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OUT AND ABOUT: After building up a following on Instagram, the first BGH walk has taken place

SPRAWLING PATCHWORK hills, lush green valleys and ancient woodlands are
views we come to expect from rural England.

But a troop of black women striding con dently through the English countryside is enough to turn heads, if not stop traffic.

Although not the accomplishment 32-year-old Civil Servant Rhiane Fatinikun, set out to achieve when she established Manchester based, Black Girls Hike (BGH) at the beginning of the year, it was certainly a sight to behold.

Despite rarely doing any exercise and being a complete novice at hiking, Rhiane formed BGH to enable black women to benefit from the comradery of other black women and enjoy the tranquillity of rural areas.

“I was on the train travelling through the Peak District and was thinking about how beautiful it looked and how I would like to take up walking. I needed some walking companions and I prefer to spend my free time in an uplifting environment surrounded by positive black women. Working in an office environment for 40 hours a week where there only a handful of black people is sti ing and exhausting.”

STORM

Determined to bring a group of women together, Rhiane built up an Instagram following on her @bgh_uk account, and despite dreary weather and the threat of high winds 14 women turned up to take the rolling hills of the South Pennines by storm last Sunday.

Fitness enthusiast Nicole attends a gym three times a week but has a love of outdoor activities. She said: “Being able to go hiking with other black women who also enjoy outdoor activities was really appealing to me.

“I enjoyed the walk it was good for both the mind and the body and it was nice meeting new people in a completely different environment.” Nicole, who is CEO of Ruby Rose Hair Design, also found it therapeutic to get away from the stresses of city life and inhale the fresh country air. Rhiane supports that view, adding: “I think most people know that being in nature and exercising are bene cial for your fitness levels it also improves mental health.

“The walking group is a non- judgemental inclusive environment where hopefully people experiencing mental health will feel comfortable. The black community needs healing from intergenerational trauma that we are conditioned and socialised to just accept as the norm.

“We are more prone to health conditions caused by stress from systemic racism and historic poor diets such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and anxiety. Black women could definitely benefit from improved wellbeing.

“I find being in the company of other like-minded black women really uplifting and refreshing and I think it’s what a lot of us need especially considering a lot of people work a 9-5 in an environment where they struggle to find people they can really relate to and they are often misunderstood.”

Moving forward, Rhiane would like to expand the group nationally and even plan hikes abroad. Follow @bgh_uk on Instagram for updates.

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