A lot of our members share some special interests – be this gardening, crafting, reading or walking. Like-minded members have therefore formed Clubs under the umbrella of the Market Harborough WI to meet regularly and enjoy their particular favourite activity. Members can join any of the clubs or indeed start a new one!
New members are always welcome in the clubs – please use the contact from on this website to get in touch or contact the club lead-member on the email shown under the relevant heading below. Most of the clubs have a WhatsApp group to keep club member posted, so it is helpful if you include your mobile phone number in your enquiry.
Please see details for each club below – where applicable the paragraph includes a link to the planned program. If in doubt, please feel free to contact us by email @ marketharboroughwi@gmail.com or check the blog posts on the main page where we advertise upcoming activities.
At present there are five active clubs:
Allotment Club – Meeting at the allotment during the growing season
Following an incidental conversation at a Bake Club meeting, members of the WI applied for and obtained a large plot at 41A Cricket Pitch View at the Stevens Street Allotments owned by the Market Harborough and the Bowdens Charity Since taking it on in 2018 we have transformed the plot, set up a green house, added some pallet furniture and grown a whole range of fruit, vegetables and flowers. More recently we added the adjoining plot which has been given over to creating a seating area and flower beds. All of us were ‘newbies’ to allotment management, but over time and with the kind help of other allotment holders things have taken off. During the growing season the group meets every Monday afternoon from 2pm at the allotment (and sometimes more often if plants need watering). Out of season we usually favour the warmer environments of a local coffee shop or restaurant for the planning of next year’s planting.
Note: Due to recurring vandalism at the allotment field the charity had to set up fences and a locked gate at the entrance – if you would like to visit to see what the group is up to, please contact Julie Sellars at Jusellars1960@gmail.com for access.
Book Angels – Meeting at the Three Swans Hotel
A group of WI members who enjoy reading started up “Book Angels” (so named after the Angel Hotel in MH where the club used to meet) a couple of years ago. It is a very informal group, usually meeting on the third Wednesday of the month at 2.30pm at the Three Swans Hotel to discuss the chosen book. We decide as a group what books to read – usually all read the same book, but sometimes we have a free choice based around a specific theme. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t had time to finish reading the book in time for the meeting – just come along and join in the discussion. The Reading List for the next few months is available here. If you would like to join the Book Angels either go along to one of their meetings or contact Valerie Hitchcox at vhitchcox50@hotmail.com
Craft Club – Meeting at the Congrgational Church in Bowden Lane
The Craft Club usually meets on the first Thursday of the month in the Langton Room upstairs at the Congregational Church in Bowden Lane. Everyone is welcome to join and try out different crafts from knitting for charity projects to card making and decorating pottery. The program for the current year can be found here, but the subjects for the coming months are usually also advertised on the blog on the front page of this website. There is a small charge to be paid to cover expenses and the cost of materials if applicable. Please contact Fiona Graham if you would like to joint the Craft Club at fegraham1@gmail.com
The Village Garden Team – Meeting at the Eco Village in St Mary’s Road
When the regular gardener had to give up the job in 2023, volunteers from the WI got involved in looking after the garden area at The Village. The garden now provides a wide variety of produce for sale and members are regularly organising plant sales to raise funds to expand operations. If you could spare any seeds, compost, pots or plants your donations would be much appreciated.
The team are also keen to develop the garden into a community asset and in July 2024 were pleased to welcome four visitors from Home Farm Trust (www.hft.org.uk), who had a very enjoyable morning watering, planting and harvesting. We are hoping that this will become a regular activity for them.
If you would like to become involved (even for as little as an hour a week for a bit of watering or weeding), please get in touch with Lesley Melling at lesleypmelling@gmail.com
Walking Club – Meeting on Location
The Walking Club is a group of like-minded members that enjoy a ramble and a chat. Each walk is about 3.5 miles and usually will take about 1.5 and 2 hours to complete. Walks are not difficult and tend to finish at locations where the group can have a coffee or drink and a natter to round things off.
The group have planned a programme of walks from March to October, which can be found here. All members are part of a WhatsApp group through which the route, meeting place and meeting time are confirmed a couple of days before each walk. If you would like to join the group, please email Fiona Tomlin at f_tomlin@sky.com with your name and mobile phone number, so she can add you to the WhatsApp group. Then all you need to join in is suitable footwear, appropriate clothing and a water bottle!
Market Harborough WI 