How to Organize a Walking Tour

1. Before beginning
It's a good idea, before work begins on the
details of the walking tour, to have a clear idea
of the kind of tour being planned, rather than
having to stop in the middle of the planning
process to re-define the concept. Some of the
plans may change as research moves along,
but on the whole, the basic outline of the tour
should be in place before planning begins. For
example:
SCHEDULING
Is there sufficient time available in which to do
the necessary planning? At least 10 to 12
months are required for a properly researched
tour.
When will the tour take place? (At what time,
how often, on what days, how many days? Will
the tour run throughout the summer, will it be a
"once only" event or will it be an annual
event?)

What provisions can be made in case of bad

weather?
Will tours be booked in advance (and where),
or at the tour locations?
TOUR SITE
How many streets will be covered? Are there
sufficient points of interest along the route?
Can these be covered in the recommended
time (1 1/2 hours)?
Are there adequate parking places? Where will
the group assemble?
Will refreshments be offered?
Is there a telephone nearby, if required?
PURPOSE
A walking tour may be organized for many
reasons, and this may affect the planning.
Some of these are:
To increase historical awareness, both within
the area toured and outside it,
As a means of recruiting new members to a
historical group and increasing that
organization's visibility within the community;

As a fund-raising event;
As a training process - in doing research work,
conducting interviews, preparing publicity, or
acting as guides.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Are there sufficient volunteers available within the organizing group or the community to do the work involved?
EXPENSES
If the walking tour is not being sponsored or
the costs underwritten, some thought should
be given to how the expenses will be met.
While money will be obtained from the sale of
tickets, there will be costs associated with the
production of the tour booklets and publicity
for which funds will have to be available.
Possibilities include grants, donations, fundraising events.

2. PLANNING STAGE
Once the above items have been considered
and the group feels comfortable with concept
of a walking tour, detailed planning can
proceed.
Central Planning Committee

The first step would be to form a central

planning committee. This group will take
charge of the overall planning of the tour and
leave the specific responsibilities to smaller
sub-committees.
The central planning committee should be
composed of people with a wide range of
backgrounds and skills. Its nucleus would be
the original organizing group. There should be
someone familiar with the history of the area
serving on the committee, preferably a local
resident or former resident. Other people from
the area who should be approached to serve
on the committee might include the local
banker, librarian, school principal, storekeeper,
insurance agent, etc. Perhaps a representative
from the local, ward or district could be
persuaded to serve. It is important that the
community become involved in this event,
since its success, will be to the benefit of the
community.
RESEARCH COMMITTEE
The work of this committee will likely be the
most time-consuming and should therefore
begin at once. It will involve reading local
histories, scanning local newspapers,
collecting photographs, interviewing residents,

checking tax rolls, consulting directories, and

generally finding out all that can be discovered
about the area.
Tour Material
Members of this committee will work closely
with the researchers in putting together the
tour booklet and the material for the guides.
The tour booklet will include a map showing
the route of the walking tour, a description of
the buildings, and illustrations (photographs
and sketches). Even though the tour may not
stop at all the buildings along the route
because of time restraints, information should
be included for as many as possible. It may be
interesting to have photographs of some of the
buildings as they originally looked along with
photographs showing how the buildings look at
present. Extracts from newspaper articles or
family diaries might add interest to the
booklet. It is recommended that an architect
be asked to serve on this committee to identify
architectural components of the buildings and
possibly assist with sketches.
Material for the guides should consist of a map
of the route, the scheduled stops, further
detail about the buildings' history,

architecture, construction, or anecdotes about

the occupants.
This committee will be responsible for all
aspects of the production of the tour material:
format, text, graphics, typing and
reproduction. It should consult with the central
committee regarding cost, time requirements,
number of copies to be printed, etc. The tour
material should be available at least one week
before the scheduled tour.
Publicity
This committee will be responsible for
publicizing the walking tour, using local
newspapers, radio and television stations.
Members should be available for interviews, if
required. They should consult with the
research and tour material committees in
producing an attractive poster, perhaps using
an architectural drawing or an old-time
photograph of the area. About 3 to 4 weeks
before the tour, posters should be placed in
prominent locations - shopping centres,
museums, libraries, schools, hotels, and shops
in the area.

