Sue Povey: a passion for exploring

When did you first begin organising day trips and holidays?

It all started back when I was working as a high school teacher really. I used to organise trips for pupils to various places, including theatre visits and Shakespeare locations in Stratford-upon-Avon. I took several trips to Greece, a few to Russia, the Netherlands and so on.

“I basically swapped teenagers for retirees. I have always been an organised person, so it was a natural change.”

I started out with an Arts Society and organised 15 or 20 trips with them to places like Istanbul, Lisbon, the Alsace, Jordan and all sorts of other destinations. It wasn’t just overseas holidays, we went on lots of day trips too.

After the pandemic, I relocated to Hampshire and had to start all over again. That has taken a couple of years to build up again but now I am back to a full diary. I organise day trips and holidays for Chandlers Ford U3A and walking holidays for Winchester Ramblers as well.

How do members find out about your trips?

The U3A trips come under the umbrella of Out and About with Sue. People can join that group, and the trips are advertised via email. I pick up new members all the time because other people hear about it. Within the Winchester Ramblers I email the members and they can apply through me directly if they are interested.

When I organise a coach trip somewhere, I usually keep it to about 35 people on a coach because I would rather have a waiting list and be able to fill those places if people have to pull out for any reason.

What trips have proved particularly popular recently?

Everyone loved a trip we did in September with the U3A to Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking and they really felt that it exceeded their expectations. Even the people who weren’t that interested in wine found it was a fun place to go because we did a little train ride that takes you right up the hill through the vineyards on the Surrey Hills. We really enjoyed the tour and went home with quite a few bottles.

One of the best Ramblers trips was in September when we went to Austria for a seven-night walking holiday. We had typical mountain weather at the start and by the end it was lovely and warm and sunny. The first day we had pouring rain but we all just got on with it. We were staying at a hotel with a lovely warm infinity pool overlooking the mountains so that was a great way to finish the day.

What trips have you got coming up this year?

We have a day trip to National Trust Kingston Lacy House and Gardens to see the snowdrops. In April, we are going to RNLI Poole to tour the training centre with lunch included.

I’m taking a group of Winchester Ramblers to Piedmont, Italy in May for a seven-night guided walking holiday and then I have a Fred. Olsen cruise to the Norwegian Fjords for eight nights with a U3A group. In the summer I’ve got a trip to Abbotsbury Swannery sanctuary followed by a visit to Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical Gardens with the U3A.

Do you have go-to providers for your holidays?

I’ve quite often used HF Holidays or Ramble Worldwide. In November, we did a two-night short break at Thursford with the U3A and I booked that through Success Tours because I had used them repeatedly over the years. They came up trumps with an amazing hotel.

What do you enjoy most about being part of the groups and organising trips?

I’ve been involved in group travel for a long time and I’m very enthusiastic about it. I feel if you belong to an organisation or group, it is important to give something back and by organising trips I can give back and it has the knock-on effect of giving me the chance to get to know people better.