However much we recite the cliché – ‘age is just a number’…
most of us are hard-pressed not to ruminate on the deep questions of life when faced with a big birthday – How did that happen? What have I done with my life? And trickiest of all -where did I go to? ‘Sometimes we ponder a little too long on regrets and perhaps not long enough on celebrating the remarkable lives we have led, and the social change we have both fought for and lived through. We may have become more aware of our bodies- where they ache and which bits have drifted too far south for our liking. It’s easy to fall into the trap of blaming it all on age, as if decline is inevitable.
But more and more women are celebrating that walking, strength training and female friendships are the key to health, happiness and longevity.
Tracey, a long-time devotee of Walking Women holidays, tells us of how she looked to Walking Women to help make her 60th birthday happy, memorable and stress-free.
“I wanted my 60th birthday to be really special, but I didn’t want the stress of organising a party in London with all the inherent uncertainty – who would turn up, would everyone have a good time, would there be enough beer and so on! I don’t enjoy parties where the focus is on me – but neither did I want such a significant day to pass me by. I’d contacted Ginny before the 2026 holiday schedule was published to ask if there was likely to be a trip away on my birthday in March, Ginny said she was thinking of adding a week in La Gomera – I was thrilled!
I didn’t know anyone else who was going – but I knew from past experience that Walking Women are always very friendly and easy to get along with. I wanted it to be a birthday to celebrate me as a person -doing the things I really enjoy – which is walking in beautiful places in the company of other women. The walk in the mountains of La Gomera on my birthday did not disappoint! The grandeur of the scenery added to it being a birthday to remember. This is the map of my birthday walk – it doesn’t get more awe-inspiring than this!
Quite often Walking Women holidays have one evening when they eat outside of the hotel, I think WalkingWomen must have arranged it so that happened on my birthday. It made it easy for me to say to the group – ‘actually it’s my birthday today’ – it was so special to have the whole group happy for me and celebrating with me. Our guide Rene Van Der Walt joined us for the meal – she’s a fabulous woman – so encouraging and supportive, everyone really helped create the right atmosphere for me. We also let rip – dancing the night away- it was so much fun and just how I wanted to see in my new decade. It was a really memorable evening after a beautiful day of walking. I had truly marked my entry into my second spring.
Speaking of Spring- I absolutely loved the hotel – Hotel Jardin Tecina on La Gomera.
La Gomera is about an hour by boat from Tenerife. Once I got on the boat, I knew it was going to be special. It’s a four-star garden room hotel, with panoramic views out to sea. Each room is set in its own space with seating areas surrounded by landscaped gardens of horticultural significance – over 300 flowering plants and trees even in the middle of December – the hotel botanist offers tours for those who are interested. The hotel has its own organic fruit and vegetable garden based on permaculture principles. It is truly a green getaway!
The hotel has several swimming pools and restaurants and a delightful walk down to the beach, where you can swim and catch the ferry to Vueltas- a great little town for shopping and beach time. La Gomera also offers exceptional dark sky stargazing with year-round views of the Milky Way. And as if that wasn’t enough, this small island is a premier whale- watching destination where it’s possible to see pilot whales and dolphins throughout the year.
Walking on La Gomera was full of variety – rocky mountain trails with panoramic views. Friendly mountain hostelries, steep ravines down to rocky coves and most moving of all a meditative walk through the prehistoric, jungle-like cloud forest where we were able to experience deep time connecting us with the past, the present and a space to reflect on our own futures.
I’m so glad Ginny and Sara ‘saved’ Walking Women holidays so that we can continue to enjoy the unique atmosphere the holidays offer. I book with confidence knowing that the kind of women who go, are ‘my kind of women’, women who like to be out-of-doors, challenging themselves yet not competitive and very, very friendly. I travel solo but have no qualms about that – I find that in the Walking Women groups I can be true to myself – more authentic, it helps me fall into conversation with other women easily and rarely is there anyone who I can’t get along with. I find most groups are mixed – equal numbers of lesbians and heterosexuals – it’s a very comfortable group for me. I think because it’s a small company, they are able to give attention to detail – to the things that matter to individuals, but that may usually go unnoticed by bigger holiday companies.
Walking Women creates a caring atmosphere giving everyone a sense of security.
I like that the ‘WhatsApp’ group is set up a while before the holiday so we can introduce ourselves and find out if anyone is travelling via a similar route. It’s great to share photos and for some people friendships made on Walking Women holidays last much longer than the just the holiday. Some groups keep in contact with each other for years after the holiday is over!
I’m so pleased I took the decision to celebrate my ‘big’ birthday on a Walking Women holiday – it completely met my expectations and then some!
