At last year’s AGM we reported that Thomas Chatfield had just been appointed by Surrey County Council Countryside Access to be responsible for all volunteers across Surrey. I am pleased to report that Thomas now has his feet firmly planted on the local footpaths and has provided us with some interesting and challenging Work Parties this year.

We were off to a slow start as Thomas had various training courses to attend. However, in March whilst waiting for our first project we were invited to support the Surrey Hills Society with some native hedgerow planting as part of a re-wilding project at Gate Street, Palmers Cross. It made a change for us to be planting something rather than chopping it down.

April was our first Work Party with Thomas. We were out at Whitmore Vale repairing a long flight of steps by levelling and backfilling. We also formed seven new steps at the bottom of the flight that had been worn away. The veg cutters went after holly and brambles on a steep path up to the Churt road. There were some very tired legs at the end of the morning.

The plan for May was to replace a bridge and two stiles at Pickford Stud, Ewhurst and clear the second half of a path from Lower Breach Road that we had worked on in November 2021. A recce highlighted that with recent heavy rain access to the bridge and stiles was impassable. The veg cut went ahead with everyone slip-sliding in the thick mud. Our hope is that with the vegetation cut back the path will dry out more easily.

June saw us in Sidney Wood, Dunsfold where we installed two plank bridges over culverts that fill with water in the winter months. We replaced a finger post and waymark post as well as clearing vegetation. Thomas misjudged the height of his vehicle loaded with timber and hit the entrance barrier with a bang which echoed through the woods. We didn’t envy him having to tell his boss. Not the most auspicious start to his career with SCC.

For July we started a large project at Butler Farms just outside Cranleigh. The overall plan being to complete a 9.5 km easy access route from the Downs Link. This was funded by a grant from ‘Farming in Protected Landscapes’. The initial Work Party involved replacing a sleeper bridge with an H-frame bridge and putting in a kissing gate as well as a way marker post. After a wet spring the dry summer meant the ground was baked hard and we struggled.

August saw us in Chiddingfold clearing a footpath behind Turners Mead reported as blocked by one of our members. We were fortunate that a brush cutter fairy had recently passed along the footpath giving us a head start. Thank you Chris for the tea and biscuit break we all enjoyed in your back garden and for re-charging our batteries.

September saw us back at Butler Farms replacing two stiles with kissing gates, clearing a stretch of overgrown path and renewing waymarks.

We are settling back into a regular pattern of Work Parties and building a very good working relationship with Thomas, who has been very complementary about our work.

Thank you to everyone who has joined a Work Party this year either as a bridge/gate/way marker installer or as a veg cutter. We are always looking for fresh victims new members to join us. So, if you would like to give something back to the footpath network then please contact me.