Our Holidays
East Herts Ramblers have enjoyed several walking holidays together. Below are a few of our most recent holidays.
See the 'Photo Galery' for a slide show of our holiday photographs.
Buxton, Derbyshire May 2026
Buxton Derbyshire, 17th-20th May 2026
17 East Herts Ramblers descended on the Peak District for an enjoyable 4-day, 3-night walking trip. Most members of the group stayed at the Palace Hotel & Spa, located in the town centre and close to restaurants, pubs and shops. The group enjoyed a convivial dinner at a Thai restaurant in Buxton.
Our first walk, led by Hilary Pullen, was an 8.5 mile circular walk starting and finishing in Edale. The route passed through Grindslow Knoll and Woolpacks before joining the Pennine Way. The group descended along Jacob's Ladder, across the Packhorse Bridge, and walked alongside the River Noe before returning to Edale. That evening, the group enjoyed a good meal at the Tap House in Buxton.
Our second walk was led by Rona Grace and comprised a 10.5 mile circular hike around Combs Moss. Conditions were classic upland May, with a mixture of bright spells and showers, temperatures around 16°C, and a brisk south-westerly wind to keep things lively on the exposed plateau. Walkers were rewarded by dramatic views of the gritstone scarps of Black Edge and Combs Edge, before reaching the Iron Age promontory hillfort at Castle Naze, where we enjoyed panoramic views over the green valleys towards Dove Holes, Chapel-en-le-Frith and Whaley Bridge. The finale — the panorama over Buxton from Corbar Hill before the final descent — was a lovely way to round things off. Our final evening meal was taken at St. Moritz, an Italian restaurant, again located in the town centre.
Our third walk, again led by Hilary, was a circular 6 mile route around the Chatsworth Estate and locality, including a visit to the Hunting Tower, where we enjoyed panoramic views of the countryside, Emperor Lake and the River Derwent.
Overall, this was a very successful trip, and the group agreed to develop new ideas for future walking adventures in 2027.
Isle of Wight 2018
Isle of Wight Saturday 8th September to Saturday 15th September 2018.
7 members from the group stayed at the HF house at Freshwater Bay. The house is large and was fully booked with 60 plus people from all over the world including America, Canada, Australia, South Africa, many European countries and obviously the UK. Because of the high numbers rather than the usual three walks each day an extra fourth one was included.
Church Stretton
Church Stretton Friday 15th September to Friday 22nd September 2017.
Built as a Spa hotel, the HF house enjoys a commanding position on the hillside above the town, with an excellent view down the valley towards Craven Arms and Ludlow. 14 of us duly arrived on the Friday afternoon after circumventing rail disruption at Euston. We had a short introductory tour of the town before dinner, then an informal quiz evening with the other guests (about 60 in all, including visitors from Canada, USA, the Netherlands and France.)
Alnmouth Northumberland
Alnmouth, Northumberland Friday 16th September to Friday 23rd September 2016.
13 members of our group enjoyed an excellent weeks holiday hosted by HF holidays at their large seaside mansion on the Northumberland coast in the attractive village of Alnmouth. An advantage of going with HF is that the ‘Guided Walking’ holidays in the UK usually have ‘Hard’, ‘Medium’, and ‘Easy’ options, varying from 12 miles and 2,000 feet of ascent to perhaps 6 miles and 500 feet: depending obviously on the terrain. The energetic were thus catered for as well as those who wanted time to stop and enjoy the scenery (or drop into the local café)!
Derbyshire Dales
Derbyshire Dales, Friday 11th September to Thursday 17th September 2015.
Thirteen of our group were on an hf holiday at Dovedale, undertaking a variety of easy, medium and hard led walks. (A benefit of hf as it caters for all abilities.)This is the first time our group has been on an organised holiday, having in previous years arranged our own accomodation and walks. The total number of guests exceed 40, including from UK, Canada, USA, Australia and Germany.
The Weavers Way
The Weavers Way, 30th April to 4th May 2015
The Weavers Way covers 56 miles between Cromer and Great Yarmouth, through varied but very level Norfolk terrain. Splitting this into five days of walking from Cromer was an interesting challenge, but by walking some sections in reverse (ie South to North), using buses on the first 3 days, a 14-seater taxi on the Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday, and trains at the end, we completed the trail without problem.
Anglesey
An Anglesey Break, 30th August to 6th September 2014
12 members of East Herts group took part in this year's September break, mostly arriving at Holyhead by train, trundling our cases ¾ mile to the 'Boathouse' hotel. This turned out to be an excellent choice, being nicely located away from the town centre, opposite the marina at Newry Beach, and a short walk from the Breakwater Country Park and spectacular scenery at Holyhead Mountain.
The South Downs
South Downs Way, May 1st-5th 2014
Assembling at the Congress Hotel in Eastbourne a group of seven members set out for Beachy Head on the first afternoon, admiring the views and the wild flowers as we ascended the cliffs: including a brand new memorial to the airmen of RAF Bomber Command. Reaching the site of the old Lloyds lookout we had a good view of the lighthouse before returning to the hotel for supper and even some dancing to the evening entertainment!
Dartmoor
A week in Dartmoor, Saturday 31st August to Saturday 7th September 2013.
Our autumn holiday this year was on Dartmoor, staying at Brimpts Farm near Dartmeet, right in the centre of the National Park. Fortunately the weather was just right for walking, sunny much of the time, and the only rain came for the last 10 minutes on the final day! Indeed it had evidently been dry for some time as areas that had obviously been boggy were quite dry.
National Forest
Holiday weekend 2nd - 7th May 2013. A coal mining area near Ashby de la Zouch may not sound the most promising location for our Spring holiday, but the mines are long closed and much restoration of the landscape has occurred, giving the opportunity for extensive planting of new woodland: the National Forest. A focal point of this is the modern purpose-built youth hostel near Moira, the base for 13 of us whilst Pam and Dorothy stayed in a B&B nearby. A far cry from the old days, this had en-suite two or four bedded rooms and a ‘bistro’ type café where we enjoyed simple but (to the writer’s mind) appetising and filling breakfasts and evening meals.