Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather
John Ruskin, author, art critic & social reformer

Click to visit www.visitwesterham.org.uk

Some members have suggested that I should put this disclaimer on the website so that everyone will know where they stand.

The major point is that we carry no insurance.  Because we started out as simply a group of people who walked together, no one felt it was necessary.  In all the walks we have taken (approx five hundred over about twenty years) only six injuries have been suffered.  In every case it was just bad luck, with no one to blame. 

The English countryside can be slippery in wet weather and paths can be very uneven, particularly in fields where there have been livestock. Tree branches can also hang low.

The walk leaders are merely showing everyone the way to go. If you ask directions from someone in the street and then trip over a broken paving slab, you don't sue the person who gave you directions. He wasn't giving you any guarantees as to the state of the path. Neither do we.

The same applies to walk descriptions on this website. I am merely describing the walk, not giving any guarantees.

This is not to say that no one is responsible for injuries suffered by walkers. The landowner and the Highway Authority (in our case, usually Kent County Council) have some responsibilities. If you want to find out more, visit the FAQs Section of this website and look for the question "How can I learn more about Rights of Way?" under "General". It gives details of a very good book on the subject.