Your Trails
Check out our club members trail name stories!
I’ve met a number of people on the trail who use a different name to their regular name. I remember smiling to myself when I found out that a fellow hiker called herself a new name every time she went on the Camino, it was her way of escaping the real world for a few weeks.
Naturally, our club members and people that we have met on our travels end up with nicknames (or trail names). Read the stories below and please feel free to add yourself to the register by completing this form.
Mark Huxham
You may think that Mark has a sordid secret with his trail name of "The Swinger", but nothing could be further from the truth! On a recent adventure along Hadrian's Wall, Mark was having a few issues with pain in his feet and ankles. The only way to stop the pain (which we think was something to do with circulation) was to hold on to a fence, a post or his lovely wife's shoulder and start swinging his leg. After a few minutes or so, the pain would subside and he would carry on walking. This routine happened all along the trail and he therefore happily accepted the trail name of "Swinger" or "King of the Swingers"
Pat Knight
Pat received her trail name whilst walking the Hadrian's Wall Path with AG in August 2022. Why The Dying Swan? Each time we reached a stopping place, most of the group sat on a bench or a chair, however you would always find Pat lying on the ground with her legs in the air. Someone said "you look like a dying swan" and the name stuck. I think they actually meant a "dying fly" (aka Tiswas - for anyone old enough to remember that!) - but Dying Swan worked well and the trail name was accepted.
james Whittakar
James is Formula 1 enthusiast and in his spare time he races go-karts. We did play a bit of a trick on him and gave him a trail name badge hat said "Mercedes Man" (he is a Red Bull fan!). He uses the phrase "Full Send" quite often in his daily vocabulary, which is cool talk for "lets go, full steam ahead" - hence the trail name "Full Send".
Jacqui Elmore
Jacqui has now been a member of AG for a few years, although it is very rare that she will make an appearance if the weather conditions are not to her liking. Jacqui accepted her trail name of "Fairweather Hiker" with a smile as she knows that she only likes to walk if the weather is fair and that there is no mud to be seen!
Angie Campion
Angie joined AG in May 2021 as she was spending time with her sister during the pandemic. She has since settled in the area and is now a familiar face on our walks. Every time we stop at a cafe for cake, Angie always orders her favourite lemon tea... hence the trail name.
Wendy Pittman
Wendy has been walking with the club for a few years now and always has a good story to tell. One story involved the three sisters sitting in bed and drinking tea. Wendy's favourite brand of tea is Loose Leaf, hence her new trail name.
Dave Carrick
Dave turns up to a walk with secateurs in his backpack to trim the brambles and large stinging nettles. He is the go-to person for names and plants and flowers, hence his trail name "green fingers".
Mary Vincent
Mark & Mary Vincent are founder members of Adventure Geek and have seen how the business has grown over the years. They joined in early 2018 before we started charging for the walks. On a recent walk we overheard Mark telling a fellow walker that he and Mary were "the original members" and their trail names were born. Mr & Mrs Original.
Mark Vincent
Mark & Mary Vincent are founder members of Adventure Geek and have seen how the business has grown over the years. They joined in early 2018 before we started charging for the walks. On a recent walk we overheard Mark telling a fellow walker that he and Mary were "the original members" and their trail names were born. Mr & Mrs Original.
Soup Dumpleton
Soup received her trail name during the Oxford Iconic Walk that was led by herself and hubby Paul (he is known as The Tour Guide). Soup spent so much time trying to keep us all together as a group that her name "The Sheep Herder" was born. If you have walked with Soup then you will often hear a big voice shouting words such as "runner", and "car!", "cows!", "hole" - she naturally looks after people which is such a lovely trait. We love having "The Sheep Herder" on our walks.