As the pandemic continues to affect countless residents, we’re going to revisit simpler village times with memories from two Abbots Langley Local History Society (ALLHS) members.
Trevor Baker, ALLHS treasurer, said: “One of my favourite memories is the morning of January 13, 2005. My wife Sandra was a walk leader in Kings Langley and when she decided to start health walks in Abbots, I naturally supported her. It was a bright, crisp day and 15 of us attended the inaugural Abbots Langley Health Walk.
“The scheme was run by Dacorum Borough Council and when Josie, the coordinator, realised that Abbots was in Three Rivers, she withdrew her support. Then she had an idea. She moved the boundary, so Abbots became part of Dacorum, and nobody noticed. When Josie’s contract ended, the scheme was taken over by the Countryside Management Service and Abbots returned to Three Rivers again, without anyone noticing it had gone. But don’t mention this to anybody or we might get into trouble…”
Delva O’Regan, ALLHS secretary, said: “I moved to Abbots Langley in 2007 and decided that I wanted to pursue two of my favourite interests: walking and history. Seeing a parish history walk advertised, I thought it was exactly for me.
“On a slightly damp August afternoon, I joined a group being led by a lovely man called Derek Sayell, who regaled us with the history of the area, accompanied by old photos. Over the following years I was to join many more history walks led by Derek and went on to join both the History Society and the Health Walks, both resulting in my making many good friends in my new home village.
“Sadly we lost Derek this year, but his parish walks are being continued by Maureen Finerty.”
Would you like to send us your favourite local memories? Email Jake at newsroom@mynewsmag.co.uk
Picture credit: Trevor Baker
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