Surrey County Walkers
The club
Surrey County Walkers is a local walking group. Most walks are held in the western part of Surrey, in the Woking, Guildford, Farnham and Dorking areas, particularly on the North Downs between Guildford and Dorking. In the summer, walks are held further afield, e.g. in Hampshire and Sussex.
Our walks
Walks are usually 6 - 8 miles in length for morning walks and 10 - 15 miles for all day walks. Morning walks usually finish between 1230 and 1330, depending on length, with an optional pub lunch afterwards, if available. All day walks finish during the afternoon, depending on length, with either a pub or picnic lunch, as stated in the programme.
Walks are held every weekend, alternately on Saturdays and Sundays. On Bank Holidays, walks are sometimes held on the Mondays.
Long Distance Walks
The club also does long distance walks, which have included the North Downs Way, the South Downs Way, the Thames path, the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath, the Greensand Way, the Wey South path, the St Swithun's Way and the Three Castles Way. Currently, the club is walking the Sussex Border Path. The long distance walks are split into sections with one or two sections being walked in each quarter. For walks further away, sometimes two stretches have been covered on successive days, e.g. at a Bank Holiday weekend, with overnight stops.
History
Surrey County Walkers was founded in 1983 by Derek Palmer who originally led the walks and is an author of several
books on walks in the Surrey area. The club is now managed by a committee and walks are led by volunteers from the club.
The 25th birthday of the club was celebrated on 22nd June 2008 with a walk led by our founder from Newlands Corner with a stop beside the River Tillingbourne, near Chilworth, Surrey.
New Members
New members are always welcome. Walkers should be able to walk about 7 - 8 miles in about 3 hours and are expected to be suitably clothed and shod for walking the distance. Surrey can be moderately hilly and muddy and new walkers are expected to be able to cope with this. Visitors are welcome to walk with us twice but, after this, they are expected to join the club. A small annual subscription, currently £6 single, £9 double, is levied to defray expenses.
New walkers who are unused to this distance may initially like to join short walks, taken at a leisurely pace, with
GO50, a group organised by the charity,
Age Concern Surrey.
Walk Programme
The current programme of walks is attached (PDF format)click here.
Contact
Hon. Secretary
Colin Blank
Phone: 01276-474258
Email: surcowalkers@aol.com
Notice
Walking is a healthy activity, which is enjoyed by members of the club and many others. However, slips, falls and other mishaps are bound to occur occasionally. Surrey County Walkers cannot accept responsibility for these or any other accidents which may occur on walks. The club carries insurance for third party cover. However, personal accident insurance is not included in the club subscription and any walker wanting this should make their own arrangements.