The lady behind a new women's walking group launched last month in Kenilworth has spoken of the "insane" reaction from local people, saying she has been "blown away" with how quickly the group has grown.

Tina Baxter helped organise the first Kenilworth Walking Women's meet in January, as she looked to meet new people in the town and take more regular exercise.

Having seen the success of the Men Walking and Talking Group in the town, she decided to post on Facebook group Kenilworth Vibes to see if any local ladies would be interested in doing something similar.

The reaction she got was "overwhelming" with around 60 women meeting in Abbey Fields for that first walk.

"I moved to Kenilworth about a year ago, and I didn't really know anyone locally," Tina told Nub News. 

"When you don't know anyone, it is really hard to get out and meet more people. 

"It was also a bit of a combination of things as I wanted to do some exercise, I wanted to meet people. 

"So I just thought I would post about it on Kenilworth Vibes Facebook group and see if there was anyone else who wanted to walk with me, and there were hundreds! 

"The response was just nuts! 

"On the first post there were so many women in the same boat as me, who wanted to get involved."

The group takes a slighlty different route around Kenilworth each week (image supplied)

The Kenilworth Walking Women Facebook group - where details of each meet are posted - now has over 800 members.

Each Tuesday ladies from the group meet at Abbey Fields at 7pm for an hour-long walk around the town, and there have been at least 50 attendees at every walk so far.

"The response has been insane," Tina added. 

"People love the group, the love they can come out every week, have some exercise, have some company, and chat about everything and anything. 

"And now some of us are going to the pub after. I am making friends, others are making friends. It is brilliant, it is exactly what I needed. 

"The group is already established and it will carry on without me."

Tina has already received lots of messages of thanks from local people for taking that first step to launch the group.

And she says she has had lots of offers from local businesses to help support the group.

Tina said she was 'overwhelmed' by how many responses she got (image supplied)

In particular she thanked the generosity of Time For Tea on High Street which gave out free cups of tea and coffee to walkers at the first meet.

"I'm not sure they realised how many of us there would be!" Tina joked.

She added: "I have never done anything like this before. 

"When I put that post out, I never really thought about what it would turn into.

"I just thought there might be a couple of women who would come walking with me.

"It never occurred to me it would become what it has! 

"There is obviously a need for it in Kenilworth."

There are over 800 women in the Kenilworth Walking Women Facebook group (image supplied)

And as the group continues to grow, Tina is encouraging more people to get involved.

"We are an extremely friendly bunch of women, of all ages and all abilities," she said. 

"Just come along one time and see what you think. 

"We get lots of ladies who come on their own, but once we start walking, everyone starts chatting. 

"It is a very friendly and very safe group. I'd just encourage people to come and see what they think."

To find out more, head to the Facebook group here.