Approx 10 minute read
We've been walking in the Chiltern Hills for 25 years, where did it all begin? Come with us for a walk through our history, starting at the very first idea, via some of the key events and all the way to the present day.
Origin: An idea in the Alps
On 28 June 1997, in the Waschkuch'l Bar in Alpbach, Austria, two walkers, Sarah and Kevin, had an idea after a few drinks on the first night of a Ramblers Walking Holiday for people in their 20s and 30s. They thought it would be great to walk more often with people their own age back home. The concept was simple: start a walking group for people in their 20s and 30s. Kevin, an active volunteer with the Ramblers Nottinghamshire Area, lived in Nottingham, while Sarah lived in Derby. Together, they created the Notts Derby Walking Group (NDWG) when they got home.
Recognition of NDWG's success
The NDWG quickly became a success. Less than two years later, in March 1999, members volunteered at The Ramblers General Council (AGM). The influx of so many younger people at the three-day event was a surprise to many attendees. It demonstrated what could be achieved and built support for a motion from the Nottinghamshire Area proposed by Kevin to encourage the formation of similar groups nationwide. There was vigorous debate, not everyone agreed separate groups were the best way. An amendment to remove the creation of separate groups was defeated. The motion passed with no opposition. The work "to develop a coordinated strategy to encourage and support the formation of Groups for people in their twenties and thirties" began. The simple idea had now sparked a national movement.
First steps for Chilterns 20-30s Walking Group
Later in 1999, fellow Austrian holidaymaker Sue and her friend Daxa approached the Buckinghamshire and West Middlesex Ramblers Area to start one of the new groups. Originally to be called the 20-30s South Bucks Ramblers Group, it was soon renamed the Chilterns 20-30s Walking Group. Along with Annabel and Tom, they formed a steering committee and began planning walks in the Chilterns. On Sunday, 9 January 2000, about 20 walkers set out from Amersham to Great Missenden for the group’s first walk.
In the nine months leading up to the first group AGM on 21 September in Great Missenden, the group held 13 more Sunday walks and organized six weekends away to the South Downs, Brecon, Peak District, Bath, North Wales, and the Lake District. They also launched an award-winning website designed by Kaye, grew to 50 members, and planned a Christmas party at El Faison aka The Pheasant in Chalfont St. Giles.
The group faced early challenges in 2001 during the Foot and Mouth outbreak, which closed many footpaths. The places the group could walk reduced drastically mostly country parks. Pub lunches became a popular group event. The group had its first international trip, a weekend in France. By autumn, the crisis passed, and the group resumed its regular walking schedule and returned to El Faisan once again for a Christmas party.
Early growth and leadership transfer
By 2002, the group had grown to 100 members. Friendships and relationships flourished, and by the end of 2002, there had been three weddings of couples who'd met in the group.
As with any organisation, leadership evolves over time. One of the founding organisers, Daxa, had moved abroad. The others Sue, Annabel, and Tom decided to step away, new leadership was needed. Two members put themselves forward and there was a competitive election, the first of only two in the group’s history. Candidates John W and Michael B each presented their vision for the future at the AGM. After a member vote, Michael was elected chair.
Expanding activities
Saturday walks became a regular fixture in 2003 and organised a walk leader training programme to support and encourage more members to lead walks. Christmas parties took over pub function rooms and followed a successful format of meal, member awards and member provided music and entertainment. At the 2003 party at the Hit or Miss in Penn Street, committee member Ian was "to provide musical entertainment, and permitted to make as much noise as he likes, as long as it’s not audible in Amersham!"
A Growing Network of Young Walkers
The number of new 20s-30s Ramblers groups grew rapidly as the national strategy took shape. Many didn’t mention Ramblers in the name, using “Walking Group” or a Hike prefix, like nearby Hike MK. The early 2000s was a great time for the Ramblers. Emboldened by success with the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CROW) and its section 64 which enabled them to challenge notorious property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten. This publicity helped raise awareness of the Ramblers. The new groups also received media coverage, including an article in The Guardian and separate stands at the National Outdoors Show. Supporting this growth was the launch of Hike magazine, created for members of these groups. An annual event, Hikefest, brought together younger Ramblers from across the UK to share their love of hiking, adventure, and fun.
