What we do

Contents

About Us

Programme Retrospective

Stour Valley Way in pictures

Angles Way in pictures

About Us

We are a friendly group who enjoy walking, making new friends, and seeing beautiful countryside and wildlife throughout Hertfordshire, Essex & Cambridgeshire.

Our year-round Tuesday and Thursday morning walks are 5 - 7miles, while Sunday’s range from 9 -12 miles. During the summer we also organise shorter walks of 3 - 4 miles on Wednesday evenings. We normally have a coffee stop at 11am and go for a drink in a pub at lunch time or after an evening walk. Please do not go into a pub in muddy boots

Royston Group is led by a band of experienced leaders, so all you need to do as a member, is turn up at a set time and location, generally within 20 miles of Royston, and enjoy the walk.

If you are interested, come along and see how you get on, with no obligation to join. You can view our walks programme and contact the walk leader, at www.ramblers.org.uk/royston and they will be pleased to welcome you or tel: 07734 111225 for further details.

Join Us

Although members joining the Ramblers' Association are only automatically allocated to this Group if they live in Royston or villages in Hertfordshire with an SG8 postcode, many members are from Buntingford or South Cambridgeshire. New walkers are welcome. If you need advice on what to wear or what to bring, please call the walk leader or any committee member.

Group Officers

Ian Thomas – Chair

Lesley Abbiss – Secretary

Alan Cooper – Treasurer

Ruth Katz – Programme Coordinator

Steven Thain – Ordinary Member

Nick Everington – Long Distance Walks Organiser

Vacant – Footpath Secretary

Vacant – Area Representative

Peter Grice – Independent Examiner

Contact:- royston.ramblers@yahoo.com

How to be a leader:

to become a walk leader in the Ramblers you have to be registered as a volunteer. This involves the group secretary informing head office so that you will be covered by the Ramblers' insurance policy. When this has been completed you will be able to 'Sign in' (top right on Ramblers home page) to your 'Account' and see the 'Walks Manager' under the 'Your volunteering' header.

Please update your 'Contact preferences' (drop down menu item under the icon) and give permission to use them.

When in Walks Manager there are three options on the menu bar. 'List view', 'Calendar view' and 'Table view'. Selecting one of these will display the walks of our group.

Walk out your walk, take photos and measure the distance.

Look at the calendar (which contains both published and draft walks) and find a gap. You can either email royston.ramblers with your walk details or you can create a draft entry yourself.

Publishing your walk on the web site

Use the 'Create' button to 'Add a walk' and enter the details of your walk starting with the chosen date. Remember to select the 'Walking group' button. This will display a list of our walk leaders so you can choose your own name. 'Save and continue' to enter descriptions, photos, start location, distance, etc..

You can display a 'Preview' of your walk and continue to edit it. It will appear in the Calendar view as a draft. This reserves the date for you. When you are happy with the details you can select 'Submit for checking' and you should then email royston.ramblers@yahoo.com but please no later than two weeks before the walk. Note: we can make changes to your walk after it is published.

We currently do morning walks on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Sundays we do longer walks with a stop for lunch. Walks start at 10am.

When specifying the start location, in the first text box enter a village name or post code. This will provoke a drop down list for you to select an item. The map will then display a 'pin' at that location for you to move to your intended start. The software will provide a grid reference and a post code in the next text box, which you can edit. Finally, a brief description is enough.

The walk difficulty is normally 'Moderate', but if you want something else then check the web site for the definition of “Leisurely” and “Strenuous”.

