Events
Henley and Goring Group have an active social programme with a range of events and activities. We often combine a social event or activity with a walk. To give you a flavour here are some of the things we’ve done in recent years.
- Summer evening walks followed by a pub supper
- Bluebell walks with cream teas
- Summer BBQ and walk
- Oxfordshire Area summer picnic and walk
- Organic farm walk guided by farm manager
- Last of the summer wine and supper after walk at Stoke Row
- Chantry House lecture and social evening
- Candlemas walk with afternoon tea at Fingest
- AGM with photo presentation, supper and social evening
- Carol service, walk and lunch
- Board Games evening
- Walk leaders and helpers’ meeting and supper
- Christmas week walks with mulled wine, mince pies and Christmas cake
- Countryfile at Blenheim with Oxfordshire Ramblers' stall
- Henley Show
- Walks in Henley Walking festival
- Henley Walkers are Welcome Day stall
May Day walks and tea at Checkenden
Well, considering we were in competition with the Arts Trail and Henley May Fayre, I think our members did us proud in joining us for our very popular Get Walking Day, and lovely to see many new faces, and hope they all enjoyed the day! We had good weather, with four walks on offer.
Many thanks to the walk leaders, Barry, Inge, Jeanne and Robin, who led walks ranging from 10 to 3 miles, all getting back in time for tea, cake and sausage rolls. A few more members joined us just for tea, approximately 70 people in total.
A big thank you must go to ALL the cake makers (and sausage roll providers) who, as always, rose to the occasion providing a wonderful selection, commented upon by many. Thanks also to those who arrived early to set up the tables/chairs and buffet, to Chris who took the money, Gill & Sandra who served the tea/coffee, and, of course, team members who kept the ‘drop’ table going, helped with the washing up and clearing up at the end. Thank you, Jeanne and Joan for providing your cafetieres again, and Jeanne for taking home some dirty tablecloths to wash. We are blessed with a wonderful team and team spirit. All jobs ticked, a tremendous team effort!
Another successful day with great feedback; thank you for all your support again.
Chantry House Lecture January 2026
Our annual Chantry House lecture at the end of January was enjoyed by over 60 members. We met at the Chantry House for drinks, a delicious variety of nibbles and the chance to meet and chat to friends and fellow members before moving upstairs for the lecture. Our speaker this year was Martin Beek, an artist and art historian and his subject was Artists and the River Thames.
Martin took us on an artistic journey from the source to the barrier with paintings and illustrations of the river from a wide range of artists and historic periods. He talked about the paintings, the artists and the famous people who had lived or were associated with different places along the course of the river – an astonishing wealth and variety of material and a key component of our cultural heritage. Martin was happy to answer our questions but he hadn’t brought along any of his own work, mainly landscapes, to show us, which many of us would have liked to have seen! After the lecture we moved back downstairs for coffee, to finish off the refreshments, to ask more questions of our speaker and to socialise with other members.
The Chantry House Lecture is an enjoyable and popular fixture in our annual round of social events. If you have a suggestion for a speaker or topic for a future Chantry House lecture, we would love hear from you. We try to have topics with some local interest or connection but we are open to new ideas from members. Please contact Jeanne Stone with your ideas and suggestions.
The 2025 Chantry House lecture was given by Dr. Jeremy Burchardt, Associate Professor in the History Department at Reading University. His lecture explored the question: why does landscape matter to us?
In seeking an answer Dr. Burchardt had researched the lives of a range of 19th and early 20th century diarists who lived in different rural areas of the country and whose social circumstances were also very different, but who all shared a deep connection with the landscapes in which they lived. The foundation of that deep connection varied with each individual but broad generalisations emerged: landscape as restoration and refuge; as reconnection with a happy childhood; as a source of security and continuity; as a physical outlet for energy; as an escape from the pressures of professional life. I think most of us have felt some of those things ourselves as we enjoy our walks in the Chilterns and further afield.
As usual the social side of the evening was well catered for with drinks and sumptuous nibbles organised by our Events team and provided by members. The historic Chantry House is a wonderful venue for our annual lectures and for an enjoyable evening socialising with friends old and new.