Ramblers’ mission
In April 2004, members of 20s-30s groups were invited to the Ramblers’ General Council in addition to the usual attendees from Areas. About 30 attended, bringing a noticeable and welcome downward shift in the usual age distribution. Two sessions focused on the young walkers' groups, discussing how to keep them attractive to people in their 20s and how they could contribute to the Ramblers’ work, including footpath protection and campaigning.
Path Checking
Chilterns 20-30s had already planned to get involved in footpath work. In May 2004, the group held its first footpath-checking day. Members met in Stoke Poges, split into six groups, and walked all the paths in the parish. At lunchtime, they gathered for a carvery at a local pub before moving on to Wexham for more path checking.
The day was a success, revealing many issues such asmissing signposts, ploughed-out paths across fields, overgrown paths and fallen trees. At the time, problems couldn’t be reported online, so Helen, who organised the day with John, had to write 30-40 letters to Buckinghamshire council with the issues found. The group continues to run regular footpath check days each year.
Fifth anniversary
By 2005, the group had 180 members. Group walks were very popular often with over 30 attendees. The fifth birthday was celebrated by re-creating the first walk with around 45 people in attendance. 2002-2005 chair Michael said at the time: "I am extremely proud of what we have achieved as a group during our first five years. We're looking forward to welcoming our 200th member shortly and we shall be extending our walks programme in 2005 to meet the additional demand."
Evolution: Introducing Chilterns Weekend Walkers
At the 2004 Ramblers General Council, Dave Ebden, chair of the Surrey Under-40s Rambling Group - SURG – now known as Surrey Young Walkers, gave a presentation on the recently created 40s group in Surrey. The group had been successful and had grown faster than anticipated. In 2005, many members who had been with the Chilterns 20-30s group since its start were now over 35, and the average age was nearing 40. There were concerns that this might discourage younger walkers, especially those in their 20s, from joining. In June, the group gained support from the Ramblers local Area committee to trial a 40s+ sub-group with designated "40s walks" as part of the 20s-30s program.
By mid-2006, the Area committee approved the creation of a new Ramblers group. On a warm September day in 2006, 31 Ramblers members who had bid farewell to their 30s joined a walk in Ashridge, marking the start of the Chilterns Weekend Walkers (CWW). The new group quickly gained momentum, with over 100 people on its email list, including new Ramblers members. Ed, 20-30s Chair between 2005 and 2008 told Hike Magazine “The levels of interest indicate that there is a whole range of walkers out there who are currently not members of the traditional Ramblers Groups that obviously feel CWW might have something to offer them.” To maintain strong ties, the 20-30s and Weekend Walkers regularly held joint walks and events.
Walking, Socialising, and Making Memories
For the next decade, the group gained a reputation for fun, friendship, and adventure. Walks were held every Saturday, Sunday, and on summer evenings during the week. The group regularly covered over 1,000 miles of walking annually, with an impressive peak of 1,334.5 miles in 2012! Some walks set attendance records, with 54 members joining a Chilterns 20-30s Group walk and more than 60 participating in joint walks with other 20-30s groups.
Walks were planned every three to four months, and schedules were shared with members as PDFs. An early innovation was to not send printed copies to members unless they asked for one. The next few weeks’ walks were also listed on the group’s website. Draft schedules were often discussed at monthly pub nights, where walk leaders occasionally competed to secure their preferred dates. The committee’s walks and socials coordinators kept members informed with weekly reminder emails about the next events. A survey in 2010 showed members still preferred the pdf programme and weekly emails to using social media or the website to find information about group activities.
Introductory walks
To attract new members, the group pioneered "Introductory Walks." These short, walks started from convenient meeting points and highlighted some of the best local countryside. Held regularly, and promoted more widely, these helped attract new members to the group.
