The H&G group covers the area of Henley and Goring in the Southern  part of Oxfordshire bordering Berks and Bucks. 

Henley and Goring is a friendly group with over 400 members. We are lucky to live in a beautiful part of the country with the Chilterns and the River Thames in our area. We attract and welcome walkers from all over Oxfordshire and further afield.  With over 30 walk leaders we can deliver on our policy of providing walks to suit a wide range of tastes and abilities. We bring out a comprehensive walks programme four times a year which includes a wide range of local walks both long and short, long distance linear trails, weekends away and longer trips in UK and Europe. We produce our own lively newsletters, monthly in an e-mail version, so members can keep in touch with what we’ve been up to and what we are planning for the future. We have a lively social programme organised by our Events Team with events such as an annual BBQ, the Chantry House lecture and social evening and a Christmas dinner.

 

 

Henley and Goring Ramblers welcomes 400th member

 

 

Most of us already know that our group is thriving, and now we can say that our membership is growing too. Jane Statham became our 400th member in November 2023 and to mark this impressive milestone, H&G chairperson Alie Hagedoorn recently presented her with a Ramblers T-shirt. Membersip continues to grow steadily. In 2025 it reached 431 with 44 affliliates.

Henley and Goring AGM November 2025

It was full house again for our 2025 AGM at the Christchurch Centre. As is our custom members were greeted by a glass of t was full house again for our 2025 AGM at the Christchurch Centre. As is our custom members were greeted by a glass of wine and were able to enjoy the opportunity to catch up with friends old and new. It is always good to see the mix of older members, some of whom can no longer manage the walks they used to enjoy but still support Ramblers, and new members some of whom are attending their first AGM. There were lots of display boards for people to see what we have been doing. Of particular interest was the result of this year’s monthly Photo Competition. Members were invited to choose from the monthly winners displayed. Twine and were able to enjoy the opportunity to catch up with friends old and new. It is always good to see the mix of older members, some of whom can no longer manage the walks they used to enjoy but still support Ramblers, and new members some of whom are attending their first AGM. There were lots of display boards for people to see what we have been doing. Of particular interest was the result of this year’s monthly Photo Competition. Members were invited to choose from the monthly winners displayed. he winner chosen by members was Scottish Roots, taken on our trip to Kingussie by Inge Mikkelsen.

AGM business was conducted with speed and efficiency. Chair Alie thanked all members who contribute in many different ways to the success of our group – walks, trips, social events, path maintenance and all the other things we do. It is hard not to sound smug as we are the envy of many other groups! However, we can always do better and we look to members to continue to work with the committee and come up with ideas for things we can improve. Treasurer Peter reported that our finances are sound and that we have a surplus that can be used to buy something to enhance walking in our area. The suggestion of a bench at the top of a hill with a view was well received and there were a few ideas from members for a good location. A few walks had to be cancelled this year, mainly owing to adverse weather, but t. The committee will take this further. The committee were re-elected unopposed and an appeal was made for someone to take over some of Peter Stone’s, John Case’s and Ray Maguire’s (Independent Examiner) work.

Wim presented statistics on walks and numbers of walkershe number of walk leaders and walks continues impressively high. Peter presented some statistics on trips and the numbers of people going on them. All have been well supported and fully booked. Joan was next up with ‘The Rambling Year’ an entertaining photo lookback at what we have done in 2024/25 and what we are planning for 2026. Then it was time for supper, wonderfully organised by June and the Events Team supported by delicious homemade salads and swe

It was full house again for our 2025 AGM at the Christchurch Centre. As is our custom members were greeted by a glass of wine and were able to enjoy the opportunity to catch up with friends old and new. It is always good to see the mix of older members, some of whom can no longer manage the walks they used to enjoy but still support Ramblers, and new members some of whom are attending their first AGM. There were lots of display boards for people to see what we have been doing. Of particular interest was the result of this year’s monthly Photo Competition. Members were invited to choose from the monthly winners displayed. The winner chosen by members was Scottish Roots, taken on our trip to Kingussie by Inge Mikkelsen.

AGM business was conducted with speed and efficiency. Chair Alie thanked all members who contribute in many different ways to the success of our group – walks, trips, social events, path maintenance and all the other things we do. It is hard not to sound smug as we are the envy of many other groups! However, we can always do better and we look to members to continue to work with the committee and come up with ideas for things we can improve. Treasurer Peter reported that our finances are sound and that we have a surplus that can be used to buy something to enhance walking in our area. The suggestion of a bench at the top of a hill with a view was well received and there were a few ideas from members for a good location. The committee will take this further. The committee were re-elected unopposed and an appeal was made for someone to take over some of Peter Stone’s, John Case’s and Ray Maguire’s (Independent Examiner) work.

Wim presented statistics on walks and numbers of walkers. A few walks had to be cancelled this year, mainly owing to adverse weather, but the number of walk leaders and walks continues impressively high. Peter presented some statistics on trips and the numbers of people going on them. All have been well supported and fully booked. Joan was next up with ‘The Rambling Year’ an entertaining photo lookback at what we have done in 2024/25 and what we are planning for 2026. Then it was time for supper, wonderfully organised by June and the Events Team supported by delicious homemade salads and sweets made by members! No wonder we always have a full turnout for our AGM!

 

Henley & Goring AGM November 2024

It was full house again for our 2024 AGM and social evening with over 70 members gathering in the Christ Church Centre in Henley.  The evening is a great opportunity to hear about what we have done and what we plan for the coming year but also to meet friends old and new and to enjoy a first class home-made supper organised by our Events Team with contributions from many members.

The Chairman’s report had been distributed prior to the meeting so Alie just picked out some highlights and thanked all who had contributed to the success of the Group’s programme this year. Presenting the Treasurer’s report, also sent out prior to the meeting, Peter explained some of the numbers more fully. The group is in a healthy financial position and it was agreed to use some of our surplus funds to make a contribution towards another gate to replace a stile. Ray Maguire has agreed to continue to act as our independent examiner. Both reports were accepted unanimously

There are some changes in the composition of the committee. Gill Heaven, Membership Secretary, is standing down after 15 years in the job. Catherine Ewart is taking over and will share the Publicity role with a new committee member, Sally Castle. Peter Stone (Treasurer) and John Case (Footpaths Officer) are still looking for people to work with them in the coming year with a view to taking over the posts. Geoff Finch also stood down owing to other comitments. Other committee members will stay in their current roles.The committee are very happy to welcome two more new people, Sandy Briscoe and Richard Hobson.  A unanimous vote confirmed the expanded 2024/25 committee membership and that concluded the official part of the AGM.

Next, Wim presented a statistical report on our walks programme with comparisons from previous years. We have increased the number of our walk leaders and have a very good spread of walks in terms of distance and more walks each month than in other years. Joan provided a photo presentation of what we had done in 2023/2024 and a brief look ahead at trips planned for 2025. 

Then came supper! We moved to the large hall where tables were set out for a two course supper followed by coffee or tea. Sandra Evans had made delightful floral table decorations cleverly personalised for our group! As in previous years the quality and variety of the food was magnificent and the overall organisation of the supper was superb. Thanks to June and the Events team and to all members who contributed interesting salads and wonderful desserts!