Your Local Club: Finchley & Hornsey Ramblers

We can all be guilty of hitting autopilot and sticking to the same avenues when it comes to exploring our local area. All of us except the Finchley & Hornsey Ramblers that is, whose weekly Sunday walk takes its members across the north of the capital and beyond, treading treasured paths like those around Hampstead Heath and also little-known ones further afield. 

We spoke to membership secretary Vivien Mallindine who, at 64 when she joined back in 1994 and still walking weekly, couldn’t be a better example of what walking and socialising can do for your wellbeing…

Tell us about your group
The Ramblers is a nationwide organisation, the Finchley & Hornsey Ramblers are just one group within that. Locally there’s also the Hampstead, Watford & Three Rivers, and North London & South Herts groups. We have just under 400 members in our group alone.

I personally joined the club in 1994, but the Finchley & Hornsey group was established in the late 80s, early 90s.

How does a typical walk with the Finchley & Hornsey Ramblers play out?
There will be a leader, someone who has experience in leading walks, who decides where we’ll be going and reads the map while we’re en route. Some leaders like to start from a train station or bus stop, while some walks will require us to car share if we’re going a little further afield. We might stay in London, walking on Hampstead Heath or we often go to the Chiltern Hills, Hertfordshire, and Windsor.

We usually meet at 10:30 on a Sunday. The leader will have to let everyone know beforehand how many miles we’ll be walking. A recent walk was great because it was a figure of eight, so people could choose to do one loop of four miles or both loops which were eight and a half miles in total. When we’re walking we average around two miles an hour. 

Do you walk all year round?
Yes, but obviously the walks are shorter in the winter and longer in the summer. We do have to take the seasons into account and the daylight hours, but that is why we have a leader who plans ahead. We have a group WhatsApp so leaders can let us know if there’s a blizzard or really torrential rain that we won’t be going out. That’s a huge move on from the past, we used to have to call around and let everyone know!

In the summertime, we often have an additional walk on a Saturday which is usually a longer, more involved walk for those who want it.

Who are your members?
We tend to have more females than men, with a mix across age groups joining us. We do find that people who have more time on their hands come more regularly, so there’s a strong retired contingent. My husband joined when he retired, seeing it as a good thing to do, allowing him to keep busy and healthy at the same time. He went on to become the chairman of our group for over 25 years, which is what we still find now – once people join they tend to stay.

We used to say, when my husband was alive, that the youngest member was nine and the oldest was 90, but sadly we don’t have anyone as young as nine now, but we’d love to welcome those younger faces. We also welcome dogs on our walks. Not all groups allow dogs but we don’t mind at all, as long as they’re well behaved.

What do people enjoy about the group?
They get a good feeling that they’re doing something that’s beneficial for their health. Nearly anyone can take it up and they don’t need a lot of equipment when they do. Everyone who comes also enjoys being in nature and seeing new areas on foot, over the different times of the year.

The social side is also very good, lots of friendships are made over the course of our walks! We’re a very social club, for instance, every year in June, to mark the summer solstice, we will do our ‘Solstice Walk’. Instead of each bringing our own sandwiches we will all bring food to share with one another on our walk. When we first started doing the Solstice Walk we would start at midnight but it has moved to the nearest Sunday daytime now.

What equipment does someone need to get involved?
If we’re walking in a London park or along the Thames then trainers are absolutely fine but more challenging walks require a more sturdy walking boot. For instance, some club members have just come back from a few days on the Gower Peninsula, and they often plan walks up in the Lake District; on these more mountainous or muddy walks boots are a must. 

I would never suggest wearing denim jeans because they hold water if it rains. Waterproof but breathable fabrics are great as they dry out in minutes, so walking trousers, anoraks, and fleeces are very handy. There’s no need to spend lots of money on these bits, just a few practical pieces should see you through.

Some people choose to use walking poles but they’re not a necessity at all. I’d say a small rucksack is needed though so you can take a drink and that aforementioned banana!

How can someone get a flavour for the group?
We suggest that a new person comes along on a couple of walks to see whether they like walking in a group and whether they like us as a group. That would be entirely free. Then from there, if you’re happy, we’d hope you’d join our group. Any member of the Finchley & Hornsey Ramblers can then walk with any other Rambler group in the country.

You can also find out all the information about our planned walks on our website. If you’d like to come along for the first time, we’d ask you to just email the leader of the walk you’d like to go on.

How much does it cost to join the Hornsey and Finchley Ramblers?
To join, there is an annual £36.60 fee (individual) or £49 (joint) which can be paid in one go or in monthly installments.

What is the best thing about your group?
For me personally, it’s about meeting up with people. Once you get to a certain age, if you haven’t got a goal you’re in danger of just sitting down and doing nothing. If you’ve got a goal to go out walking once a week you’re going to feel like you’ve achieved something which is great. It could be pouring with rain but because I’ve decided I’m going, I’ll go.

https://www.ramblers.org.uk/finchley-hornsey