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Choir walking group
The wettest walk
The auguries for the walk on August 12 were not good. The usual pre-amble drinkers, Dave, Polly and JP, who had arrived at the Carpenters Arms in Limpsfield by bus, watched from the bar as the rain poured down outside. Polly was particularly disconcerted, as he had somehow misread the forecast and arrived with a poncho of dubious quality acquired for free at a sporting event. In addition, the sole of one of his shoes had come adrift.
Eight of the wettest walkers
Downs and ups on the Downs
Seven walkers, including new guest Andrea Scott, set off from the Harrow Caterham in midsummer sunshine on July 8. At the nearby Quarry Hangers viewpoint, Dave the Navigator paused to reminisce about the glorious sunset they had witnessed from this spot at 17.06 in January 2016, and pointed out Mercer's Lake in the distance which was close to today's half-way pub.
Six of the Downs walkers (photo Andrea Scott)
Racing over Epsom Downs
Ten walkers gathered at Tattenham Corner on the breezy but sunny beer garden overlooking the celebrated racecourse on Epsom Downs on Monday, 17 June. After topping up their fluid levels, they set off over the course and then across the training gallops on Walton Downs.
Striding out on Epsom race course
Linear tribute to walking pioneers
The walk on 24 May was linear, requiring some ingenuity from the walkers to make their transport plans. Seven walkers succeeded in reaching the Malt Shovel at Eynsford without difficulty, but six were left stranded at Otford – the walk’s finishing point – when their bus to Eynsford failed to arrive. After resorting to their cars, they arrived at Otford only to see the bus – ten minutes late – drive past the pub.
Following the line of the river in the Darenth Valley
Richmond, blooms and ducks
Twelve choir walkers undertook a delightful outing in Richmond Park on Friday 3 May. The walk, designed and led by walking group veteran Dick Jones, began at the Tide End Cottage pub by Teddington Lock, where the beer cognoscenti raved about the stunningly fresh, hoppy Exeter beer on offer.
Then it was off across the lock, with two bridges leading into the suburban semis that mark the approaches to Richmond Park, London’s largest site of special scientific interest and a European special area of conservation.
The Mandarin ducks of the Isabella Plantation - azaleas reflected behind
A walk on the woolly side
Twelve walkers departed from the Ye Old Ship in Tatsfield on April 5, heading south towards the ridge of the downs and soon finding themselves on open farmland following the North Downs Way with glorious vistas of the Surrey Weald below. After a stretch through dense and overgrown woodland, they emerged on to the narrow but quiet White Lane.
Martin (from Wales) inspects Surrey sheep