Tribute to David Allard

https://www.facebook.com/groups/325776014447226/permalink/2057288907962586

ROYSTON AND DISTRICT GROUP OF THE RAMBLERS

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

7.30pm, Tuesday 21st October 2025
Committee Room, Royston Town Hall, SG8 7DA
Present: (20) Lesley Abbiss, Alan Cooper, Nick Everington, Jane Horsford, Ruth Katz, Steven Thain, Ian Thomas Gill Duckworth, Steve Panter, Belinda Brown, David Marsh, Mike Flexmore, Alan Ellis, Lynn Ross, Vivienne Brown, Chrissie Prove, Mike Scriven, Sue Toule, Peter Grice, David Winpenny
Apologies: Christine Sherriff, Marion Smith, Annette & David Little, Jackie Rogger, Peter Joyner, Nina Clements
1 Welcome
Ian welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2 Minutes of last meeting
These were agreed. Proposed by Vivienne Brown, seconded by Belinda Brown.
3 Matters arising
None
4 Chair's report – Ian Thomas
I have now done 2 years’ service as the Chair of Royston Group and it has flown by.
We have led 100 regular walks in the 12 months since the last AGM: 51 on Tuesdays, 49 on Thursdays, plus 4 walks on the Stour Valley Way and 5 on the Angles Way and 6 evening walks, 4 walks on the coach trip and 1 each for the Christmas lunch and on New Year’s Day. However, there were no Sunday walks (and very few comments about their lack). We hope to get them up and running next year. Thank you to Lesley for getting me these numbers which are broadly comparable to last year. And thank you to Alan Cooper for his work in checking and uploading all those walks onto the Walks Manager.
As of 2nd October we had 135 members, compared with 130 at the time of the last AGM. We continue to recruit new members to replace those we lose. Our average attendance was around 20 on each regular weekday walk with a record of 37 on Viv’s Barley walk which coincidentally had bacon butties lined up for a pre-walk breakfast.
There were a lot of highlights this year. I hope that I can do them justice in a few words in a rough chronological order:
I led the 2024 Christmas walk at Reed in torrential rain. Steven is your leader this year and I am sure that our Christmas do will be a success. We had a successful New Year’s Day walk at Croydon, despite some heavy rain showers, followed by a good lunch at the Wood Grill. Thank you to Peter and Gill for leading at short notice while I was struggling with injury. And we are planning to do another New Year’s Day walk in 2026 with details in the next newsletter.
The coach trip to Colchester was successful, the weather gods smiled on us once again and the walks were memorable. Let’s discuss where to go next year later in this AGM. Could I thank Gill, Lesley and Alan for doing the recces with me and going the extra mile to get us the best walks in the area.
The first trail walk this year was along the Stour Valley in Suffolk from Newmarket to the estuary. This was 60 miles and took place on 4 consecutive Thursdays in March and April with glorious weather throughout. The second walk was the 83 miles long Angles Way from Great Yarmouth to Knettishall Heath following the River Waveney and the Little Ouse valleys. We did this one on 5 days using consecutive Tuesdays and Thursdays in July. I am pleased that we were able to do these long walks without disrupting the regular walks back near Royston. Enormous thanks to Nick for putting these walks together. It is a lot of work and a big responsibility. Thank you.
We have no deaths to report this year. However several members of long standing no
longer walk with us at least on a regular basis. Alan Ellis was our treasurer for many years, David Neate was great company, and Sylvia Fuller was our social secretary.
We have also had two accidents this year. They both were caused by and only injured me. I am working on what is going wrong there.
The newsletter comes out just before the start of each month. Thank you to Lesley and Penny for putting it together. We have been doing this now for two years – would you like us to continue? (All agreed).
We don’t often say much about footpaths at the AGM. Lesley has taken on David Allard’s role for our group and I help out when I can. We really need others to come forward and spread the load a bit. It is useful. This year we have gained a new bridleway in Kelshall and 2 or 3 years ago we gained a bridleway in Ashwell. These are just a couple of the successes. The parish footpath wardens help to ensure paths are maintained and protected. Lesley and I are the only two parish wardens in Royston Group – have a look at the list of orphan parishes in Stile and see if you can help.
So. I want to thank on your behalf all of our walk leaders who have made these walks
happen. And again on your behalf I want to thank the committee, for giving up their time to make everything happen, for giving me so much good advice during the year, and for being such good company. My personal thanks go out to Lesley for keeping us all in order and running the show.
Finally, a plea. We need more walk leaders. I love leading a walk: there is the adventure of exploring somewhere new and the achievement of getting to really know an area. If you are tempted just talk to any of our leaders, or the committee, or me.
Thank you.
5 Treasurer's report – Alan Cooper
Alan outlined the accounts which had been circulated to all members in advance of the AGM (see separate document). Balance at 30th Sept: General Fund £36.18; Social Fund £651.80. This has been audited and submitted to Area. Lynn Ross asked what the Walks recce expenses referred to. Alan clarified that this was for the coach outing walks. Alan Ellis asked why we had made a loss on this year's coach outing. This was because there were not enough participants to break even. Tickets are priced at aiming to cover the costs.
The Accounts were agreed. Proposed by Ruth Katz, seconded by Steven Thain.
6 Footpath report – Lesley Abbiss
The key work of a parish footpath warden is to report any problems to the County Council via their website. Common problems include broken or damaged structures such as gates, footbridges and stiles which are gradually being replaced with kissing gates; blockages caused by fallen trees and occasionally locked gates, although this is quite rare on our patch; encroachment caused by overgrown or overhanging vegetation; and flooding.
Anybody can report a problem and it's usually a good idea to take a couple of photos and take note of the location. We are fortunate in Hertfordshire to have a Rights of Way Department who are proactive and do a good job of responding to reported issues. We also have a Countryside Management Service who organise working parties of enthusiastic volunteers who go out and help with repairs and improvements to our Public Rights of Way.
As a District Footpath Secretary I am notified of planning applications which are near public rights of way and may impact them and I liaise with the local parish footpath wardens in my East Herts District. Many planning applications are minor and involve private householders building an extension or creating a swimming pond in their garden and do not affect rights of way. Others involve quite large projects such as a new housing development or solar farm. Ramblers cannot oppose such applications per se, but we can and do comment in terms of protecting and enhancing the rights of way network. These are opportunities for Ramblers to improve footpaths and sometimes add new ones. We also respond to Public Path Orders and Definitive Map Modification Orders which tend to involve diversions to existing footpaths. In these cases we aim to achieve an outcome which is no less convenient or pleasant to walkers.
We have an active and enthusiastic footpaths group at Area level. On many aspects we work with other parties interested in the Countryside and access to it: the British Horse Society, Open Spaces Society, Council for the Protection of Rural England among others.
You may have heard of the Ramblers Don't Lose Your Way project which is aiming to get unrecorded rights of way included on the Definitive Map before the deadline which is currently 2031, after which time any path not recorded could be lost, although this date changes depending on the government. When the current Labour Government came to power they announced they would abolish the deadline but so far this has not been done.

