Dear Members
Welcome to our latest newsletter, after a busy and hot summer. It was encouraging that many members managed to walk despite the ferocious temperatures. We are grateful to all walk leaders and try to introduce variety with Ray organising the trip to beautiful Bosham, Helen the walk to the quirky Eel Pie Island and Jo giving us chance to get very close to HRH on the Hat’s Off to the King. Our newest walk leader, Hilary, led a great walk from Walton on Thames on Sunday. Welcome to the team, we’re always happy to mentor others who’d like to lead walks ………….
A special mention goes to those who supported the London Blind walkers, with a nice message received:
“Thank you again for leading a lovely walk for us yesterday. Our members greatly enjoyed the walk. Please also thank all the SHR members who turned up in such good numbers to help out. Without their support these walks wouldn’t have been possible. Paul has kindly sent over some pictures. We will post a few of them on our Facebook page in due course and tag your group. We will be in touch early next year to agree on a date for the joint walk in 2027”.
And what a lovely day out at Hamble-le-Rice due to Kandra’s excellent organisation. Two walks were offered, and the coach was full with some guests from within Surrey Area. And SHR pin badges were given out - ask us if you didn’t get one!
The holiday with RWW to Malta and Gozo didn’t disappoint, with 10 fabulous days led by an experienced guide taking us around forts and castles, churches, hills, caves, coastal paths and the stunning Salt Pans. Those lucky enough to go to HF St Ives in September were blessed with a week of sunny weather, but did our legs work hard on those rugged coastal paths! What a team we were, with Peter & Buster winning the skittles, Hazel runner up in the photo competition, Helen being star Quirkler, and Gordon, Gloria, Rita, Maxine, Linda, and Steve (our adopted friend) winning the quiz! Looking to 2027, Costa Rica in February is full, but there are some spaces on the Crete holiday in May and HF Church Stretton in September. Contact Alexis on
44 members are looking forward to the Getaway to Tewkesbury. This is the last one Gordon is organising, and on behalf of all Surrey Heath, a huge thank you. There’s far more involved in these trips than people realise, so well done him (and I’m sure he’d appreciate the odd pint or two on the upcoming trip). Please don’t hold back if you think you can help us with future trips. We have info on previous walks and venues, and are considering a trip in April 2027 to either Bicester or Banbury.
Behind the scenes work goes on that is crucial to the running of our group. The Footpath team headed by Ian spends considerable time liaising with Surrey CC over footpath quality, maintenance and path variations. If you find a blocked or overgrown path or damaged stile, please contact Ian on
Moving onto socials and publicity, some members have asked about activities outside the Ramblers. There’s WhatsAPP (WA) groups for the cinema, theatre, music events plus Tuesday and Sunday lunch bookings– ask any of the committee for info. To stop receiving notifications, it’s easy to silence them - select the WA group you’re a member of, click on the heading (e.g. SHR Chat Group), scroll down to Notifications, select Muted/Always.
We’re grateful to Veronica and Alexis for writing articles for SE Walker, and all those who take photos. Some are published on Facebook – here’s the link if you haven’t yet discovered it:
(14) Surrey Heath Ramblers | Facebook
More photos are shown in the gallery on our website, maintained by Neil, the Kevins, Paul and Sandra. As this is the most important place to find information, check it regularly. The link is https://surreyheathramblers.org.uk
And to finish this newsletter ……………………….best wishes to Sean who is recovering from major surgery, and Sally who has an impending operation. We look forward to seeing you both soon when recovered.
Save The Date: more info to follow:
Sunday 22nd November 2026 - Surrey Heath AGM – Frimley Community Centre 12.00 pm with a walk beforehand at 10.00 am through Frimley Allotments. Food and refreshments provided.
Friday 29th January 2027 – an activity plus subsidised 3-course lunch at Princess Royal Runfold.
Sunday 1st August 2027 – coach trip to Eastbourne and the Seven Sisters.
Thanks everyone for your support.
Hazel, Alexis, Paul, Ian, Sally
The winning St Ives quiz team showing off their pencil prizes!
