Saturday 5th September 2026

Join us for our bi-annual traditional “Beating the Bounds” walk and help raise essential funds to keep our two village churches open.

Whether you walk the whole route or just part of it, everyone is warmly welcome to take part in this enjoyable community event celebrating our village boundaries, history and countryside.

We are inviting participants to seek sponsorship and help us continue the care and upkeep of our much-loved churches for future generations.

Starting Point - 8:30 am at Frensham Ponds Hotel public carpark

1st stop - 10am at Squires Garden Centre, Frensham (About 3mls from Frensham Ponds Hotel)

2nd stop - 1pm at Bluebell Public House, Dockenfield (About 5mls from Squires)

Finishing Point - 4pm at Frensham Ponds Hotel (About 3mls from the Bluebell)

Please note these times are approximate and are of course, subject to weather conditions.

Bring family, friends, dogs and walking shoes — and help us make a real difference while enjoying a wonderful village tradition together. Please feel free to only do part of the walk. ‘Swatting’ is optional! (see below)

Beating the bounds or perambulating the bounds is an ancient custom still observed in parts of England, Wales, and the New England region of the United States, which involves swatting local landmarks with branches to maintain a shared mental map of parish boundaries, usually every seven years.

These ceremonial events occured on what were sometimes called gang-days; the custom of going a-ganging was kept before the Norman Conquest. During the event, a group of prominent citizens from the community, which can be an English church parish, New England town, or other civil division, will walk the geographic boundaries of their locality for the purpose of maintaining the memory of the precise location of these boundaries. While modern surveying techniques have rendered these ceremonial walks largely irrelevant, the practice remains as an important local civic ceremony or legal requirement for civic leaders.