Torbay Rambling Club 75th Anniversary

75th Anniversary

Torbay Rambling Club are the longest established walking club in South Devon. We were formed in 1950 and our initial walk took place in November that year. In 2025 we are celebrating our 75th Anniversary!

In order to commemorate this important milestone in our history, we have compiled some old documents and photos which you can view on this page. The documents reflect how differently we run the club nowadays. In the 1950s everything had to be communicated by letter or telephone. The clothing and equipment we used was much more basic (and less fashionable). Few members had cars, so they had to rely on public transport in most cases. Health and safety was considered less of a priority, but the main ethos of the club remains the same today. We are here to support the local community by providing a varied programme of walks throughout the year for everyone to enjoy.

We have arranged a number of additional walks and social events to take place in 2025 to commemorate our Anniversary. Details will be published here as they are finalised.  In the meantime, feel free to browse through our historical documents and 75th Anniversary gallery. If you have any documents or photos you would like included on this page, or you would like a photo removed, please contact webmaster@torbayramblingcluborg.uk.

Club Formation Documents

Here are a few documents from the 1950s when the club was first formed.

Letter sent out to Holiday Fellowship members in the area to gauge interest in forming a rambling group
Letter from the Cooperative Holidays Association, approving the formation of a joint CHA/HF Torbay Rambling Club
Letter to the General secretary of the CHA
List of attendees at the first AGM
Agenda for the first meeting of the club
Minutes of the 1951 AGM
Club Accounts 31st December 1952

For more information about the formation of our club, read this booklet we produced to celebrate our 50th Anniversary in 2000.

Walking Programmes

In the past walking programmes had to be printed and posted to our members each season. Since our website was created in 2004, we provide the information online so we can keep it up to date with any last minute changes.

Walking Programme Summer 1951
Walking Programme Autumn 1951
Walking Programme Autumn 1964
Walking Programme Summer 1969
Walking Programme Summer/Autumn 1975
Walking Programme Autumn 2007

Photo Gallery

Here are some photos from 1980s to the present day. The technology for taking photos may have changed over the years, but the countryside we walk in is just as beautiful as it was 75 years ago! A big thank you to Helen Wills and Anne-Marie Cochrane for providing most of them.

They take a while to load, so we have split most of them by decade. There are so many photos from the 2020s, each year has its own page. If you click on a gallery and you see nothing, the images have not loaded yet. If your cursor has turned into a magnifying glass icon, you can click on it to view the images and scroll through them.

1980s Photos

1990s Photos

2000s Photos

2010s Photos

2022s Photos

2023s Photos

2024s Photos