Walking group records tumble - again!
The choir walkers had another record-breaking outing on March 7 2016, passing one landmark and equalling another in a delightful circuit of five and a half miles from Godstone Green.
The record twelve at the Tandridge Yew - 2000 years old
The walk was also marked by the return to action of Martin “Polly” Perkins, following the unfortunate mishap on a walk in December 2015 which left him with a broken ankle. He and social member Ted Mouat took part in the first mile of the walk and it was this which brought the numbers of this part of the walk up to fourteen – the highest number of participants for one stage of a walk, outstripping the thirteen which was recorded in a walk around Keston in April 2015.
The walkers pause one mile out of Godstone
The total of twelve taking part in the entire walk also equalled the previous highest count, notched in a walk at Nutfield in September 2015.
On a downward section returning to Godstone
Some aspects of the walk were familiar from previous outings, such as Godstone’s Bay Pond, St Nicholas’ Church and St Mary’s Chapel in the alms-houses designed by George Gilbert Scott. The walkers also visited the Barley Mow pub in Tandridge, the mid-point refreshment halt, for a second time.
An impressive new feature was the Tandridge Yew, at St Peter’s church and cemetery, an enormous tree that at 2,000 years old is among the oldest in the UK. (The oldest is the nearby Crowhurst Yew, reputedly 4,000 years old.) The walkers crossed the Godstone point-to-point race-course which was still set up from a meeting the previous day.
Bracket fungus, photographed by Trevor Watkins
The walkers returned via the Greensand Way, finishing back at Godstone Green where cricket has been played since at least 1750. They also searched for traces of the Rope Walk which traversed the green in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Messrs Mouat and Perkins head back towards Godstone during their one-mile stretch which contributed to the new record.)
The record-breaking walk, designed by master navigator Dave "Banners" Bannister, took place in crisp, clear weather almost throughout. The next walk is slated for Monday 4 April.