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Walkers are Welcome Annual Get-Togethers

 

In 2012 we decided to rename our Annual Conference ‘Get-Together’ to steer away from the stuffy conference image and encourage more people to attend what we believe are informative, inspiring and enjoyable events for Walkers are Welcome members and associates. This annual gathering is usually held in October each year where all WaW members are invited for the purpose of making new friends, networking and sharing best practice.

We now usually combine the two-day event with some walking, an evening meal to get to know one another and informative talks or workshops. We squeeze in a very quick General Meeting to keep the formalities as short as possible. We would love to see you for either a day out, the two-day break or even longer. It is always good to meet each other, going home refreshed and inspired from the experience. The event is very casual and too good to miss.

Your town could host the 2024 Walkers are Welcome Get-Together.
To bid for this, please complete the WAW Get-together bid form 

 

2023 Annual Get-Together Whitchurch Shropshire


With the spectacular autumn colour of the town trees and countryside plus the warmth of the welcome at the Annual Get-Together and renewed friendships, we all left Whitchurch, Shropshire glowing.

A busy weekend, good food and drink, lots of excellent company, plenty of ideas to set the mind racing … yes, we’ve just had another Annual Get-Together.  This year’s event was hosted (brilliantly) by Whitchurch – and since we have two Whitchurches, we have to say it was in Shropshire (though Hampshire was represented). 

The Get-Together started with a fun ‘food and folk’ on Friday evening.  This included a welcoming drink from Peter Broxton of Pellite followed by a delicious warming hotpot. We even had guest performers Mick Browne from Whitchurch, Hampshire and Paul Cottrell from Cowbridge. Well done guys.

The main events were on the next day when some 50 people from 18 towns took part.  After the
formalities of the brief General Meeting, there were three short sessions:
  • Our Walking World update from our Patron, Kate Ashbrook.
  • An approach to measuring the economic benefits of WaW membership from Jan Stevenson from Ross on Wye.
  • A report from Naomi Wrighton from the National Executive Committee on our Themed Events including ideas for members to join in during 2024 and Slow Ways.
After lunch, there were two more sessions from our hosts, covering the work of Shropshire Wildlife Trust in improving access to their Whitchurch sites and the work of the Parish Path Partnership (PP3) in keeping local paths in good condition and making improvements where possible. Involved Holidays joined us for the day and it was good to learn more about their organisation which has been doing some sponsorship. The day ended with a gala dinner (including a beetle drive).

The AGT ended with a town-based walk on the Sunday morning splitting in two for the history of
the town (amazing Queen Anne St Alkmund church) and a local nature reserve, all in sunshine.
 
Thank you, Whitchurch.