Due to circumstances beyond my control I am at present walking with a local non LDWA group. There were ten out today and the noise pollution generated by five of them was more than that generated by a large LDWA event and as it was a coach walk there was no getting a way from the racket of these people.
David H

Last year i was running the Dovedale Dipper and another runner and his mate were loud chatters and unfortunately running at the same pace. I dropped back but kept catching them up.So i pushed on , yes , you've guessed it, to be caught by them. I actually considered another route but the CP's were frequent. Gradually the Secretary of the 100 Mile Association moved ahead , but i shall never , NEVER ever , join his club because i know it inside out. On the plus side , i met a really nice lady who was going to run the Rhinns of kell in Galloway. Nice people inspire you!

Ah, there you have it - it's not "loud", it's "animated".

Seriously, all the posters have a valid point. As one of the deaf ones, I can have a conversation only if the co-converser is alongside and speaking slightly louder than normal. On the other hand, shouting is annoying.

It's groups of lads that cause the trouble, you see: they need a couple of females in the group to civilize them.

thanks nick i'm glad i'm not the only one who butts in

Nicely put, Eileen. If people talk loudly and animatedly while out walking, they must be enjoying themselves, so good for them. Enjoy it while it lasts is what I say, because silence is bound to descend eventually if the event is very long or strenuous. The only time voices should definitely be kept down to a whisper is at night time around dwellings.

Anyway it can be entertaining 'eavesdropping' on others' conversations without any feelings of guilt; if they make no attempt to keep it private, it can't be. We can even join in if the subject matter grabs us. It's a great opportunity to talk to new people we would never have spoken with otherwise.

That's my opinion anyway, and I bet I'm one of those who irks with animated conversation (if I'm not running too fast :-).

Nick 19655

well I think we should be more tolerant of folks! So what if they are loud? If they are out enjoying the walk what does it matter? We are all different in our own way. I find as I get older I get deafer and with the wind blowing in my ears or my hood up I can't hear anyone! People do need to shout at me at times for me to hear anything!

Eileen Greenwood

On the hills on some of these walks I wish I had the breath to talk!!

That sounds very sensible to me Julie.
Garfield, perhaps they were all hard of hearing!! Matt.

Trouble is, once someone or some people start to irritate me I find it very hard to think of anything else but how b***** irritating they are, especially when I'm getting tired. Once I actually retired at the next CP because I could stand said person any longer! How stupid is that?

True, but these 'lads' were in their late 30's and, presumably, already members?

Yes, unsolicited chat and noise can be very annoying. On the other hand...
people are always agonising about the LDWA having an ageing membership so if these 'lads' were young maybe we should just grin and bear it, and hope they feel welcome enough to come back another day!

Maybe it's me...
... but I find walkers who insist on carrying on conversations in loud voices, whilst on events, really annoying. You can hear them long before you see them. They try to 'chat' with people 30 yards in front of them, and do so by shouting.

I did an event on Saturday which seemed to have a larger than usual contingent of 'lads', who walked in groups and made a hell of a racket.

I also passed many colleagues who walked side-by-side enjoying a quiet conversation and who contributed little in the way of noise pollution.

The countryside and the people who live there need to be respected. The natural peace and tranquility is one of the reasons I walk as often as I can. My suggestion is that if you are talking at anything above conversation level you should refrain from talking at all. Garfield