Walmsley Wombles Walking Fellowship

Our monthly walks are between 6 and 8 miles long and – in addition to local walks – we also visit the South Lakes, the Yorkshire Dales, the Morecambe Bay area, the Lune and Ribble valleys, the Forest of Bowland and the South Pennines.

We usually walk on the 4^th Saturday of the month and can provide lifts for anyone who needs one; you can be assured of a warm welcome.

If you wish to obtain further information about us or want to try one of our walks, please contact Steve Gregory on 01204-307885, 07734-057141 or by email to stevegregory524@gmail.com

Please note that our wonderful Wombling leader is currently unwell, but he and his wife Hilary are still dealing with enquiries. We wish them both well and pray for better health for ‘super Steve’.

The Walmsley Wombles were started by Ken Holt and have now been regularly walking together for about 14 years;  we often have over twenty walkers on our monthly rambles and it’s a good opportunity to chat with friends whilst enjoying  beautiful surroundings.

We wish to extend our continued thanks to Steve G for keeping us all in the loop about our amazing walks; thank you to those who plan, recce and lead our monthly walks … and thanks to Ken H, for starting it all off!!

The next get together will be our Walmsley Wombles Walking Weekend in Whitby: Friday 26-Monday 29 September … exciting times ahead!!

Our WALMSLEY WOMBLES walk on Saturday 23 August was from Spring Wood

This was a scenic walk that followed the Ribble Valley Jubilee Trail and climbed past the site of an Iron Age Hill fort up to the Nick of Pendle and returned via the pretty village of Wiswell. Tony Foster led this walk, and he says, “We had an enthusiastic group of walkers. The weather was kind to us and the walk provided plenty of good views throughout.”  Refreshments were enjoyed at the nearby Aspinall Arms after the walk. 😊

(Thank you to John K & Tony F for the photos.)

   

Our WALMSLEY WOMBLES walk on Saturday 26 July 2025 was in Silverdale

Mike & Janet Rawlinson led this walk, starting from the Silverdale hotel and walking past Jenny Brown’s point, across the estuary and up through Cragg Wood. After our lunch stop – with stunning views – we proceeded round the back of Leighton Hall and then along the causeway of Leighton Moss RSPB before making our way back to Silverdale hotel. The walk was 7.5 miles.
Thank you, Mike & Janet for leading this, which was reported to be ‘a fabulous walk’, with ‘beautiful countryside’ and ‘the best lunch stop ever’.

(Thank you to Julie & Marian for the comments 😊 … and Mark H & Aubrey for the photos.)

Our WALMSLEY WOMBLES walk on Saturday 28 June 2025 was Buckden Rake and Yockenthwaite

This walk was a beautiful one in Upper Wharfedale which the Wombles last did in June 2014. Tony Foster led the walk and highlights included Yockenthwaite Farm which serves as the exterior of Heaton Grange Farm – the home of Helen Alderson in the TV series ‘All Creatures Great and Small’.  Tony’s instructions are attached for your information. Another highlight was St Michaels & All Angels church in Hubberholme the church dates from the 12th century and the pews were carved by Robert Thompson, the Mouseman of Kilburn.

Although the day was rather damp, the scenery was spectacular and Tony proved to be a very adept and considerate leader, ensuring everyone was managing … especially down some rather slippery limestone paths. Thank you, Tony.

    

There were also some fantastic wild flower meadows by the River Wharfe. We saw a number of types of wild orchids plus yellow rattle, scabious, wild thyme, clover, self heal, speedwell and more! (Thank you to Polly for identifying and naming them all!!)

 

Our May walk was on Saturday 24 May 2025: a local one around Edgworth & Entwistle led by Marian and Julie

This interesting walk took us along lesser known paths, through parts of ‘old’ Edgworth that few of us were familiar with …and one particularly wonderful element of it was that Steve Gregory joined us for the first part of our ramble. It was so good to see him – and to walk and chat with him – as we WOMBLED our way through some amazing countryside. Some of us took a slight detour to see the grave of Roger Worthington, who preached in the isolated moorland area of Hawkshaw and Edgworth from around 1680 to the early years of the 18th century. He died on 9th July 1709 and, having loved the moorlands throughout his lifetime, expressed a wish to be buried on them.

Thank you to Marian and Julie for planning the route and leading us through a familiar – but not well-known – part of our beautiful local area. We ended up for refreshments and conviviality at the White Horse, where Steve again joined us; what a great way to spend a day!

