St Neots & District

Walking - Hikers

Group Leaders: Rob McGrath
Location: Co-op car park, Eaton Socon
Meets: 9:15 am alternate Fridays (contact Group Leaders for more information).

There are two walking groups in the St Neots U3A, Striders who, typically walk 6 - 7 miles at a good, strong pace and Hikers who walk shorter distances e.g. 4 - 5 miles at a gentler pace.

As such, Hikers are the 'less demanding' of the two groups in that we walk shorter distances, at a more comfortable pace than Striders, and generally finish our walks at a cafe/pub/coffee shop, where we can recover over a cup of tea/coffee (occasionally cake is also involved) and have a chat. The emphasis is on having a pleasant walk in the countryside in the company of friends.

The Hikers group meets on alternate Fridays in the Co-op car park on Great North Road, Eaton Socon at 09:00, setting off for the planned walk at 09:15. As stated, our walks are typically 4 - 5 miles long and the locations are generally within 15 miles of St Neots. Members of the group take turns to lead walks, and plan the routes themselves using local knowledge, ordinance survey maps and websites etc. Help can be provided if necessary.

The programme is planned around 6 months in advance and the Group Leader circulates the details of the next walk a week before it is scheduled. In 2022 we have walked from/around Pavenham, Abbotsley, Riseley, Keysoe, Biggleswade, Grantchester, Kimbolton and Hatley St George, as examples.

Wherever possible we try and avoid having to use routes with stiles, as some people can find them difficult to handle. Walking may be on solid or grassy footpaths, but some muddy sections can't be avoided, particularly over the wetter winter months, so appropriate walking boots are advisable.

We car share to get to the start points of the walks, and contribute £2.00 each to petrol costs for the drivers. Depending on where you live, you may find it preferable to drive to a given start point, which isn't a problem as long as we know to expect you. We have usually returned to the Co-op by 13:00 to 13:30, but this can't always be guaranteed.

There are currently around 24 members in the group and typically 8 - 14 turn out for each walk.

Contact Robert McGrath for any further information and/or if you are interested in joining Hikers by clicking on the Contact Pigeon on the right-hand side

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More Group Pages
Art Appreciation/History Book Marks
Bridge Chess
Cinema Collectibles/Memorabilia
Creative Writing Current Affairs
Cycling Discussion
Egyptology Exercise to Music (Friday)
Exercise to Music (Monday) Flower Arranging
Folk Dancing French Conversation
Games Gardening (Monday)
Gardening (Thursday) Geography
Golf Guitar
Guitar Jammers Heritage & Culture
History I.T. Help Group
Lexicon Line Dancing
Line Dancing for Beginners Meet & Greet
Men's Group Mixed Crafts
Modern Jive Monthly Book Club
Monthly Meeting Music Appreciation
Music Café Outdoor Bowls (Seasonal)
Outing & Holidays Parchment Craft
Petanque Fridays Petanque Mondays
Philosophy Photography
Poetry Appreciation Quiz Group
Sequence Dancing Singing - Sparklers
Sunday Lunch Group A Sunday Lunch Group B
Sunday Lunch Group C Table Tennis
Tai Chi Ukulele Strummers
Walking - Hikers Walking - Striders
Walking Cricket Walking Football
Whist Wildlife