28 Oct 2017
Night Walk 2017 – Your Feedback
Thank you for the fantastic response to the Night Walk, and to the survey. As all 80 people who answered the question “should we do it again?” said YES! the 4th Night Walk is confirmed for 12 Oct 2018 – please note in your diary.
You can read all the feedback – and see lots of other graphics – in this report: Night Walk Feedback 2017. Here are some of the conclusions we have drawn for the next Night Walk:
- As before, we will start in the Fentham Hall and include a “pit stop” at St Swithin’s in Barston, but we will vary the route.
- We will choose the route to have as few stiles as possible (and will talk to Solihull MBC about getting those that remain “upgraded” to kissing gates)
- We will have more marshals, including in the Fentham Hall Car Park
- We will have signs for registration etc in Fentham Hall, and may also use the main hall in addition to the Arden Room.
- Previously “walkers can start any time between 7pm and 8pm” was sufficient to spread out the walking “traffic” but we were busier this year so that this informal phasing was not enough. We will figure out some way of inviting walkers to choose a start time.
- We will extend the range of start times to allow more gaps between walkers, and also to allow an earlier start for younger walkers. Current plan is to have walkers start between 6:30pm and 8pm. It will not be dark at 6:30pm, but it will certainly get dark before 6:30pm starters complete the walk..
- It helps us a lot to have people register in advance, so we know how many headtorches, biscuits and so on to buy. Also, it saves hassle at the start for you as a walker, and for us too, at a busy time. So we will look to offer incentives to pre-register, including entry into a prize draw for those that both pre-register and complete the walk.
- We will aim for more twinkling surprises along the route!
Some requests:
- I liked the suggestion of having a quiz or similar for younger walkers to complete, with maybe a “special stamp” to collect from each marshal. If you would like to volunteer to help create such a quiz or challenge, please get in touch.
- Some have requested a clearer map than the OpenStreetMap we used this year, but we are not free to copy and hand out Ordnance Survey maps. If you are sufficiently creative to produce a walking map – perhaps hand-drawn to illustrate the key navigation points (as visible in the dark!) – would you please get in touch?
- How do I make the advance information more accessible so that more people read it? Quite a few questions and requests in the feedback were actually answered in advance on the website and/or in the emails sent in advance, but I recognise that there is a lot of information and the emails were long. Any suggestions?
Very many thanks for taking part, and for all the great feedback.