The Wombles at Crowthorne:

Roger Worthington’s Gravestone; Bracket Fungus in Barlow Woods; A former stone dwelling; A view across Edgworth

 

Happy Wombles on Quarlton Heights:    (Thank you to Mark H & Angie F for the photos)

Saturday 26 April: Trough of Bowland passing through Street, Lower Dolphinholme and to Abbeystead Reservoir

Peter & Cath led this splendid walk from Scorton, which was just under 8 miles, mainly through undulating pastureland and on farm tracks, with an area of woodland and a short riverside walk. There were no steep climbs but there were lovely views of the local fells and – on a good day – Morecambe Bay and even Blackpool Tower. The fellowship was brilliant and, with information from Peter about the route as we progressed, it was very informative, too. Thank you so much to you both for your hospitality at the start … and we all thoroughly enjoyed the perfect walking weather and the stunning picnic spot for lunch!! Thank you also to Mark H for the group pic … and to Nick H for most of the other scenic images.

       

Peter told us about the loss of life after a catastrophic explosion here at the water pumping station in 1984:

And a beautiful spot for a picnic – next to the reservoir.

Saturday 22 February: Lytham Hall Snowdrop Walk.

Such a lovely walk with 29 of us setting off along the promenade – the Lancashire Coastal Way – to the Lytham Windmill, on to the beautiful Lytham Hall to see a stunning array of snowdrops – plus the statue of Bobby Ball – then back to Fairhaven Lake. Thank you to Aubrey and Anne McCreesh for planning  a pleasant walk (and for ordering the fine weather).

OUR FIRST 2025 WALK –  Saturday 25 January:

A great day walking around Anglezarke followed by fellowship at Rivington Brewery. What looked like a disappointing start with the snow and ice turned out to be a brilliant day with both weather and good company making for an excellent walk.

Thank you to Michael and Janet Rawlinson for a well-organised and interesting walk. (…with some dispute as to exactly how many chips Hilary pinched from Malcolm 🙂

OUR POST-CHRISTMAS GATHERING 2024:

On 30 December, we enjoyed a local – shorter – Christmas Walk, led by Marian Batty, starting and finishing at Egerton Cricket Club, where we shared a delicious Jacob’s Join lunch after the walk. Thank you to everyone who came along for the company, conversation and convivial fellowship. The food was AMAZING … thank you to those who stayed behind to set out the elaborate array of tasty treats!!

It was so good to see our Wombles leader, Steve Gregory, joining us after the walk.

Thank you to Mark H, our genius photographer, who always manages to capture the moment 🙂

WOMBLES WEEKEND in Sedbergh: 18-21 October 2024

The Wombles enjoyed a fabulous weekend of walking, fun and fellowship when we went to Sedbergh in the Yorkshire Dales. The weather was glorious (apart from one short, drenching squall on an open hillside) and the beautiful surrounding countryside was absolutely stunning.

Special thanks to Mike and Janet Rawlinson, who had carefully recced the amazing routes we followed. And grateful thanks to Steve Gregory, who had researched and sourced the walks …and also booked the lovely the HF Hotel – Thorns Hall – where 23 Wombles thoroughly enjoyed the company,  conviviality, comfort and cuisine.

Thank you to Peter, who provided the excellent quizzes over three evenings, whilst we relaxed and enjoyed some excellent company in the hotel lounge.

And thank you, Steve, for the picture quiz round …tricky.

What a great way to spend a weekend, covering about 15 miles over the two planned walks , with a start point from nearby Ravenstonedale on the Sunday.

A wonderful Walmsley Wombling Weekend!!

 

 

Thank you to various wombles for these amazing photos!!

CHRISTMAS WALK 2023 ~ Thursday 28 December: What a lovely way to spend a few post-Christmas hours with friends: a pleasant, easy walk followed by delicious food.
Thank you, yet again, to Steve & Hilary Gregory for organising it … and also to Anne McCreesh for helping Hilary to set the buffet out so beautifully – such good fellowship.

WOMBLES WEEKEND in Malhamdale: 13-16 October 2023

This last weekend 25 members of the Walmsley Wombles Walking Fellowship had our annual weekend away at Newfield Hall, Malhamdale. We were lucky to have excellent weather for our walks on Saturday and Sunday in this beautiful part of the Yorkshire Dales. Newfield Hall itself was a great venue and everyone enjoyed the food and our social get together. Some of our members displayed their dancing skills on the large dance floor while others attempted to play curling on the same surface. We also had bingo, beetle drives and quizzes to enjoy. Some of our members also visited Skipton and Harlow Carr RHS Garden and undertook short walks rather than undertake the longer ones.

Thank you to Mark Head, John Keating and Aubrey McCreesh for these photos from our excellent weekend together:

       

Walks Programme

Monthly walks are organised on the FOURTH SATURDAY by Steve Gregory, usually setting off from our starting point at 10.30am.

These are generally between 6 – 8 miles in length, with a packed lunch stop en route,  and provide  a fabulous opportunity for fun and fellowship with a really friendly group of folk.

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Should you require any further information please contact Steve on 307885 or stevegregory524@gmail.com

A photo of the original group of Womblers in  August 2009: 

And on our weekend in Llandudno, organised by Ken Holt in September 2017…