This committee will also look after all

directional signs which may be required for
parking, assembly, sales and refreshments.
Finance
A committee will be required to look after the
expenses of the walking tour. Some of the
costs which might possibly be anticipated
include:

Postage
Photocopying
Long distance calls
Photo reproduction
Printing of tour booklet and guides'
booklets
Posters, ads
Equipment rental

Possible sources of revenue are booklet sales

and refreshments. Other sources which should
be investigated include grants (local or
provincial), sponsorships (local organizations),
and donations (hotel restaurants, insurance
companies, real estate companies, printers,
etc.)
PRE-TOUR PREPARATION

The tour material should be available at least

one week before the tour begins. The tour
guides should familiarize themselves with the
route and the details of the buildings. At this
point, changes may have to be made if the tour
appears to be running too long. (The tour will
not likely be able to cover all the buildings, and
people should be encouraged to repeat the
walking tour on another occasion, at a more
leisurely pace.)
All the elements which may be required for the
tour - tables, chairs, sale items, membership
applications, cash box, etc. - should be
available. If necessary, volunteers should be
booked to look after sales, membership
applications, etc.
All the details with regard to the walking tour
should be in place - point of assembly, number
of people in each tour, tour intervals, etc. It is
recommended that the tours not exceed 20
people; anything larger will require the guides
to shout or use a microphone, which is
undesirable both for the guides and listeners.
The guides should be encouraged to add their
own personal remarks to the tour commentary,
and questions and comments from the visitors
should be encouraged. Consideration should be

given to the residents of the area - they should

not be annoyed by traffic, noise or litter.
Post-Tour
After each tour day, the cash will be recorded
and deposited, any litter caused by the tour
should be collected. At the conclusion of the
tour, rented or borrowed items should be
returned, and all invoices paid. Letters of
thanks should be sent to all donors, sponsors,
committee members, volunteers and guides. A
written assessment of the walking tour should
be made, noting what went well or what could
be improved.
++++++++++++++++++++

Walking tours are a great way to learn about the local environment while having fun and
meeting your neighbours
Organizing your own walking tour is fun and rewarding.
Who are you doing it for?
Start planning the walk by thinking about who will be along. If it's families, then it should be

shorter, stroller-accessible and have a focus on very engaging speakers. My tours have been
for journalists from Canada and the United States. This means the speakers need to be
subject experts and at least one needs to be someone in a position of authority. It also
means I need to tell them up-front that the tour is entirely "on the record."
If it's a fitness walk, then it can be a longer route. The Lower Don walk I've done is about 4-5
kilometres with frequent stops to look at wildlife and discuss the river's ecosystem and plans
for it. The walkers are typically 30-55 years old and are usually ready for refreshments by
the end.
All your decisions should flow from an idea of who will be on the walk, what they will want to
learn and whether they're primarily there to learn or to have a nice, social walk.
1. How many speakers should you have?
This depends upon the composition of the group, its size and the goals for the walk.
On my local trail, which is paved and has heavy bicycle traffic, I find that about 15
people, including speakers, will work. Beyond 20 people, I might want to split it into
two groups (and thus double the number of speakers).
In addition to a short introduction by the organizer, for a two-hour walk, I'd suggest
two guest speakers. Even for my groups, which are engaged and there to learn, a
stop of more than 15 minutes is probably too long. Space things out so the group
pauses somewhere appropriate every kilometre or so, step off to the side of the trail
and have discussions there. If it's a family walk, have activities for the kids at some
or all of the stops.
2. Choosing the right speakers
This is vital. For an adult group, choose experts in their fields, but also choose ones
who are engaging, lively speakers. A walking tour is not all about education, it's
largely a social activity and a form of entertainment. Never forget that.
While speakers can overlap in areas of expertise (sometimes they'll play off one
another nicely), don't have two on the same topic. For my last walk, I had a speaker
with a strong interest in ecology and history, and one who is an architect
representing an official agency. Sometimes you might want speakers representing
opposing viewpoints.
For kids, put the emphasis on fun. It's a weekend and we want 'em to enjoy the fresh
air and sunshine, meet some other kids and, if all goes well, absorb a bit of
knowledge along the way. Don't turn nature into a classroom, open it up as a place to
explore.
3. Selecting the Route
In most cases, go for the scenic walk. My Lower Don tours are an exception because
they're designed for people who write about pollution, brownfields, redevelopment
programs and so forth. Most of the time, people will want trees, flowers, wildlife. I like
to start somewhere with a good view of the city or surrounding countryside.
The route should follow a logical course. If it's a historical tour, try to arrange it
chronologically through time or through an event (follow the path of a group of
rebels, for existence). If it's a nature-related walk, follow the edge of a river or
escarpment and avoid roads as much as possible.
For families, keep it short. A couple kilometres at most. For a walk focused on
discussion, I'd say no more than 5 km. For one that's going to be more walking and
less talking, you can go a little farther. But consider having people bring a picnic
lunch if it's more than 8 kilometres. Anything longer than that is more for fitness and
will require planning with different goals in mind.
4. Timing
I like early afternoons in the springtime for walks. But we can't always have sunny
spring Sundays. Don't start too early. If you do, you'll miss out on a lot of folk who
work hard all week and need a bit of a lie-in on the weekend. Don't start too late or
you'll interfere with dinner plans. About 1:30 p.m. seems a good starting time to me.
Tell people the walk starts 15-20 minutes before you really plan to have it start. This
is especially important if you're organizing it around a meeting or having out-oftowners come in.
5. Test the walk
Scout the route once for good places to talk, good things to see, potential
destinations and so forth. But walk it again, slowly, to get an idea of the amount of
time it will take. People walk more slowly in groups than they do alone. They like to

