Late in 2019, the Surrey Hills AONB appointed a new Chairman to replace David Wright who had retired following the local elections last year.  We are delighted to be working with Heather Kerswell as she steps into the role and drives the AONB forward.  Although she has been trying to meet many of the Surrey Hills people and get to know more about what we do, she has clearly been hampered by the current disruption.  It is therefore with great pleasure that we give Heather the opportunity to contribute to this e-newsletter.

Well done to Surrey Hills Society for sending its newsletter electronically!  A sign of the times…..

It was a huge privilege when the Board of Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty invited me in December last year to become its independent chair, helping to bring together the Surrey Hills family – the Society, Enterprises and the Trust Fund.  It is a privilege because I get to work with the small but extremely expert and enthusiastic staff (many currently co-ordinating local crisis help), with a Board of councillors and other experts all giving us their time and advice, all driven by a common purpose, with the chairs of the ‘family’, and with the fantastic volunteers whose work is crucial in turning ideas into reality.

Some of the things we all want to achieve are:

•   To extend the AONB, agreed locally in 2013 but still with Natural England for decision

•   To reinforce the greenness of the AONB, reverse the decline in nature and help tackle the climate crisis

•   To enable sustainable visiting

•   To strengthen community, sustainable prosperity and a sense of locality

•   To work with other protected landscapes around London on a joint vision for the region

I will be putting my time and skills to work to help us make progress on all these fronts.  By way of background I am a geographer, so imbued with Wealden geology, professionally a planner, starting as Waverley’s conservation officer, moving to strategic planning in London and the southeast and then serving as Mole Valley council’s chief executive for twelve years.  Since retiring I have been working with property based charities.

So how can we view the ambitions of the Surrey Hills family in the current virus crisis, when so many people are dealing not only with isolation but with danger and bereavement?  Are there some glimmers of hope?  Maybe we can all observe changes which could be influential in future:

•    We have adjusted to travelling less – working at home, meetings by Zoom, conversations by Facetime, schooling via IPads, shopping on-line. Could this continue post crisis and lead to a permanent reduction in road traffic passing through the Surrey Hills?

•   Will visitors come by public transport or if car-borne look to stay over and walk or cycle from their stop-over place?

•   Surrey Hills Enterprises have put on the website a list of local produce available for delivery.  We are certainly discovering and using more local suppliers – Mandira’s Kitchen and Hampton Estates for instance have been a lifeline – and we intend to go on post crisis.  Delivery of Surrey Hills produce could become much more important commercially; it helps the environment and brings a quality product to your door.

•   Everyone is feeling deprived of access to nature and open spaces.  This will surely bring a crusade to reverse decline and a search for ways to intensify the wildness of our natural places.

•   We are leaving the European Community and have a chance with legislation progressing now to set our own standards and bring nature more firmly into the equation in giving grants to the farmers and landowners on whose skill and goodwill we all rely for managing our green areas.

And we will never again take for granted the things which can only be experienced live – like hearing church bells, singing in a choir or walking in the Surrey Hills.

Our Vice-President, Chris Howard, is also the Chairman of Visit Surrey.  Wearing that hat, she has been one of the driving forces to create Surrey Day and to make it such a success.  In the following article, she explains a little more about this year’s special day.

Surrey Day, a national celebration of everything that makes the county so special, returned for a second year on Saturday 2 May.  This time, the concept had to be re-thought to make it viable during lockdown.  The result?  A virtual Surrey Day.  Jointly hosted by the county’s tourist board, Visit Surrey, along with BBC Radio Surrey and Surrey Life magazine it was recreated for an online audience that tuned in to BBC Radio Surrey from all around the world.

Following last year’s inaugural celebration, which saw several hundred special events taking place across the county, everything had to happen ‘virtually’ this time.  However, if anything, the day proved to be even more successful, as it meant people could get involved from wherever they were based – making it a truly global event.  It even included two of our Swedish SHS members, Gunnar and Katarina Nyman, who phoned in from Sweden to talk about why they love visiting the Surrey Hills.  Closer to home, our Chairman, Gordon Jackson and Rob Fairbanks, Director of the Surrey Hills AONB, were both interviewed as part of the day.

BBC Radio Surrey made Surrey Day the focus of their entire programming from 6am to 6pm and managed to include a whole host of different topics.  There was everything from online tours of the county’s museums, galleries and attractions to special interviews.  They pre-recorded potted histories of many of Surrey’s towns – read by local experts such as museum curators – and included numerous clips produced by their own staff explaining what they liked about where they live and what they could see from those places.

People also took to social media to share their favourite local views – and, for the grand finale, Guildford Cathedral was lit up green, thanks to Peachy Productions, in homage to England’s most densely-wooded county.  No wonder then that #SurreyDay was also trending on Twitter.

The Society’s congratulations go to all the people involved in making this such a wonderful day.  There was clearly a vast amount of work involved but it resulted in a really successful celebration and promotion of what makes Surrey special.  Now we are looking forward to Surrey Day 2021!

Editor’s Note:  Until the end of May 2020, the Surrey Day broadcasts can be heard on the BBC Sounds app by clicking here.