There are a number of issues which we are currently pursuing, thanks in no small part to members' alerts; notably a fence which has been erected to stop up the pedestrian rail crossing along Royston FP017 (linking Royston to the Ashwell Stret near Litlington). This is on the Hedera Green Estate near the McDonalds roundabout and the problem is that the fence has effectively blocked the crossing before the proposed diversion has been put in place. Another case concerns a 'naughty' farmer who has ploughed to the edge of fields in Meesden and made walking the footpaths a challenge. We are on the case and will keep you informed of any updates via our monthly Newsletter.
We all enjoy lots of lovely and varied walks throughout the year thanks to an extensive
footpath network but these routes need looking after. If anyone is interested in finding out more, please get in touch and let us know if you encounter any footpath problems while out walking.
Belinda asked how to report problems in Cambridgeshire. It was agreed to put a note in next month's newsletter.
7 Coach outing 2026
Mention had been made that following two consecutive inland trips it would be good to go to the coast, possibly Norfolk. No date has been fixed but we would aim for early June, avoiding Fathers Day and any walks planned by Comberton Ramblers.
8 Long distance walks – Nick Everington
Thanks to Ruth and Peter for brining the projector. Nick gave an illustrated presentation summarising the two walks completed earlier in the year: the Stour Valley Way, 65 miles in 4 stages in a dry, sunny March; and the Angles Way, 83 miles in 5 stages which went well except for one very wet day. Both walks had been successful and very enjoyable. He outlined some proposals for 2026. The 87 mile Ridgeway was considered too difficult logistically with distance and times to start points. Another option would be to go with a company and do a week or a few days. Guernsey was put forward which would involve a round trip of the island from St Peter Port. This would be more expensive. Other suggestions included the Saffron Trail 71 miles from Saffron Walden to Southend-on-Sea or the Weavers Way from Cromer, via Aylsham, Stalham, Acle to Great Yarmouth comprising 61 miles in 4 stages.
Nick thanked leaders for keeping the ordinary programme going at the same time as the long-distance walks. He raised the question of whether there might be a demand for some medium long-distance walks between 8 and 10 miles. David Winpenny pointed out that a 10 mile walk effectively took a whole day as it would require a lunch stop and not finish until 3pm.
Nick asked people to sign up as a show of interest at this stage.
9 Notification of the Christmas party
Saturday 6th December at Reed Village Hall
4 mile walk starting at 11am leader Steven followed by a bring and share lunch from 12.30 onwards. Ruth has agreed to coordinate food offerings. There will be mulled wine and a quiz. Details will be on the website and invitations will appear in the November Newsletter and emailed to all members.
10 Election of committee members and independent examiner
No nominations had been received and all the existing members agreed to stand again.
Ian Thomas – Chairman
Alan Cooper – Treasurer
Lesley Abbiss – Secretary
Ruth Katz – Walks Programme Coordinator
Nick Everington – Long Distance Walks Organiser
Jane Horsford – Social Secretary
Vacant – Area Representative
Vacant – Footpath Secretary
Steven Thain – Ordinary Member
Peter Grice – Independent Examiner
Proposed by Belinda Brown, seconded by Chrissie Prove.
11 AOB
• Ian requested volunteers to take up positions of Footpath Wardens for the parishes of Royston and Barley.
• He reminded that current walk leaders would need to self-certify that they had led at
least 12 walks in the past 3 years or complete the online training.
• Belinda said that posting walks on the programme could be quite onerous. Alan Cooper said he was happy to continue putting walks up as long as leaders email him the details.
• She also asked if we could organise a central meeting point / Whatsapp group for car sharing. People could opt out if they wished.
• Ruth stated that quite a few leaders no longer lead walk and asked if they could share the walks they had done so that we could continue to enjoy them. She also mentioned the possibility of setting up a buddy system so that people would have someone to recce with. It was agreed to put a request in the next Newsletter.
• David Marsh thanked the Committee for organising the first aid course.
The meeting closed at 20:30
Date of next meeting: TBA