6.

7.

8.

9.

talk along the way. They stop unexpectedly to photograph ducks, drink water or dash
into some bushes for relief.
My Don River walks take about two hours. They're about 4 kilometres long with two
stops of about 15 minutes to listen to speakers, a 5- to 10-minute introduction by me
and a bit of unplanned dawdling along the way. You will have to push people along a
bit.
The right starting point
Pick a convenient, logical starting point. A perfect one will have ample free parking
and great public transit access. It will be relevant to the walk and highly visible.
For the Don River walks, I've met on the broad steps of Riverdale Public Library,
which is served by three streetcar routes and is close to a major highway. It's beside
the Old Don Jail, which is a great starting point for a discussion of the river valley.
Consider amenities near the start, such as washrooms, and places to pick up lastminute snacks and drinks. Also go for a spot with a good view. On Don River tours,
we stroll up to Riverdale Park for a great view of the city's skyline. It's also a good
place for an overview of the tour.
The right ending
A good walk has a beginning, a middle and a fantastic end. I like beer and pubs, so
mine typically end at a good pub. I research these in advance, looking for a good
diversity of beers (I'm a bit of a beer snob), but also at whether the place is too
boozy. The food is also important. It needs to be decent quality and ideally there will
be multiple vegetarian options.
But that's not the right place to end for every walk. You might want to end at a
historic site, or somewhere with an amazing view. Wherever you end, there should be
good transit access (if people drove to the start, then think of how they'll get back to
their cars) and both food and liquid. Everyone will be thirsty, many will be hungry.
Absolutely make reservations in advance. If the place won't take a reservation, then
find another venue. Phone the destination from the beginning of the walk to confirm
numbers. Ask in advance if they'll do separate cheques.
Be prepared
During the walk, you are responsible for the walkers. Carry a small backpack
containing water, sunscreen, band-aids (aka "sticking plasters") or a first-aid kit, a
cell phone, a bit of money and anything else you think someone might need. As the
organizer, it's your job to remember what the walkers will forget.
Marketing
Let people know about the walk. I like to organize them for out-of-towners, to
introduce people to something interesting in my city that they won't otherwise see.
Thankfully, this means that a lot of the marketing is done by conference organizers.
But there are other ways to publicize. If it's mostly for friends, use email, Twitter,
Facebook and so forth. If it's for the broader community, you could put up posters at
logical places and call the local newspaper (if you've done the walk before and have
good photos, make them available). Also contact relevant groups, such as local
nature clubs, service organizations or historical societies. They'll often have great
suggestions, can provide speakers you hadn't thought of and can let their members
know about the group. There are also sometimes lists of local walks, such as
the Jane's Walk website.

The key is to plan ahead, be prepared and have fun.