Warning: long reply ahead. You might want to save this to your reading list for later if you're pushed for time. 🙂

I'm very similar, but I think the realisation gradually dawned on me over the course of several years. For many years, I walked with walking groups, and it was my main form of socialising. But as the years went by, this nagging feeling grew in me that I didn't enjoy it as much as I used to.

I actually quit walking groups at the end of 2012, right after I got my AS diagnosis. Over the years since, I've tried various things. I tried AS groups, and even ran one myself for a while, but in the end it didn't work out. As I've previously written, autistic people don't necessarily get on well with each other.

I found myself drawn towards meditation groups and things like that. I found the silence and soft gentle discussions in small groups suited me. I eventually started leading an outdoor mindfulness group, which was great, but after 2 years I gave that up. I've already written about that.

Occasionally, over the last few years, I have attended some "normal" walking groups, but I never really liked it very much. The last one I went on, in September, I came away feeling like it had mostly been a waste of time. I just didn't like being around people who were talking non-stop.

I love being outside, but I've realised I'm often happiest when I'm on my own. I like a 50/50 mixture of listening to podcasts and just being in silence on my own. Last weekend I went to Chepstow for the day and it felt like bliss.

These days, my only social group is my improv group one evening a week.

I might one day lead silent group walks, though. Maybe next Spring/Summer. There is something special about being in silence with other people.

But I also like being 1-on-1 with people, which is why I enjoyed online dating when I went through an intense burst of it back in 2018 and 2019. Even when things didn't progress beyond the first date, I usually enjoyed chatting with someone new 1-on-1. One dating app, Bumble, has a friends function, so I might try that at some point. I like the idea of going on 1-on-1 friendship dates.