Terrington Walking Groups

Ladies' Walking Group

The Ladies Walking Group began in September 1999 after 2 or 3 members of the WI went on an organised Ramble near Brandsby. On their return they said they had not realised how long it would take for 60 women to climb a stile, so why didn’t we set up our own village group which would also cost us nothing. Elaine Hubery invited anyone interested in joining to her house for a coffee. Notes on the first meeting say ‘We would not expect anyone to lead a walk but would take it in turns to choose a walk of a suitable length and difficulty (or ease!) for those who wanted to go. It would defeat the objective of simplicity if you felt you had to walk your chosen route beforehand. We hope to follow maps and guidebooks together to explore the surrounding countryside’.

We agreed that we would meet at the Village Hall at 9.45 on a rota of Wednesdays and Fridays, twice a month (later changed to Tuesdays). We would walk about 5 miles and take sandwiches or buy a snack. The first rota of people to choose a walk included Elaine Hubery, Cathy Harrison, Helen Precious, Betty Hemingway and Lesley Bradshaw.

Elaine Hubery kept notes and maps of the walks and those who attended for some years. Through 2000 there were on average 6 or 7 walkers. Other regular walkers were Cynthia Firby, Gwen Haywood, Beryl Cooke and Elaine Taylor.

The pattern is still the second Friday and fourth Tuesday of the month. There are 12 people listed as leading walks in 2022 (including 3 of the original group), and a further 6 or 7 people who walk with us occasionally, but the average number on each walk is 6 to 8. These days the leaders tend to email the group beforehand with the location and difficulty of the proposed walk, and most people recce the walk beforehand. We share cars if the walk is away from Terrington. The main difference from the early days is that we only take sandwiches if the weather is likely to be good, and throughout the year we do try to find a nearby teashop afterwards.

The pandemic meant that we were not able to walk from March 2020 to July 2021, but we took advantage of being able to meet in the open air as soon as we were allowed to meet again.

Why is it a Ladies' group? Its WI origins meant it started that way, but there is also a Men's Group ...

Men's Walking Group

When Tom McAuley retired in 2003 he set up the Men’s Walking Group. The first walk, around the Castle Howard woods and attended by 16 people, was abandoned half way through when the rain became too heavy and constant. Subsequently, walks have taken place twice every month almost without exception. The normal attendance is 6 - 10 men, some of whom have been members since the start, although they have moved away from Terrington. Due to this movement, we now have regular attenders from York, Malton, Pickering and Helmsley.

Walks, of about 5 - 8 miles, normally start at about 10am, and invariably finish at a pub for lunch. The group meets on the second Friday and the last Tuesday of every month, generally assembling in the Terrington Village Hall car park at 9.45am. Contact Ian Tindall (648725) for further information. We welcome new walkers.

This is a small selection of photos of the Men's group:

Click to see lots more photos of the men's group from 2010 to 2022.

Combined Outings

The two groups walk separately but on the same days. In addition, Tom and Denise have organised a number of enjoyable weekends away for the groups together, notably in Northumberland, Galloway and Norfolk, and we have also combined to have an in-depth walk around York.

Visit to the John Bunting War Memorial Chapel

The groups also combined to make a visit to the John Bunting War Memorial Chapel at Scotch (or Scot's) Corner, near Oldstead on the edge of the North York Moors, to hear about the chapel from the son of the builder. See the War Memorial Chapel website for more information. There is also a Country Life article about the chapel. These links open in a new window.

Text and pictures contributed by Lesley Bradshaw, Elaine Hubery and Peter Barker.