those things are super important for your mental health.” She speaks candidly about the restorative power of the walks, even for her as a leader. “There have been so many times when I’ve woken up and not wanted to go and lead a walk because it was raining or I’ve been tired or whatever, but then I go and just feel so much better.”
The future looks busy for Hannah and the group. March and April walks are coming up, alongside volunteering opportunities, more targeted events and an ambitious programme of trips.
“We’re hoping to do kind of a series of events that are a bit more targeted to different demographics,” she adds. “We’d like to reach out to more specific groups and have walks that are specific to students, younger people or people over 45 or 50, for example, people of colour and Disabled Queers. We want to really try and make sure that we’re including everyone as well as we can.” There are also more weekenders and international trips (Madeira in March and another mountain on the horizon for 2027, having already conquered one in Morrocco last year) in the pipeline.
Queer Hiking Bristol’s continued growth and success that has blossomed into so much more than a walking group feels quietly radical in a landscape where carefree access to the outdoors is still uneven for many communities. But for now, Hannah’s message for curious newcomers is simple: “We try and keep all our walks as open as possible, so people can just turn up on the day and not have to pre-register (though sometimes we need to ticket events when we have to control numbers).
“We really are always super welcoming of new people and especially people turning up on their own; we’re very friendly and there will definitely be other people in the same boat.”
queerhikingbristol.co.uk | @queerhikingbristol
