About Us

HISTORY OF CLUB

by DON WALTER – former Walks Organiser and one of the club’s founder members

The club was founded in April 1983 after a post-card was placed on the notice board of the Stoke Lodge Adult Education Institute advertising a room to use for the first meeting for a group of friends who were all interested in walking. The first walk took place on the 17th April 1983 when we walked the “Alternative Southern ending of the Cotswold Way”.

Walks in the early days were monthly and alternated between Saturdays and Sundays. Until fairly recently we met outside Stoke Lodge to share cars etc before walks and hence the name of the club. The club has grown significantly from these early days and now has a membership of about 100 people. There is no longer any direct link to Stoke Lodge other than the name of the club!

The club aims to provide a varied range of walks that will suit all levels of walking abilities and also holds a number of social events throughout the year.

We celebrated our 30th Anniversary on 25th April 2013 with a series of walks and a celebration lunch at Tyntesfield: photos from this event are on the 30th Anniversary Photos page.

We have also sponsored a Kissing Gate in the Mendips near Compton Martin on the Limestone Link footpath as a  recognition of our 30 years as a walking club -see the photos of Don and Pat Walter at the installation of the gate also on the 30th Anniversary Photos page.

OBJECTIVES OF CLUB

The Objectives of the Club are as defined by the Constitution and Rules.

These are:

1. a) To hold regular organised walks for the enjoyment of the club members;
2. b) To help members to understand the area in which they are walking and the environment generally.

It was felt by the founding members of the club that the walks should be more than merely covering the miles, and information about places or things of interest should be passed on if possible. Similarly if something of interest crops up e.g. an unusual plant or site of interest, we should stop and have a look at it. We feel that this strand of the club’s original idea is still valid today.

Further information about the Club

The programme gives details of the 3 levels of walks:

WEEKEND WALKS:

7-11 miles, these may take place on Saturday or Sunday and which it is will be noted on the Walks programme page of the website in good time. 

THURSDAY WALKS: 

MEDIUM WALKS 5-7 miles

SHORT WALKS 4 miles max (can be over any terrain but at a gentler pace)

The meeting place for all walks and events is Cross Elms Lane, Stoke Bishop unless advised otherwise in the Programme, Newsletter, or the Walks programme page of the website.

With effect from January 2020, ALL WALKS MEET AT 09.30 am. Please advise the walk leader(s) if you plan to go straight to the start of the walk.

Car sharing is important for parking and environmental reasons. The club committee recommends that passengers collectively contribute towards the driver’s expenses. We don’t want the drivers to be “out of pocket” so the committee recommends that passengers should be prepared to pay up to 10P/mile/person – although it is always at the driver’s discretion as to how much he or she charges.

The Walks Programme will indicate if there is to be a pub lunch included and non-walkers are welcome to join in these , but please advise the walk leader in advance so that the correct numbers can be given when the lunch is booked.

The Club issues a Newsletter about twice a year giving Club members information about upcoming events and activities, and also sends occasional emails. We aim to update this website with any changes to the walks programme.

Interested in joining us?

You’re welcome to join us for a trial walk as our guest – please contact us for more details!

Or download our application form:

SLR application form Word (if you’d like to download the form and fill it in on your computer)

SLR application form pdf (if you’d like to print the form and complete it by hand)