Maldon u3a is a community organisation for people in Maldon and the surrounding area, where retirees can meet like-minded people, and explore new ideas, skills and interests.

Full information on each of the groups mentioned in this article, as well as who best to contact for questions, can be found on our What's on page.

To join, you can visit their website, and fill out an application form.

The Bird-Watching Group

On a balmy September morning that belied the approach of Autumn, ten members stepped out on a bustling Maldon prom to see what could be seen on the mudflats. 

As the seasons change, so does our birdlife, with some moving to coastal feeding grounds after breeding inland while others head south for the winter, with some travelling thousands of miles to sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, we await the return of winter visitors such as brent geese from inside the Arctic Circle. 

Full information about what the group spotted on their last walk about, is available on our What's on Page.

The next walk will take place October 6. Meet in Daisy Meadows Car Park, Heybridge Basin.

The Maritime Group

The next meeting of the group is on Monday 7th October at the Blackwater Sailing Club, Basin Road, Heybridge Basin CM9 4SD for a by talk by Gordon Davies on Emigration 1850 style.

 In the 1850s over a third of a million people left the UK for a new life in Australasia, travelling there by sailing ship on a voyage likely to take 3 or 4 months. 

Who went? Why? What were their experiences enroute? What support did they have?

The Sunday Strollers

The October 15 walk will start from the The Star pub, The Street, Steeple, CM0 7LF. Please arrive for 10:00 when we will be able to pre order our lunch. 

The walk will start at 10:30 and is some 4 miles across farmland and up onto the sea wall with views across the Blackwater and the mud flats. We will continue through woods and farmland with part being on public roads before returning to the pub for lunch.

London Walks

London Walks take place on the 3rd Tuesday of the month. 

The group meets a professional guide at 11.00 to be taken on a 2 hour guided walk. 

The distance walked is not vast as they stop many times to be told interesting and entertaining information. 

After the walk you are free to join others for coffee/ lunch or plan other things to make the most of your day in London. 

The August walk saw the group exploring Covent Garden and learning so much about its history. It was originally a burial ground in 1065 for monks (the original name being Convent Garden).

On Tuesday, October 15, the group will head off on a 'Soho Saunter'.

The Aviation Group

October 25 there will be an illustrated talk about Operation Exodus & Dodge by Chris Samson and fellow member David Gillespie. These operations were put in place to airlift and repatriate thousands of Allied POWS as their camps were overrun by the Allied Armies. 

Members are invited to meet at Woodham Mortimer Village Hall at 11am.

The flight simulator over London that the group tried out!

Recent activities have included sight-seeing in a flight simulator and a WW2 illustrated talk about when a Hurricane forced a landing on the airfield of St Mary's.

Full information about what the group has been up to is available on our What's on page.