Bank Holiday Walks and BBQ at Dunsden Village Hall.
The annual BBQ at Dunsden Village Hall was a great success in 2023 so we returned for this popular event in 2024. Once again it was fully booked (70 people) with a waiting list!
The tried and tested formula for the day - - a choice of 4 walks followed by a meat, fish or veggie option BBQ with salads and desserts provided by members worked well again. We were lucky with the weather too; the severe weather warning for heavy rain on Saturday was well over and the sun shone all day.
Walk leaders Inge, Susan, Jeanne and Peter and Tony ensured that the walkers were back to the hall in good time for the food. Chefs Chris and Dave were ready for the hungry hordes and the food was up to its usual excellent standard thanks to June and the Events Team.
The guest of honour was Lore Wade. Lore has been a member for many years. She and late husband Malcolm were regulars on walks and trips most memorably a trip to Bavaria they organised. Although health issues prevent Lore joining in walks these days she has provided valuable service to the group by storing our gazebo, BBQs and other equipment in her garage as well as making beautiful table decorations for the AGM suppers. Alie thanked Lore for all her contributions and presented her with a card and a plant.
May Day Bluebell Walks and tea 2024
Damp weather did not deter almost 70 H&G members from coming together at Checkendon Village Hall for the annual May Day walks and tea. There were three walks to choose from then the walkers came back together with a few non walkers in the village hall for a splendid spread of tea and cakes provided by members and organised by the Events Team. There had been a few concerns that the bluebells might be past their best this year but, although some did look a bit tired,there were still plenty in full bloom in the shadier woods. Another successful year for this popular annual event!
Summer BBQ: Monday 28 August 2023
We had a new venue for our Bank Holiday Monday BBQ in 2022: Dunsden Village Hall - and a very pleasant venue it proved to be. Seventy two members had booked for the event and we were lucky with the weather. Members had a choice of four walks: 9 miles with. Inge, 6.7 with Susan, 4.6 with Peter and Jeanne or 3 miles with Robin.
After the walks we came together at the village hall for the usual splendid BBQ. Chris Corti and Dave Morris were in charge of the BBQ, providing a choice of meat, salmon or vegetarian options. Members produced the usual magnificent spread of salads to accompany the meal and a wonderful array of desserts to follow. The background music was a selection from Colin Heaven’s collection of modern jazz groups, for which the word ‘cool’ could have been invented!
As usual the organisation by our magnificent Events Team, coordinated by June Cross, was impeccable. Many thanks to them, to our walk leaders and to all members who contributed to the feast and to the success of the day.
May Day Bluebell Walks and Tea
About 70 H&G members came together at Checkendon village hall for our May Day Bluebell Walks followed by a sumptuous tea in the village Hall. There was a choice of 4 walks, 9 miles, 6.5, 4.5 and 3 miles and everyone was able to enjoy the wonderful displays of bluebells. There was one short sharp shower but the clouds cleared and the sun soon came out. We all came together for tea, organised as usual by the Events team who provided tea and coffee and a spread of home made cakes. The plates were quickly emptied by hungry walkers but there was plenty for everyone.
Chantry House lecture 2024
Does anyone know how many years we’ve been holding our annual Chantry House lecture and social evening? I could find information on E News dating back to 2013, but I think we started before that!
This year it was third time lucky as Covid restrictions in 2022, then our speaker’s illness on the day in 2023 prevented us from hearing about Iron Age Fort sites in the Chilterns and the use of LIDAR (Light detection and ranging) in surveys, by Dr. Wendy Morrison, Project Manager at the Chilterns Conservation Board. Well it was worth the wait!
Dr Morrison is a lively, dynamic speaker who is clearly passionate about her subject and certainly conveyed that to the audience. She explained what her project was about, what LIDAR is and what it can do, how it has discovered new sites and changed the established views on the history and culture of the Chilterns in the Iron Age. She also told us about the educational work and training provided by the project and some of its spin-offs. She went on to talk about future projects and applications for funding tor a research project on the chalk streams of the Chilterns. We wish her and the team luck with funding applications!
