My Story #20: Sam Armstrong, Mountain Leader and Nordic Walking Instructor

WRITTEN by ANNE ENSOLL & SAM ARMSTRONG

In this series we’re sharing the stories of outdoor instructors, mountain guides and enthusiasts who work and play in the mountains. Links to all the previous posts can be found at the bottom of this post.

What Are Your Memories of Adventures in The Outdoors as A Child Or Teenager?

My memories of adventures as a child were not walking with the family or exploring the great outdoors, they were mainly playing in the garden or local woods and pretending to be a horse and rider until I was lucky enough to get a pony and do it for real. The reality was being thrown off a lot and ending up in a heap on a roadside as my pony bolted off into the distance. This experience happened quite a lot at the local shows as my cheeky pony was very greedy and often stopped mid canter to eat grass, so I promptly slid down his neck to my embarrassment on many occasions.  My Dad’s hobby was sailing so we tagged along with that but never enjoyed it much nor the sailing holidays he insisted we did! 

What Do You Remember About Your Outdoor Adventures When You Started Doing Them Independently?

I didn’t start until my mid 40’s as it wasn’t meant to be any sooner.  I remember the feeling of total freedom, the feeling of escape from all the worries and problems that faced me during this time, the elation and excitement, the empowerment and uplifting feeling that I still have now. I also knew that I had to share what I was feeling to others and to encourage and support those who needed to it. I was seeing a decline in fitness, increased obesity levels, increased mental health issues, and I wanted to do something about it. Whilst I couldn’t change the world I could certainly have a good go at changing the habits locally by encouraging people to get outdoors more, move more and experience the feeling of absolute joy whilst getting fitter and stronger.  I was driven and motivated then just as I am now to keep that message going. So, whilst I don’t have one particular memory as there were so many I do remember the powerful feeling of achieving this.

When Did It Change from A Hobby To A Career?

Following on from the above question I’m unusual in the fact that it wasn’t a hobby before a career. It all happened at the same time - because of my fitness training I discovered that you could do all of this outdoors and not in a gym. Walking became a passion from the moment I started in my early 40’s and gradually I went further afield as my confidence increased.  I walked higher  and for longer as I discovered more and had (still having) amazing adventures with likeminded people. My business has basically paid for all of my adventures.

What Has Your Path Been Since Then?

Ever since I can remember I have loved sports so my path ultimately had to lead me in this direction.  Many obstacles came my way to reach the start of this journey but in time they were overcome, and the time was right. Bit by bit I gained the right qualifications firstly to be a personal trainer followed by a sports massage therapist, combining the two and gaining a lot of experience working with many different clients of all ages and conditions. This really cemented my knowledge of working with clients with medical conditions. Not long after that I discovered Nordic Walking and trained to be an instructor in 2008. This is when the thunder bolt hit me, that lightbulb moment when I knew that this was meant to be. Nordic Walking had only been introduced into the UK in 2003 so it was very new. Against all the odds and negative responses whilst out and about, daft comments about the poles and managing a critically ill disabled daughter, I steadily grew the business. Tenacity was required.

The focus then (as it still is to a large degree) was providing walks for fitness which included a combination of muscular strength, cardiovascular, balance, agility, interval training, wellness walks for the older clients and those with medical conditions alongside leading members on longer walks locally in the Peak District. I gained my Hill and Moorland Leader qualification after taking my NNAS Bronze and Silver as I wanted to keep improving my leadership skills to take members on greater adventures. This led to me meeting an International Mountain Leader who owned (and still does) an outdoor adventure travel business, and who worked all around Europe at about the time I wanted to take members abroad. Putting the partnership together we’ve travelled to France (Verdon Gorge, Chamonix x2), Italy (Tuscany x2), Slovenia, Switzerland, Croatia, Spain, Majorca on walking trips alongside snowshoeing and Nordic ski trips in the winter. For the past thirteen years on top of all the European trips I’ve taken members to a UK location of Outstanding National Beauty for walking trips and over the past 3 years we have been coming to the Lake District working with my fellow instructor Nicky Sproson from WALX Helvellyn and Ullswater. 

