Photos from Nonsuch Park Greyhound Social Walk

We had a great turnout today. Lots of passers-by stopped to admire the dogs and ask whether it was a greyhound convention.I enjoyed people telling stories about their hounds: their racing exploits, and how they got their names. We met Vera, a small, quiet self effacing hound who won an amazing 29 races out of 118 under the name of Did She? We met a hound who raced under the name of 'Pour the Wine' but whom the Kennel hands called Tipsy (and she has been tipsy ever since). And the hound who raced as Bob's Memory (named by a widow after her late husband) now known simply as Bob. Tania enjoyed seeing hounds like Cleo and Ali, both of whom she remembers walking at Hersham, now happily homed with caring owners.
We couldn't have asked for better guides. John and Doreen are the Park keepers at Nonsuch. Three days ago they adopted a greyhound from Battersea's country kennels at Kent and they brought her out on the walk today. They guided us to the Mansion House Cafe in the middle of the Park, where we stopped for a cup of tea and a chat.

Then John and Doreen took us on a ramble back along a beautiful quiet walk, off the beaten track, through open fields and past a pond. We have been to Nonsuch Park many times but today we saw parts of it we hadn't known existed. Once back at the car park Doreen bought out a big bucket of water that the thirsty hounds took it in turns to empty.

Well done to the folks who gave homeless hounds from Hersham a day out from the kennels: This is Jet at the end of the walk, having a rest before his trip back to the kennels.
The next social walk will be in September: Please leave a comment at the bottom of the post if you have any preferences or suggestions on where we go.
James

Next retired greyhound social walk: Sunday June 29: Nonsuch park

Come and take your retired greyhound, or a homeless hound from Hersham, for a stroll through Nonsuch Park.

Meet at 11am, on Sunday 29 June.

Go to the car park located on the big bend on London Road, near Ewell. The car park is marked with a red circle on this map

We will walk along the mown paths through the meadows to the Mansion House which has a cafe, picnic area and WCs.


You will see this monument at the car park entrance:


Please contact the welfare kennels at Hersham if you are able to take a homeless hound out with us.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Photos from 3rd Retired Greyhound Social Walk (Chatley Heath Semaphore Tower)

It was pouring with rain when we left home just after ten this morning. We wondered whether any hounds would turn up for the walk.

We needn't have worried - greyhounds are made of sterner stuff. We had three homeless hounds from Hersham. Kennel mates Pip and Striker came with flatmates Andy and Helen; and Tom had the honour of being the first greyhound ever to travel in the boot of Gareth and Sandra's Ka.

And we had four adopted greyhounds: Bonnie brought Melanie; Cassie brought Max and Chloe and their grandparents Jan and Derek; Becks and Alexa brought yours truly and family.

As we had pre-arranged, the rain stopped at ten minutes to 11. We were all peeling coats and jumpers off as we walked across the Heath. We only got lost once, and arrvived at the Semaphore Tower well before its 12 noon opening time.

Pip, Striker and Bonnie having a well earned rest

The sun came out as we walked back. The Heath landscape looked surreal, with large areas cleared of trees allowing heather and other plants to flourish. Hard to imagine that most of Surrey looked like this 500 years ago. Andy told us the opening battle sequences of 'Gladiator' were filmed here. We were walking through a deserted world, a sensation heightened by the silence of the hounds.

The surrealism was complete when we got to Pond car park and saw a gaggle of people who looked like they had walked straight out of Middle Earth. Turns out they were on a Lord of the Rings adventure day. A Healing preistess posed with Becks and Alexa


The path between Pond Car Park and Bolermere car park was confusingly signposted. The only person we could ask was lying prone across the path, another refugee from Middle Earth, waiting for the adventurers to find him. Gareth's polite request for direction was met with a gruff 'I'm doing something'

We left him to it. And got back without mishap (the Orc's didn't get us) for a familiar cup of tea at Boldermere Car Park cafe.

Next retired greyhound social walk: Sunday May 25

Come and take your retired greyhound, or a hound from Hersham, for a stroll on Chatley Heath Common. The common is situated near the A3/M25 interchange, 15 minutes drive from Hersham.

Meet at the Boldermere car park on Chatley Heath Common at 11am on Sunday 25 May. We will go for a forty minute circular walk around the Heath and past the semaphore tower.

Boldermere car park has toilets and a cafe. If it is full when you arrive there is another car park that is only five minutes walk away.

Here is a link to a leaflet which has a map and a description of the circular walk.

Please contact the kennels at Hersham if you are able to take a homeless hound out with us.

Please keep dogs on leads.

Look forward to seeing you there

Tania, James and the kids, plus Alexa and Becks

Photos from the 2nd Retired Greyhound Social Walk (Cowey Sale to Weybridge)

Cassie, Hannah, Dusty, Becks and Alexa took their owners for a social walk from Cowey Sale to Weybridge this Sunday. The dogs didn't seem to mind the drizzly rain and grey skies.

The Old Crown pub in Weybridge (a very greyhound friendly pub indeed) provided a handy pitstop at the half way point of the walk: with plenty of room for the hounds to stretch out for their forty winks.

Retired greyhound parade at Kingston Rugby Football Club

Nine greyhounds turned out for the retired greyhound parade before the Frank Walsh memorial event at Kingston Rugby Football club this saturday. Six were homeless hounds from the WGW kennels at Hersham, and the announcer gave each of them a character reference as they walked round. The other three were homed hounds with their owners.

It was a relaxed, friendly event. The rugby players and supporters, young and old, made a fuss of the hounds and show a genuine interest in their lives and their natures. And for this greyhound owner it was nice to have the chance to throw a rugby ball around with my kids! The beer tent, the BBQ and the sunshine all added to the conviviality.

The memorial match is played every year in memory of Frank Walsh, who died at the age of 43. The proceeds of the match go to charity, and this year Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare was nominated as one of the charities.

Thank you to Kingston RFC for making us and the hounds so welcome.

Take your retired greyhound on parade at Kingston Rugby Football Club this Saturday 26 April

Kingston Rugby Football Club are holding the Frank Walsh memorial rugby match this Saturday (26 April) at 3pm. It is a charity match, and a percentage of funds raised will go to Wimbledon Greyhound Welfare (WGW) at Hersham.

Before the game there will be a parade of retired greyhounds. It is a good opportunity both to raise the profile of retired greyhounds, and to raise funds for the homeless hounds at Hersham. If you have a retired greyhound it would be great to see you and your dog on Saturday.

The parade will take place at 2:30, before the rugby match. Please aim to be at the ground between 1:30pm and 2pm.

The address of Kingston Rugby football club is:

King Edward Recreation Ground
Hook Road
Chessington
Surrey KT9 1PL

If you would like to take a hound from Hersham along to the parade then please ring the Kennels on 01932 224918 (regular walkers or greyhound owners only). The Kennels would allocate you a hound that you could pick up at 1pm, and return as soon as you can after the parade.

We hope to see you there: if you can't make it we will post some photos on the blog next week.