Active social scene
The group’s social calendar was just as vibrant as its walking schedule. Monthly pub nights were held on the last Friday of each month, giving members a chance to catch up, plan upcoming activities and socialise in more fashionable attire, not walking boots and hiking gear! Other social events included movie nights, theatre trips, live music, stand-up comedy, meals out, participation in the Haddenham Ceilidh, and pub quizzes.
Festive celebrations
Christmas parties graduated from a pub function room and became grand affairs, organised with the Chiltern Weekend Walkers or neighbouring 20-30s groups of Berkshire Walkers and Oxon 20-30s Walkers (now Hike Oxfordshire). These events were held at local hotel and conference venues attracting around 100 people. They featured three-course meals, a disco, and late-night partying, with many members staying overnight. The next morning, partygoers enjoyed breakfast and a local walk for a refreshing start to the day.
Celebrating ten years
On 9th January 2010, exactly ten years after the first group walk, the special anniversary party took place alongside the Weekend Walkers. Snow had blanketed the ground in the days before, adding to the winter atmosphere. The two groups filled the marquee and all the rooms at Hunton Park, creating an unforgettable night Paul, chair from 2008 to 2011 said "We are all looking forward to getting our 10th year off to a great start. Group members led 147 walks over a total of 1034 miles in the Chiltern Hills in 2009 and with 40 walks planned for the first 3 months of 2010 the group is expanding its programme of walks and looking to make the group's second decade as successful as the first."
The evening began with a glass of sparkling wine, followed by a three-course meal, coffee, and a DJ-led disco until midnight - all for just £35 per person. Those staying overnight paid an extra £30, which included breakfast the next morning. The now traditional morning walk followed along a very snowy Grand Union canal.
A new summer tradition
One party wasn’t enough to celebrate ten years, so the group extended the festivities into the summer with a BBQ at Wendover Woods. The event was such a success that the summer BBQ became a beloved tradition, returning year after year as a highlight of the group’s social calendar.
Memorable getaways
Weekend trips were among the group’s biggest highlights. Members enjoyed several weekends away each year, exploring mountains, coastlines, and National Parks. The most prolific organisers of weekends away were Clare and Jeremy, one of the many couples who met through the group. They organised 15 March weekends, famous for starting and ending in the pub and varied weather on the walks with a chance of sun, rain, wind or snow, sometimes all on the same day! Highlights of other trips include a day trip to Paris, combining a visit to the Keswick Beer Festival with a weekend in the Lake District, multiple trips to Snowdonia and the Christmas Markets in Birmingham. We embarked on week-long adventures to the west coast of Ireland, the Cairngorms and Great Glen Way in Scotland, and the Isle of Man.
We're on TV!
2010 saw a short BBC TV comedy series The Great Outdoors following the antics of the Mid-Bucks Walking Club. One character, like one of our members, carried a massive rucksack filled with everything you could possibly need, and plenty more. This and some of the events portrayed gave us all a good laugh. The writers, it turned out, were from Aylesbury and commented they may have found our group in their research. The show even sent new members our way!
In 2015, together with Stag Walkers and Hampshire 20s & 30s Walking Group, we took part in a walk-off Live on BBC One. Stags and Chilterns versus Hampshire. We navigated from outside Parliament to BBC Broadcasting House live during an episode of The One Show. Along the way, we posed for selfies in front of landmarks holding relevant map symbols. Later the same year, members from the group took part in a BBC 4 Timeshift documentary A Very British Map: The Ordnance Survey Story.
Navigating challenges
Around 2014 with competition from new and flexible social and activity groups formed through social media and meetup.com, membership declined far from its peak of just over 200. The three-month plans of walks appeared rigid and the move to a more flexible approach to planning walks had a side-effect for us of some weekends with walks only planned a few days before when most people had already made other plans. The "Chilterns 20s-30s Walking Group" name, which was once fresh, now felt clumsy and less memorable.