I’ve been organising a three-day walking festival for the past three years in the Peak District with members attending from all over the UK and next year we are planning a WALX Ullswater Festival in May (click the link, scroll down to the activities list, and put in the date to see all the walks). I’ve taken part and supported our national WALX Festival in Purbeck for the past six years and delivered workshops and walks.

My love for the mountains has always been there since I discovered downhill skiing at the age of nineteen or twenty and working abroad, so to have the opportunity to work in the UK mountains was very exciting. Life doesn’t stand still and I’m a strong believer in progression so when the pandemic hit us in March 2020 I had a lot of thinking time as well as delivering Zoom fitness sessions on line to my growing band of members (10 per week!). I always believed that doing the Mountain Leader award was one step too far, out of my reach, way too challenging and I’d never be able to it, but after lockdown 1 I found myself booking on the training. I kept telling myself, ‘Don’t wait to believe, just DO IT, you have decided to do it so JUST DO IT’ and that’s what I did over the next year in 2021. Meeting Chris Ensoll and taking part in his workshops really helped my skills improve. I had an amazing but exhausting time post pandemic travelling around the UK dodging in and out of the restrictions, meeting great new friends and discovering the mountains of Scotland and more of Wales and the Lake District. Learning to wild camp was mainly good fun apart from the time in Wales when we nearly got blown into the lake with the gale force storms but at least my tent held out and my ear plugs were essential. Memories are made from the tough times as well as the good ones.

It’s been a huge learning curve and one of which I shall ever be thankful for taking the plunge into putting myself out of my comfort zone and into another level of professionalism with my business WALX Derwent and Dales. I have a team of nine who work with me delivering weekly walks for all levels of fitness keeping our members fit and inspired. I love my job, the people I’ve met and the places I’ve been to and look forward to the future now I have my Mountain Leader for even more exciting experiences.

Sam with the team

What are your goals/hopes for the future?

To become a tutor for NNAS, and increase my knowledge of the mountains in the UK.

To be doing this now was never something that I set out to do in my early twenties when I trained as a chef. It was a complete turnaround but one which I should have always been destined to do. I have never done a job so rewarding, ever. So, I just want more of it.

 To discover more, share more, grow more. 

“Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment”

If you could give one piece of advice to someone who wants to work in the outdoors, what would it be?

Plan, plan, plan.

Set achievable goals for your business when setting it up. Plan carefully, put aside time for all the stuff that none of us really like doing (it can’t just be me that doesn’t like sales, marketing and accounts!) because they are the cogs that make the wheel turn and if you can’t do it get someone that can.

Research your target market and who you want to work with. I knew that I didn’t want to work with children, and that’s not changed.

Smile, smile, smile and keep smiling whatever may be thrown at you along the way. A sense of humour goes a long way.

That’s more than one, I could write a whole page about it but I’ll leave it there.

Read the rest of the series

My Story #1: Chris Ensoll, International Mountain Guide
My Story #2: John Kettle, Climbing & Mountain Biking Coach
My Story #3: Kelvyn James, International Mountain Leader
My Story #4: Anne Ensoll, Business Manager And Ex-Outdoor Instructor
My Story #5: Michael Curry, All-Round Outdoor Instructor and Business Owner
My Story #6: Esther Foster, Freelance Outdoor Instructor
My Story #7: Rob Pugh, Mountaineering Instructor and Stay-at-Home Dad
My Story #8: Colin Reilly, Outdoor Instructor & Church Pastor
My Story #9: Rhiannon Pritchard, Arctic Nature Guide and Academic
My Story #10: Alan Kimber, Mountain Guide and Accommodation Provider
My Story #11: Claire Hendrickse, Freelance Outdoor Instructor
My Story #12: Alice Kerr, Outdoor Instructor & Long Distance Runner
My Story #13: Ben Roe, Outdoor Education Graduate and Climbing Wall Route Setter
My Story #14: Susan Byrne, Mountain Leader and Outdoor Youth Worker
My Story #15: Jon Chamberlain, Mountaineering & Climbing Instructor and Business Owner
My story #16: Sandra Schmidt, Mountain Leader and Tour Guide
My Story #17: Simon Sampson, School Teacher & Mountain Leader
My Story #18: Nick Ashley, Outdoor Instructor and Business Manager
My Story #19: Judith Ellis, Retired Charity Worker