As is usual with our Chantry house Lectures the evening is also an enjoyable social event with the chance to catch up with old and new friends and enjoy a glass of wine and the wonderful spread of finger food provided by our Events Team and members.
Walk Leaders and helpers Annual Dinner January 2024
Henley Golf Club at Harpsden provided a warm welcome and an excellent meal for 40 H&G members for our annual Walk leaders and Helpers Supper in early January 2024. Our Chair, Alie, welcomed us and thanked everyone for their contributions to our extensive walks, trips and social programme, which looks as if it will be just as good in 2024 as in 2023!
H&G celebrate 25 years on August bank Holiday 2022
Almost 100 past and present members of the group came together at Harpsden village hall on 29 August to celebrate 25 years of activity!
We started with a choice of 4 walks ranging from 8 to 2.5 miles before returning to Harpsden for welcome speeches from Kate Ashbrook and Jim Parke and a glass of fizz to toast the group, accompanied by music from Colin’s jazz band. The usual wonderful spread of food was provided by the Events Team and the evening ended with a photo presentation looking back at the 25 years of the group’s existence.
Photo and newsletters from the past were also on show around the hall. The photos brought back many happy memories and a few sad ones as we remembered members who are no longer with us.
Now for the next 25 years!
May day Walks and Tea
After missing out on this annual event in 2020 and 2021 it was great to be able to meet at Checkendon Village Hall in 2022 and 2023 for a choice of four walks ranging in length from under 3 to 9 miles, before joining together for tea in the hall. As in previous years the walkers returned to a splendid spread of home made scones and cakes made by members and organised by our Events Team led by June Cross. We were lucky with the weather and the walks enabled us to enoy the glrious sight of bluebells in full flower
Games Night - a new social event for H&G in 2022, but repeated in 2023 and 2024!
We thought we would try something new to liven up a dull February Friday! After all the cancellations of social events of 2020 and 2021 it was good to be able to have a social event where we could meet face to face. We had enjoyed playing board games on our trip to Conniston in the autumn so Cyndy organised a Games Evening in the Kings Arms Barn in Henley. A range of games were on offer: Mexican Trains, Rummikub, Sequence, Triominos, Scrabble aong them. People could play a game then move to another tale for a different game or to play with different people. A very enjoyable evening that we have repeated!
Biggest Bank Holiday Walks and BBQ yet!
We missed out in 2020, but the 2021 BBQ at Nettlebed Village Hall was the biggest yet! We had a waiting list for a while but late cancellations meant that everyone who wanted to join us was able to do so. Over 70 people joined us for the event.
Four walks were offered, 9 miles, 6 miles, 4.5 miles and 3 miles, ably led by Inge, Susan, the Maunders and Ray. Our chefs this year were Chris Corti and David Morris and we were serenaded as we ate by Colin Heaven on the clarinet.
The food was particularly good this year with special beef burgers supplied by English farm as well as the usual chicken, salmon and vegetarian options. The array of salads and sweets, provided by the Events Team and other members of the group, was impressive as always. We have some excellent cooks in our ranks!
It was a great day, one that we appreciated all the more for having missed it last year!
Last of the Summer Wine walk and supper
We were also able to enjoy another regular event that was missed in 2021 - the bring and share end of the summer season walk and supper held at the Stoke Row pavillion. The supper after the walk was up to the usual high standard set by members!
Lunch break on the May Day Bluebell Walk in 2019. The cream tea awaited us at Rotherfield Greys village hall at the end of the walk. Sadly we wern't able to hold this event in 2020.
Art and Culture group
This is open to all members. You join by asking that your e-mail address be added to the group list. You can then tell members about interesting cultural events and invite them to join you. This can be an organised trip or an informal small group of people who want to see the same event in the company of others. We’ve been to films, concerts, operas, ballets, art exhibitions and lots of other events. We’re always open to new ideas.
To join, contact: Joan Clark 01491 574968