Twenty-five years ago, a group of enthusiastic walkers got together and formed the Fermanagh Ramblers and Hillwalking Club.
Now after a quarter of a century, the members spend regular Sunday mornings and afternoons accessing everything from Grade 1 forest trails to Grade 3 mountain walks to places such as a Mournes and Blue Stacks. But this year they visited a more exotic location, enjoying the sun on a Greek island.
The Club started off with 30 members but to-day boasts a membership of over 90. 
Set up in 1991 by Denis Boyd, Bill Regan, Keith Rutledge and the late John Monaghan and Noel Parker, the backbone of the Club are the walk leaders who share their knowledge, experience and love of the great outdoors. For new members, it is still a delight for them to experience the joys of summiting their first hill or mountain.
The Club always welcomes new members and all that is needed to get started is a pair of sturdy boots and waterproof clothing, advised Chairman, John Toland.
The Ramblers are planning to mark this year of celebration with a gathering at the Taphouse, Tempo Road, Enniskillen, on Saturday, November 19 at 7.30pm for an evening of celebrations and memories.
Nigel Woods from the Club explained how they travel further afield with trips across Ireland and Britain, this year having a hiking trip to North Donegal and Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands but the highlight was embarking on a week-long trip to the Greek island of Andros, organised by Hazel Hunter and a few Club members with support from her sister, Noelle, who resides on the island.
The group of 20 walkers arrived at their base at a quaint village, their accommodation in an old two-storey building in a tranquil setting under the shade of mulberry trees overlooking the beach. Geogios(George) and his wife runs the traverna with his mother, Maria cooking the meals. They were treated to homemade dishes of Mousaka, Stifado, cheese pies, Greek salads and many local delicacies. The group met up with Ariana who was their walking tour leader for the week.
The island is blessed with the features of a small “promised land” or miniature Garden of Eden and has an amazing fusion of stone, bright sunlight and sparkling sea with many white washed cottages, watermills, farms and villages shaped by stone streets and paths and divided by amazing hand built dry stone walls.
Twelve footpaths cross the island and the group completed five of them.
Andros is the eighth largest island in the Aegean Sea and the second largest island in the cyclades after Naxos, with a population of 10,000, measuring just 26 miles by 11 miles.
The coastline is generally rocky with natural ports, with the exception of the deep bay of Gavrio in the north west. Small mountain ranges characterise the terrain of Andros and are parallel to each other, facing the south-west to north-east and ending abruptly with small valleys on narrow ravines after creating deep gorges and plentiful water springs.
The rocky coastal landscape is interrupted by sandy beaches where water rushes down from the ravines and gorges.
The largest mountain ranges are located in the centre of the island with Mount Petalo the highest at 3,000 feet.
Each morning after a hearty Continental style breakfast, the group set off at 8am led by Ariana. The scenery was a riot of colour with poppies, purple and pink cyclamen, gorse, heather, thistles and anemones. Trees included cedar, cypress poplars and olives. In the valleys, orange, lemon and lime trees grew.
The island had 137 watermills in operation in 1830 and many of these exist today. There was habitation on the island as early as the Bronze Age and there are many fortified settlements across the island appearing during the first and second Hellenic period from the eighth to seventh century. Its geographical position was important on the maritime route from Greece to the Aegean Sea.
The island became an important centre of the silk industry, exporting silk fabrics to the west. This coincided with the building of churches until the Ottoman Turkish occupation from 1566 until 1821. Between the two world wars, the island’s capital became the second largest port in Greece but the Second World War resulted in the loss of many ships and lives, as well as destruction of buildings.
Now the island is developing as a walking tourism destination.