President's Walks

The first President’s Walk took place on 22 May 1994. That Sunday morning Jon Martin led a party of fourteen – members and wives – and three black dogs from the Coach & Horses at Danehill, through Buttocks Bank Wood, the Birchgrove estate, Twyford, Newnham’s plantation and Woodgate, before returning to the Coach & Horses for much appreciated refreshment.

The going for the walk was quite muddy, even for May, but otherwise the weather was kind. We made the trip in about an hour and a half, and somehow spent at least as long in the pub afterwards recovering. Our numbers by this time had increased by another three of the walkers’ wives, so altogether it was a fair turnout for a first attempt.

I suppose it was a typically casual Rotary conversation between Jon and me that had sparked off the idea of a regular but not too strenuous walk for Club members and wives (and dogs, as it turned out). Several of us were occasional walkers of one sort or another, and it was lucky that we had in Jon a more dedicated walker, and someone who already had good experience of leading walking groups in the area.

The monthly walks were planned principally as part of the programme for the forthcoming Rotary year 1994/95, but once we had it all set up, the then president Jimmy Robb – himself quite a keen walker – kindly agreed we could make a start during the last couple of months of his year. I’m not certain at that early stage that we envisaged the walks becoming so well established – and remaining a firm fixture in the Club calendar for at least the next decade.

Jon continued to lead the monthly walks for the rest of that first year, and Chris Kinnear took over for the second year. Jon, Chris and Alan Hancock shared the leading for the third year, and then Chris did another twelve-month stint himself. From the middle of 1998 about a dozen of us have led the walks more or less in turn. We are lucky in this part of the world to have such a wonderful variety of lovely countryside to explore, and although the routes for our walks are occasionally repeated over the years, it is surprising how often a leader will find new territory for us to discover.

Occasionally we have a longer walk than the normal couple of hours. On only our fourth walk in August 1994 we did extra miles over the Seven Sisters and through Friston Forest, completing the second leg back to the cars after enjoying splendid midday refreshment at the Tiger Inn at East Dean. That walk has been done again at intervals since and it’s always very enjoyable.

Sometimes we have had a couple of dozen or so on our walks; a few times it’s been but a handful, but I suppose more often than not we’ve had somewhere between ten and twenty walkers. You never can tell how many or just who will turn up. What you can rely on generally is that there will be several black dogs — probably the most consistent feature of our monthly Sunday morning forays. Their attendance record can only be described as exemplary.

One of the joys of the walks – indeed for an increasing number, the highlight – is the sustenance we enjoy in congenial surroundings afterwards. We started off quite simply, just a beer and sandwiches, but in recent times our refreshments seem to have developed a life of their own, and a number of us find it not so easy to face a Sunday evening meal after the spread we manage to get through in the pub at lunchtime. But it’s always a good excuse for a nap when we get home, another bonus.

Over the years a few local pubs have become regular favourites – the Ardingly Inn at Ardingly, the Green Man at Horsted Keynes, and more recently, our own Bent Arms in Lindfield.

Malcolm Wykes

No record has actually been kept of the President's Walks' programme. The scraps of information shown here have been culled from odd entries in individual diaries and other obscure sources. It is hoped with members' help to build up a more complete picture as and when more information comes to hand.

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Lunch venue