By John Stangroom
The history of the Gay Sunday Walking Group can be traced back directly to the first walk for gay men and women in March 1972. Vivian Waldron, who had just retired from the civil service where he had organised a walking group, had joined the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) and thought some other members might like to try country walks. He advertised a walk from Sevenoaks station through Knole Park taking in viewpoints in the North Downs.
Twenty-seven of us turned up, more than half from Croydon CHE. It was a pleasant, sunny day, great for a spring walk. We stopped for lunch at the Buck’s Head in Godden Green then walked along what is now the Greensand Way, with views over the Weald, then back into Knole Park. The day had been a new experience, and so enjoyable that nine or ten of the Croydon fellows linked arms and skipped past the grand stately home, Knole House. There was no reaction from National Trust members around – in some ways the seventies were more liberated than any decade since.
With this success Vivian went on to lead a walk every month, doing his best to have walks in all directions from central London. Gradually others offered to lead walks they knew, and we became an established part of CHE in London. When Gay News (a weekly newspaper) appeared we put our walks in its free ‘coming events’ column welcoming all gays who joined us.
Sad to say Vivian died of cancer in summer 1976 (after doing a lot more work for CHE and Friend), and Ernie Everest took over organising the walks and posting details to all who wanted them. He moved to Bath around 1980 (becoming a valued member of Gay West) and I took on the work. About this time CHE began to run out of steam (Stonewall eventually took its place) and the walking group went on without it, with numbers gradually increasing, until by the mid-nineties we were about 80 strong. This meant too much work for one person. Also, new laws on responsibilities for organising events had led to court cases and sometimes large damages payouts.
I proposed we become a club run by an unpaid committee and walk leaders, with paid membership, a constitution, bank account and insurance cover that was already available to associates of the Ramblers Association. Pretty well all the regular walkers went along with this, and a group of volunteers set up the Gay Sunday Walking Group; John Mathewson, a member since 1973, arguing strongly for ‘Gay’ to be in the name to keep faith with our CHE roots.
In early December 1997 we did our regular pre-Christmas walk (Kew – Richmond – Richmond Park) as our first GSWG walk.
Straight away Graham, our walks organiser, suggested extra, shorter walks on the first Sunday in each month. These have been a great success ever since 1997. In the last twenty-five years we have had about 600 walks, 16 walking weeks in Mallorca and one in Italy (the Mallorca and Italy trips being joint events with Cycle Out), three walking weekends in the South Downs, long distance walks (Vanguard Way, North Downs Way etc.) in stages over summer months, and joined in five Pride Parades. Since 1972 we must have completed more than 1,000 walks and covered several thousands of miles!
I estimate that about 2,000 people have been members of the Group in the last 50 years and lots of guests have joined us. We have always tried to welcome new walkers and be friendly – in the early days this made a nice change from the predatory atmosphere found in many of the places where gays met. And walking in the open country has offered many London people a chance to contact the natural world over a route checked in advance by the leader. It’s our walk leaders who have always been the backbone of the group and ensured its success.
As I write this, I think a diva should be singing Stephen Sondheim’s “I’m Still Here” in the background. The Group has been through AIDS, the rise and fall of gay pubs, near hysterical police prosecutions in the ‘80s, Mary Whitehouse, newspaper hostility sometimes copied from the Nazis, queer bashing, Clause 28, dating apps, the long battle to end discriminatory laws (1967 to 2002), Covid regulations… and WE’RE STILL HERE.
Gay Sunday Walking Group 