Cork nature-lover sets up outdoor group for like-minded women

Nature has always been an important part of Sally Kirby’s life.

She grew up right beside the sea in Ballycotton, East Cork.

Her love of the environment motivated her to start her own vintage clothing business Free Spirit Vintage three years ago, at the age of 24.

“The reason why I started doing it was to basically save the clothes from landfill. That was my drive,” she explains.

Now Sally is sharing her love of nature with others, by setting up a social group for women to explore the great outdoors together.

The idea came to her while she was travelling around Ireland sourcing vintage clothes.

She enjoyed seeing more of the country, and took the opportunity to get out for walks whenever she could.

“I slowly started integrating my love for going outside and exploring Ireland with my vintage business, mixing the two of them together,” she says.

Although Sally loves hiking and walking, she has found it difficult at times to meet people to share these adventures with.

“It’s always the pub where you’re meeting people, drinking and that kind of a social thing,” says Sally. “It’s hard to meet people at this age outdoors, to do stuff like that. It’s hard to connect with people.”

With 28,00 followers on Instagram, Sally decided to share a post to see if there were other like-minded women who would be interested in ing her for outdoor adventures.

“I just put up something, and it really caught on,” she says. “So many women from around Ireland got onto me, not just Cork.

“It’s after expanding itself now, and we’ve got our group chat and everything going at the moment.”

The group is open to women of all ages, from anywhere in Ireland.

Sally recognises that, like her, a lot of women would love to get out in nature more, but struggle to do so for a number of reasons.

“There’s so many women who would love to go out and do stuff, but they don’t have anyone to go with, or they’re afraid to go on their own, or they don’t have the motivation, or they don’t know where to start,” she says.

Some women have been in touch with Sally to say they want to get outside more, but find it a bit daunting.

“They have been stuck inside and they just feel like they don’t know where to start, or they don’t have the confidence to get out,” she says.

“There’s a lot of people who are saying they’re a little bit anxious, and looking forward to meeting people.”

Sally stresses that the group is open to all women.

The aim is to get outdoors, and there will be activities to suit all levels of fitness.

“We might do sea swims, short walks, we might do longer hikes. It’s about getting outside, into nature, and then also being able to do it as a group, and meet friends hopefully,” she says.

There is a WhatsApp groups for anyone interested in ing, and it already has over 300 .

Sally shares announcements with details of forthcoming activities, and there are smaller chat groups forming for people in different areas or with things in common.

“There’s different little group chats within the big group chat. There’s East Cork, there’s ones for Wexford, Dublin, different places in Ireland, there’s one for people with kids,” she says.

People can choose to mute the group chat if they only want to follow announcements directly from Sally.

The group recently held its first event, which was a 5km walk in Doneraile Park in North Cork this month.

Sally chose this location for its accessibility.

“It’s a 5km loop, it’s kind of easy, it’s suitable for everyone,” she says. “There’s a lot of beginners there who haven’t been out walking in a long time and they want to start.”

There was also an option of doing a shorter loop, which is suitable for anyone with children. The group all met for coffee afterwards.

The plan is to organise monthly events, with the potential of meeting up more often.

“We’re going to do it every month, maybe every two weeks, pick a new place, do a new thing. So there will be something to suit everyone,” says Sally.

The events are free, and the group chat can be used to arrange transport and travel buddies.

“It’s completely free, and people can car-pool and stuff like that as well.” says Sally.

“People are getting the buses together, or getting the trains together. They’re not going alone, or they’re getting spins from one another, so it’s great that way.”

For anyone interested in ing a future event or finding out more, Sally through her Instagram @vintagefreespirit.