Photo album of an enchanting afternoon

Baron Sweerts de Landas Wyborgh welcomes us to his gardens.

An amazing collection of tulips! The family is of Dutch origin.

Look at the size of the flowers!

A beautiful spring flower meadow.

Charming water feature at the back of the garden with an astonishing stone bridge.

The Society Chairman and the Chairman of the Events Committee were happy to participate!

Surrey Hill Society event cannot finish without a cream tea! We tasted Dutch specialities and hoped that the menacing clouds would wait until our charming afternoon was over. Which they did. A few snow flakes!! were falling down when we left the gardens.

It was a pleasure to lead the SHS Box Hill trek on the 3rd April. The weather was very kind and we also had a lot new faces as well as our regular walkers. The walk was short but steep and was an excellent workout on a spring day. – Pete Lambert

“A big thank you to Chris Howard for arranging such a happy visit yesterday. My grandchildren had a lovely time, we stayed till 4 o’clock & saw 3 lambs born, which they found absolutely fascinating. Having some craft activities and our own tractor ride & pet time made all the difference, not having to queue. It was rather cold but that is no one’s fault & I am sure they would love to come again another year. Many thanks again.” – Judie, Sophia & Katya

“Had an amazing day out in the Surrey Hills at Bocketts Farm. Brilliant for children – so much to see and do. Having our own private barn for the day and pre booked tractor ride and animal handling session was really good too – no queuing! Thank you SHS for a fantastic day out!” – Rob

“Really enjoyable day. I have done a lot of walking but have never learnt how to use a compass. The course was friendly and easy to understand. The practical experience out walking in the afternoon was really useful.” – Sue Smith

This visit was a real gem – to gain access to a building that has rarely been visited by groups such as ours. Father Jonathan, Director of Studies, gave us an insight into the history of the building and the reasons for it having been built. We were told about how the building had been extended in the 1960s to accommodate more students, with the heyday of student numbers being in the 1970s. Today there are only 20 students although the numbers can fluctuate quite quickly.

We then progressed into the Ambulacrum, an impressive open space 210 feet long and 19 feet wide which runs the full length of the main section of the building at ground floor level and contains a shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The next stop was in the Chapel, which is dedicated to the Sacred Heart. We were told about the changes that had occurred within the Chapel over the years and the various side Chapels were explained to us. One of the Priest’s robes was available for us to inspect.

Upstairs in the library, we were given a summary of the courses currently provided and how the Priesthood is structured.

The visit finished with an opportunity for further questions over a very welcome cup of tea.

Peter Arnold

Thirty Surrey Hills Society members enjoyed a fantastic afternoon walk in the sunshine around Gomshall and Shere in the lovely weather on Saturday 16^th January 2016. Chairman, Chris Howard and walk Leader, Steve Peacock led the walk from Gomshall Railways station to Shere.

At Shere the group split in two – one group taking a longer walk via Albury’s beautiful Saxon church, while the other enjoyed a shorter walk up onto Albury Heath.

Everyone met back at Tillings Tea rooms in Gomshall for a delicious afternoon tea. Thank you Tillings for your friendly, accommodating service (and delicious cakes!).

Here are a few comments our members made about the evening:

“Just wanted to say well done and thank you for a brilliant event. Really enjoyable and well run. Marika, you looked stunning and made a charming host. Ken, your double act with Marika worked really well….what a team! Thank you again for creating another really successful event for the Society.”

“Thank you both for a very enjoyable, interesting and well run wine tasting event. Everyone seemed to have a very enjoyable and sociable evening.”