Night walk safety checklist

This checklist is a starting point for your own risk assessment. It is general guidance, not a replacement for advice from your landowner, insurer, first aid provider or local authority. Work through it with whoever signs off safety for your event.

The route

• Off-road for the whole distance, or with every road crossing marshalled.
• Walked by the organisers at dusk, not only in daylight. Roots, kerbs and steps look different in low light.
• Firm surface, no unfenced drops, no unlit water edges without a marshal.
• Wide enough for the number of walkers, with no pinch point in the first kilometre.
• Mobile signal checked along the whole route. Note the dead spots.
• A short-cut back to the start for anyone who needs to stop.
• Access for an emergency vehicle agreed with the landowner.

Lighting and signs

• Every turn marked with a lit or reflective arrow, placed where it is seen before the junction.
• Hazards such as steps, bollards, low branches and kerbs individually lit.
• Start, finish and first aid point clearly lit and signed.
• Steady lights rather than flashing ones. Strobe effects can trigger seizures and migraines.
• Spare batteries, spare lights and cable ties in the crew kit.

People

• A lead walker who knows the route and sets a pace the group can keep.
• A back marker who stays behind the last walker for the whole route.
• A marshal at every junction, crossing and hazard, in a high-visibility vest with a torch.
• Every marshal has the event control number and knows the name of their position.
• One person in control at a fixed point, with a charged phone and a list of all positions.
• Children walk with a named adult. State this on the sign-up form.

Counting walkers

• Register every walker and give each a number or wristband.
• Count walkers out at the start and back in at the finish.
• The back marker confirms to control that the route is clear before marshals stand down.
• Agree what happens if the numbers do not match: who searches, where, and when you call for help.

First aid and welfare

• First aid cover matched to your numbers, from a recognised provider, with a signed and lit base.
• Marshals know where the first aid point is and how to describe their own position.
• Water at the finish, and on the route for longer walks.
• Toilets at the start, accessible ones included.
• Somewhere warm or sheltered for anyone who is unwell or waiting for a lift.

Weather

• A forecast checked three days, one day and three hours before.
• Cancellation conditions written down in advance.
• A way to tell every walker quickly: text, email and a post on the event page.
• A wet-weather version of the plan, such as a shorter loop.

On the night

• The route walked that afternoon to check for new hazards, such as a fallen branch or a locked gate.
• A briefing for walkers: stay on the marked route, stay behind the lead walker, tell a marshal if someone needs help.
• An incident log: time, place, what happened, what was done.
• All lights, signs and litter collected before the crew leaves.

After the walk

Write down what went wrong and what nearly did, while it is fresh. Next year’s organiser will thank you. For the roles mentioned here, see marshals and volunteers.