It’s May, the bluebells are out all over the area so, if you haven’t already done so, it’s time to dust off the walking shoes and get out into our wonderful countryside. OK, so we have the odd windy day, shower of rain or early morning frost – but if you have suitable clothing, none of that matters. As I was told when I was young, skin is waterproof and there is never the wrong weather – only the wrong clothes.
After all the constraints of Covid, we are starting to see opportunities to get out and enjoy the fresh air in company. Yes, we still need to take precautions but many organisations are re-starting their walks programmes and planning other outdoor activities.
As a couple of examples, in pre-Covid times, we would have been working with Farnham walking festival. Last year if was cancelled at the last moment because of lockdown – very sad timing for them after all the preparatory work had been done. This year they have taken a slightly different approach and decided to focus on self-guided walks for a festival lasting throughout May. If you live over towards the western side of the county or fancy a walk somewhere that you haven’t explored as much as your local area, then take a look at their website https://www.farnham.gov.uk/things-to-do/walkingfestival It looks like a nice mix of routes and topics.
Staying with our neighbours at Farnham, we have a strong link with Farnham Walker (Guy Singer) who has previously been a key player in Farnham walking festival and now runs his own walks – and also leads some especially for Guildford Walkfest. He is planning a mini walking festival from 19th June to 25th July with (so far) 14 led walks published. His programme can be found at https://www.farnhamwalker.com/walkfest so if you prefer to have a walk leader, take a look at Guy’s page.
Surrey Hills Society walks have restarted and are proving so popular with their members that they are all becoming fully booked within days. This just shows how keen everyone is to get out into the fresh air and socialise whilst they walk. I’m sure that many of our other Walkfest contributors are also restarting to there’s no excuse for waiting any more.
This positive situation is also encouraging our contributors to firm up the details of their offering for September’s Guildford Walkfest. The programme is looking good already – but more on that next time.
In the meantime, happy walking and enjoy yourselves in the fresh air.