As a certified card carrying old guy, I would be in grave trouble without stretching. I have been stretching just about every day for years with the result that I'm more limber than way back when I was 45 y.o. I do some strength training also including exercises with leg weights to strengthen hip flexors.
A few years ago I did a lot of back country hiking and snow shoeing during the winter months. Each year, the extra weight of snow shoes, as well as the change in walking gait they caused, made hip flexors very sore the first several days of snow showing each year. This is the reason I began strengthening any muscle that might have anything to do with walking with snow shoes.