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Surrey Police reached out to Mole Valley Ramblers (MVR) to ask if they could help out asylum seekers housed locally, and chair Fiona and the group decided they would like to help. The result has been a successful first walk with lots of ideas for future walks. Fiona and Louise tell us below how it went…

"A local police officer got in touch with us to ask what MVR could do to help two hundred or so male asylum seekers residing nearby in a re-purposed hotel and we were keen to help. After some thought we came up with the idea to offer a bespoke walks programme for them. The hotel accommodates over 200 male asylum seekers from a wide range of countries, all awaiting decisions from the Home Office as to their immigration status. Those waits can be long, and are no doubt getting longer. The men are not allowed to work, they have no means of earning any money, and have very little to do in this isolated spot, about a mile from a small village.”

Planning the walk

“As a Ramblers group that regularly walks together, we are inclined to take the easily accessible countryside, along with its many associated mental and physical benefits for granted. As a result, an opportunity to introduce a small group of asylum seekers to the delights of the surrounding rural scenery was a great chance to share our good fortune. A simple route of 5 miles was created starting from the hotel. All easy, level walking but quite tricky to navigate through the woods! A team of volunteer leaders was recruited with the plan of offering the same walk twice a month as a pilot during June and July for small groups of residents. Our police liaison officer arranged a sign-up sheet at the hotel. Thirty people signed up for the initial walk!”

The day of the walk

“Our first walk was held on 10 June. We were blessed with perfect weather; sunshine, dry underfoot and not too hot.

The start was a slightly haphazard affair, the first challenge being to gather together approximately ten residents wearing vaguely the right type of gear. A register was taken and retaken several times (as people disappeared and reappeared. Most spoke little or no English and did not really know what to expect. It was helpful to have the assistance of the local police officer and a staff member who joined us for the walk along with a visiting minister. We ended up with a group of 22, with 14 residents, from 11 different countries: Albania, Algeria, Chad, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Ivory Coast, Mali, Somalia, Sudan and Ukraine.

One memorable moment was when a resident from West Africa could not stop smiling as we walked through a meadow laden with buttercups. He said that it was the first time he had been out and seen countryside in seven months. He explained that he had spent most of his time in his room. The extra volunteer MVR members moved up and down the group, chatting to residents, some of whom were very keen to talk. The universal language of football and sport in general was very helpful in this respect!

We stopped off at various times, showed points of interest, way mark signs and even attempted to teach the names of animals and trees. Of course, we had the ‘compulsory’ mid-way refreshment break, as it is a Ramblers tradition! Home-made flapjacks were offered around and happily consumed by all and sundry.

We heard the life stories of some of the residents. Much of it was quite distressing and hard to listen to, but hopefully, it was therapeutic for them to share. We all found it a very worthwhile and uplifting experience.

We are glad our Ramblers Group has been able to offer some small outlet for those in such difficult circumstances with so little to do. Further walks are planned. We would encourage other Ramblers Groups to see if they have hotels in their vicinity where there are refugees who might be glad of similar walking opportunities.”

For more information about the asylum process and migrant support in the UK visit the Refugee Council or Migrant Help UK.