WHAT THE SURREY HILLS MEAN TO YOU

We thought it would be nice to celebrate the Surrey Hills and although we can’t get out into them at the moment, many of us have photographs and special memories.  We are therefore having a competition and asking you all to send us up to three photographs that most encapsulate what the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty means to you. 

The competition will be judged by me, and our two Vice Presidents, Chris Howard and Ken Bare.  The winner will receive a bottle of wine from one of our Surrey Hills Wine Producers.  To get the Gallery started Chris, Ken and I have included some of our favourite photographs, although these will not of course be entered into the competition. These and all of your photographs can be seen in our Events section of the website – click here   Please send the photographs by email  to info@surreyhillssociety.org, ensuring that you give us your name so that appropriate credit for the photographs can be given.  Images may be landscape or portrait shaped and please let us know where they were taken. Entries must be submitted by 15 May 2020 and the winner will be announced on Monday 25 May 2020.

Entrants will retain the copyright in their photographs, but by entering they consent to the Surrey Hills Society and the Surrey Hills AONB reproducing them on their respective websites and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

To see entries submitted so far, please visit our Events page which we have temporarily converted into a Gallery.

Our competition is now closed for entries – judging is in progress.

Stay safe, stay well and most important, let’s dream of our wonderful Surrey Hills.

Gordon Jackson

We may not be able to go out and about, but there are still so many ways to benefit from the wonderful products and services that we have on our doorstep in the Surrey Hills.

Surrey Hills businesses are offering a whole range of deliveries of local Surrey Hills produce and services offered on-line. These businesses are members of our sister organisation, Surrey Hills Enterprises and have been awarded the ‘Trade Mark Surrey Hills’, a mark of local provenance, quality and sustainability. To see the inspiring range available, go to the Surrey Hills website:

www.surreyhills.org/surrey-hills-businesses-bringing-products-and-services-to-your-home/

Stay safe and stay well.

Gordon Jackson

Hiding away near the centre of town is Grayshott Pottery. 

We had a dedicated table for us in their lovely café for drinks and some rather tasty food.  We were split into two groups with one chatting in the café getting to know not only current members but non-members who were happy to come along to a SHS event and also expressed interest in joining our fold.

We were shown around the workshop by Giselle Snell who has been at the Pottery for over 30 years and consequently was incredibly knowledgeable.

We were given a demonstration of pot throwing and right before our eyes a beautiful vase was produced in around 5 minutes.  It was amazing to see such skill in something so simple and yet beautiful.  There was also a lady showing decorating skills.

We then entered the main part of the pottery.  Giselle showed us the various parts of the workshop, explaining the different methods used to produce a variety of products from plates, tea-pots and tea spouts to bowls and jugs and also informing us of the consistency the clay needed to be in order to make the best of each product, depending on whether it was machine made or hand thrown.  There were a couple of young ladies who painstakingly took any excess clay off the rims of plates and bowls.  There were many skilled people there who had been with the company for many years.

We were told of some of the famous restaurants and chefs who used the pottery produced there, including Nando’s.  When you are next in Nando’s have a look at their serving platters as these are likely to have been made at Grayshott.

After a very lovely lunch in the café we were let loose in the shop to admire (and purchase) some of the beautiful products produced here.

A most enjoyable few hours were spent here and I would go back to make some future purchases and partake of a cappuccino!

Sall Baring

There are two upcoming opportunities to volunteer on some interesting Surrey Hills Arts projects. You can offer just an hour of your time towards these activities which play an important part in making them happen.

Firstly, you can volunteer to come up to the beautiful viewpoint at Winterfold on Tuesday 21^st April to assist in assembling some cedar shingles on ‘Perspectives’ the sculptural shelter created by artist Giles Miller. These newly engraved shingles are part of our current project raising funds for the Surrey Hills Trust Fund.  See www.inspiringviews.org

Secondly, you can volunteer to be a steward at an outdoor performance at Waverley Abbey on Saturday 6^th June. There will be two site-specific performances that day that last just an hour. There will be six performers joined by six dance students from the University of Surrey who are creating a new piece together and allowing visitors to experience this stunning, historic site in a new way. We are delighted that this project has received Arts Council funding. We will need a body of volunteers to assist directing people to the site and cars into the car park.

For either of these opportunities, please contact Ali Clarke, sa.visual@surreycc.gov.uk

Jeff, Gordon and Sall

At our recent visit to the Surrey Copper Gin Distillery, I was delighted to present Jeff Holliday with a bottle of Albury Estate Sparkling Wine in recognition of all his hard work over many years as Chairman of the Events Committee.  Last year the Events Committee oversaw nearly 60 events and Jeff has done an enormous amount to ensure that we are able to put on a varied programme that promotes everything that is good about the Surrey Hills.  Although Jeff is standing down as Chairman, he will continue to be as active as ever with the Surrey Hills Society.  Jeff will continue on the Events Committee to support our new Chairman, Sall Baring (pictured here) and we are working hard at the moment on developing an exciting series of events for the Summer and Autumn.

Gordon Jackson