Emilia Mallett, 17 years old
“I’m 17 and have lived in Cranleigh since I was 7, as an only child making my own entertainment has been a big part of my life. Growing up there were many things to do: swimming, soft play and the playground. I have noticed in recent years that there’s limited things for the 14-17 age bracket to do in Cranleigh. I posted this on Facebook after talking to many of my peers, who agree. We believe the ideal thing to fill the gap in the market for our generation would be an American style diner.
“It would be somewhere where we can still feel we’re with other generations in the community but aimed at our age, somewhere to catch up with friends, have affordable food and drinks, not just from an organised event or activity. A place for us to simply chat to our friends, face to face instead of behind a screen.”
Local Cranleigh woman, 43 years old
“I have lived in Cranleigh since I was 10, over 30 years ago now. There were many activities for us: hobbies club, mini rugby, dance and fun splash, which I loved until I went to secondary school. I feel the people of Cranleigh have often not moved on with the generations, when I was in my mid to late teens it mainly became going to each other’s houses, sitting in the bus shelters, playgrounds (which comprised of swings, a seesaw and a slide) and walking aimlessly around housing estates.
“As much as I enjoyed the organised activities when I was younger, it meant that we didn’t spend much time with other generations, this made it harder for us when we were older as we weren’t quite sure how to interact with people not of our age. I think Cranleigh is still missing something for older teens, it’s changed a lot as a village over the years, but that aspect seems to have been forgotten.”
Ian Stedman, 79 years old
“In the late 1940’s, there wasn’t much to do in Cranleigh for me and my friends. We had activities such as Wolf Cubs Scouts and Church Choir when I was 9 years old, but when we grew into our youth, there weren’t many options aside from sports. Instead we would go up to the woods and play all day.
“Growing up in Cranleigh definitely had its good points, but I’m glad I didn’t stay there all the time, there just weren’t enough activities to keep me busy. If we stayed in Cranleigh, many of us wouldn’t have found a job! I think Cranleigh still struggles to cater for young people as much as it did back then and I’d really like to see more available for them in the village.”
We are a fairly young at heart couple of 65 &73, moving to a new property in Cranleigh later this year.
Can anyone help us find appropriate social activities/ clubs to meet people & make friends please?
Thanks
Steph