Fresh Identity: Becoming Chiltern Young Walkers
By 2016 there were new active members. The majority of the team were in their twenties. To refresh the group’s image, the committee considered a name change. Inspired by a case study about Edinburgh Young Walkers (EYW) shared at a Ramblers volunteer event, the idea for a shorter snappier name was certain. The new name, Chiltern Young Walkers (CYW), was launched with a walk and BBQ at Wendover Woods in the summer of 2017. The group donated a gate in Ashridge on the edge of Dockey Wood, famous for its Bluebells and a popular walking area for the group.
Embracing innovation and growth
The rebranding brought new energy and flexibility. The Ramblers App and Walk Register, introduced around the same time, became a game-changer. Jacqui, who chaired CYW from 2016 to 2020, saw its potential to boost membership. She explained, “It’s helped massively. It gives you the opportunity to contact new people … we can welcome them to the Chiltern Young Walkers, link them to our social media, and tell them how to join the Ramblers.” Her efforts earned her the Ramblers Volunteer Award for Innovation in 2020.
With better outreach, membership grew, and walks, social events, and weekends away became more frequent. CYW members were also enthusiastic participants in National Young Ramblers events, which had been relaunched. The group celebrated its 20th anniversary by recreating its first-ever walk, with over 30 participants joining. By early 2020, the group had expanded to offer two walks every weekend.
Activities paused again
In March 2020, plans for a year of celebration came to a sudden halt due to global events, forcing all group walks to be cancelled. However, public interest in outdoor activities surged. Once restrictions were lifted, CYW adapted and thrived, drawing in new members eager to explore the countryside.
Remembering Jeremy
In July 2024 we walked from Chesham through rolling farmland and strips of woodland towards The Lee. Before reaching Ballinger Common, we stopped to admire a new gate donated by the group in memory of a very active member Jeremy who'd sadly passed away a few years before. As well as the excellent March weekends away with his wife Clare, Jeremy led many walks for the group. He was known for his habit of speeding up when getting close to the pub! It was fitting we upheld the inscription on the gate in Jeremy's honour and enjoyed a ramble to the Cock and Rabbit pub in The Lee for some much deserved refreshments.
Flourishing in the present day
The group continues to attract new members in their twenties and thirties. Recently taking on challenges to walk long-distance paths within the year, completing the Ridgeway in 2023 and Shakespeare’s Way in 2024 and planning to walk the 177 mile Chiltern Way in 2025. In January 2025, the group kicked off its 25th year with another recreation of the first walk. On a frosty morning, 42 walkers and two dogs gathered outside Amersham station before setting off for Great Missenden.
Beth, the group’s current chair, shared a heartfelt message: "Thank you to everyone who has come today and a special welcome to past committee members, walk leaders and anyone else that has joined us for a trip down memory lane today. I'm so proud to see the group continue to go from strength to strength after 25 years and continue to help people access the wonderful countryside on our doorsteps across The Chilterns and beyond."
During the walk, the group paused several times to thank past and current walk leaders. Presenting badges to recognise the number of walks led, celebrating the contributions that so many have kept the group strong over the years.
Final thoughts
Like many of our walks in the Chilterns, the group has experienced ups and downs. It was created to "provide a place where like-minded young people can meet up, unwind, have fun and enjoy our countryside and walking." Over the years, it has refreshed and reinvented itself, adapting to change while continuing to welcome new members in their twenties, thirties, and a little beyond. What does it mean to be a Young Walker ?- “You’re as old as you feel, or as young as you feel, if you want to walk with us and you feel at home with us, you’re a young walker,” says Bekah who joined the group after having re-located from Glasgow Young Walkers.
Today, dozens of Ramblers groups across the country exist thanks to Kevin and Sarah’s chance meeting on a holiday in Austria. Members past and present have formed lifelong friendships and sometimes relationships with others they met in the group and the other young walkers groups. Through these connections we've reached out and asked for people to share their memories and reflections, so come back soon and perhaps there'll be some updates. If you have memories you'd like to share, we'd love to hear from you via email