Footpath Work

Denis Holmes will be retiring from the post of Local Footpath Secretary on 1 March 2013 and we are very pleased that Jean Harker and Ian Wilks have volunteered to join David Hutton as Footpath Secretaries responsible for the thirteen parishes in central and eastern Waverley. This was approved formally by the Surrey Area Council at their meeting on 12 January.

Responsibility for the thirteen parish areas has now been re-organised as follows.

David Hutton: Haslemere, Chiddingfold, Dunsfold, Alfold.

Jean Harker: Cranleigh, Ewhurst, Wonersh.

Ian Wilks: Godalming, Busbridge, Bramley, Hambledon, Hascombe, Witley.

As all three Secretaries live within their respective parish areas the arrangement will reduce the amount of travel involved and should make it easier to manage all round.  It is important for members to continue to report footpath problems, broken stiles, damaged or missing fingerposts, problems with waymark posts etc to our Footpath Secretaries. We depend a lot on your feedback!

Contact details will be on the Walks Programme.

The October Work Party was held at Springbok farm, where the plan was to install two more kissing gates. The farmer had agreed that he would try and move the bullocks from the field. The day dawned and the field held about thirty bullocks. The farmer was away and the deputy farm manager said although the bullocks were quite lively he thought we would be alright! So one team worked on the kissing gate between two fields and our team took the gate between the field and the farm lane. We removed the gate and a length of fencing and looking across to the other team saw that they were surrounded by a host of bullocks eagerly trying to see what was going on. So far, so good ! However, we had obviously not accounted for someone in the other team who was a secret “cattle whisperer” and suggested they look over there. Suddenly we heard a distant thunder and looked up to see all the bullocks leaving the other team’s location and charging across the field straight for us and the gap in the fence. With lots of shouts of “don’t panic” we rushed to form a line in front of the gap and began to shout and wave our arms about and jump up and down. The first rank of bullocks staggered to a halt, looked at us with those big soft eyes of theirs and slowly shook their heads for a while, looked at each other and then slowly moved away with a few backward glances as if to say “what are they on!”

November saw us back at Rapsley farm near Ewhurst for some path clearance and a serious bonfire. It took a while to get the bonfire going but in the end it was a glorious roaring, spitting fire which certainly warmed us and was a nice spot to sit round for our packed lunches. Unfortunately, it was only when I got home that I found that spitting bonfires and fleeces don’t really go together. My working fleece now looks more like a string vest with a large number of see-through holes burnt in it  … still it will be well ventilated for the scorching summer I’m expecting!

Finally in December we returned to our mud bath path near Grayswood, only this time we just cleared the overhanging bushes and generally smartened it up, before retiring to the nearest hostelry for our end of year Xmas lunch.