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Choir walking group
Polly takes a bus
After departure from the Ramblers' Rest on 28 June was delayed for 20 minutes by a sharp shower, the group were soon ascending Chipstead Downs, traversing the Harholt Plantation and Banstead Woods before emerging near Perrott's Farm.
Steep stretch near Woodmansterne (photo: Banners)
Flying high from Chelsham
On 7 June fourteen walkers, including debutante Jackie Farrant, gathered at The Bull on Chelsham Common on a glorious sunny afternoon. After a stretch through flat fields we crossed Limpsfield Road and reached Nore Hill with its stunning vistas across to Woldingham.
The fourteen take R&R at golf club
Walking in the new normal
The choir walkers staged two outings in April and May 2021, taking advantage of the less stringent Covid regulations but still adhering to government guidelines. On 26 April two “sixpack” groups left the Bletchingley Arms and headed for Brewer Street and its glorious Tudor farmhouse. Navigator Dave pointed out the site of Bletchingley Palace, gifted by Henry VIII to Anne of Cleves in 1540.
Back to new normal walking in spring sunshine
The pub with no lunch
Nine walking stalwarts left their meeting point at a Caterham tea shop at 11.30 on October 19, intent on having lunch at the Harrow in Caterham. The walkers were following lock-down guidelines governing walking activities, and also arrived at the Harrow in separate groups of six (now including Ted Mouat) and four.
The hungry nine at Chaldon
But the Harrow guvnor refused to serve us on the grounds that we were really one composite group of ten, rather than two groups. In vain did we offer to sit on opposite sites of the garden; he would not be budged and even mentioned the police. He did look excited when the group of four offered to move on and allow the group of six to eat; but the group of six gallantly displayed their solidarity with the group of four and followed them out of the pub.
The walkers posed for a photo at Chaldon church, and here are some more photos from the walk.
Horses
Walkers
And on December 3, a group of stalwarts walked a mile or so from the Feathers in Merstham to conduct a ditties session in an unsalubrious location under the M23 (pictured above). It was cold and raining but the group was undaunted, as the photograph shows. They repaired to the Feathers where each of the eight singers was allocated their own table in the spacious dining room. Sadly this occasion marked only a brief respite in the lockdown and the choir's outdoor activities.
September delights and surprises
The walkers went out twice in September. On September 7, on the last walk before the Rule of Six, a group of nine departed the Kingswood Arms and headed northeast beside the railway. After crossing the tracks they followed the path between the mansions of Kingswood to Surrey Downs Golf Club.
Eight of the September 7 nine (photo Banners)
An eventful August for walkers
The group undertook two eventful walks in August.
On August 10 there was a near catastrophe when our host pub, the Bletchingley Arms, revealed it had run out of beer. Fortunately, some walkers were delayed in roadworks, enabling navigator Dave to search for alternative post-walk venues. Meanwhile our landlady checked her reserve supplies and confirmed all would be well on our return.
Crossing meadowland following pub with no beer scare