Walk Leaders

Jo Parham

I’ve lived in Herefordshire for nearly 20 years now [I was shocked when I realised]. Over that time I have come to realise how much being outside and exploring the countryside benefits me in all ways.
I had mainly walked with family and friends but then started learning more to be able to find my way around for myself.
When I found the Herefordshire Walking Festival in 2021 I also found Golden Valley Walking Club, right on my doorstep and I hadn’t even realised.
I’ve benefited hugely from walking with the club and also from the clubs ability to fund some walking related education.
This year my aim is to pay that back into the club by giving some time and leading some walks.
I sadly still have to work 😥, so will only be doing walks at weekends and may not be as quickly responsive as Dave to messages.

Mary Loosemore

I moved to Herefordshire at the start of 2020 having spent a large chunk of my childhood holidays here. We did a lot of walking – Skirrid, Hatterrall Ridge, Sugar Loaf all featured – and I’ve loved walking ever since, regularly going on walking and trekking holidays.

Having lived in London for 20 years, home is now near Pontrilas and as an occasional walk leader I’ve found the GVWC a great way to explore the area and to meet new people.

Dave Howerski

David has been the driving force in setting up the GVWC and he has many years of experience in finding new routes and organising the calendar. He decided to put the casual walking club on a more formal footing, and post-COVID this enabled us to successfully apply for National Lottery funding, which we have put to good use in the last couple of years. Our ever expanding membership is a result of his hard work in the past years. An increasingly rare sighting David has now taken a step back from the club to pursue other interests, but may lead a few walks in the future.