AWW/WAGS Anniversary and Event Blogs: Terry Ames RIP.

A Tribute to Terry Ames - A Leader,Walker and a Gentle man

Yes it was really sad to say goodbye to Terry, a leader, a dog lover, a family man and a selfless friend to those that knew him. Below is a compilation of photos, tributes and memories of the man as we knew him.

A Family Man - a later picture after the death of his beloved wife Jill

Jill, Terry and Java December 2018

Terry and Jill arrived in the Algarve in 2003 and soon met Maurice. He was welcomed into the AWW and in 2004 started surveying and waymarking a version of the Algarve Way with David Littlewood. This was after the basic route had been laid out in both directions by the AWW in 1998 and 1999. David and Terry completed the project in 2006.

Jill and Terry, February 2018

Meanwhile Terry had been building his house near Salir and setting up a business as a walking guide to lead tourists along the Algarve Way - or pretty much anywhere they might care to walk. He was still a regular walker and leader with the then AWW whenever he could and had pioneered some very interesting and not undemanding walks in his own area, east of Sao Bras.

Quiet moments

He and Jill had a great love of dogs and often took on rescue dogs and nursed them back to a fit and healthy state. He brought Nath, a Springer spaniel over from Wales, then here he acquired Rusty, another Spaniel. Next was Java and ultimately Becky who were both pointers. He rarely walked without a dog at his side.

I never heard a bad opinion about Terry. He was one of life's genuine characters and always good company, but never intrusive. Below are some heartfelt words from other members of the walking group interspersed with some pictures. There may be some repetition but I have tried to keep to the sentiments expressed by the authors.

Terry and Nath

Myriam wrote:

Terry was a very unusual man. He was friendly but straight forward and suffered no nonsense. Yet he was an extremely patient and considerate walk leader. It was always a pleasure to join his walks.

The most admirable quality was his dedication to Jill. For years he looked after her with devotion and love. Her passing affected him deeply.

Terry's departure is a great loss to the walking communities in the Algarve. He wii be sorely missed and lovingly remembered.

From Rod Frew:

From the moment Terry arrived in the Algarve in 2003 and joined the AWW it was obvious he was going to be a great asset to the group. And so it proved.

Fit, enthusiastic to find his way around the Algarve countryside, he quickly added to the AWW compendium of walking routes. Leading many of these, he soon showed himself to be an experienced walk leader; knew where he wanted to go, a fast walker but always sensitive to the abilities of others; the well-being of his groups being paramount.

He had a competitive streak, unsurprisingly....getting to the top of a hill first was always a must and of course he always achieved it. How interesting it would have been to have pitted him against the other great AWW hill climber, Ian Cooper! He was always good company on a walk too ; easy to talk to, middle of the road socially and politically; he could appreciate all points of view even if suffering fools gladly was not his strongest suit!
Turning his knowledge and experience into a walking tour business was an obvious corollary to this, which he achieved with considerable success whilst maintaining his AWW / WAGS presence.

With David L. and Maurice

Almargem, the environmental group who now maintain the Via Algarviana, owe him a considerable debt of gratitude for not only did he spend considerable time and effort into way-marking the Via Algarviana / Algarve Way, but he used that route as the basis of his walking tours and in so doing gave it considerable publicity.

Marking the WAY with David L

Doubtless this would have continued were it not for the declining health of his wife Jill, herself an energetic AWW walker in her prime, who began to require an increasing amount of his time to care for her. Her untimely end might have enabled Terry to once again roam the Algarve countryside and help keep alive the AWW / WAGS. Tragically though, this was not to be.

JohnH delved into his archives and sent me 2 videos of Terry briefing during his walks.

and

Memorable style and humour!

Ingrid sent a photo of Terry with Becky soon after Terry adopted her,......

Terry and a very skinny Becky

.........and she wrote: Grateful to have known you and walked with you and that we calld each other friend. RIP dear friend.

From Father Bob Bates

I first met Terry shortly after we arrived in the Algarve in 2009. I'd just walked the Camino in northern Spain and had heard of the Way of St Vincent (to some the Via Algarviana), and thought it might be a good idea to walk that path as the Chaplain of St Vincent's chaplaincy, walking the way of St Vincent and raising some funds for the St Vincente Lar (home for the mentally disabled) in Albufeira. Google put me in touch with Terry's website and we met and discussed and Terry introduced me to the AWWs as a way of getting/keeping fit and proving to him that I could walk more that a couple of Km. This brought me into the company of many walking friends over the 5 years we were in the Algarve, before our move to Porto. We 'walked the walk' the following spring and although I'd have preferred a slightly slower pace and few days extra, we completed the full distance in 7.5 days, finishing at the Cape with welcoming drinks supplied by our church and greeted by a coach party of Residents from the Lar - who nearly drank the bar dry before we got a chance.....and thanks to the generosity of many we raised €3,000

Just a few memories:-

A - Wading through the Foupana River with no idea how deep it was going to get (chest high at the deepest where we crossed)

B - On the walk Terry carried his paint and brush and would periodically stop to clear some vegetation and touch up the paint on the revealed way-mark.

C - I remember going through a gate and heading for the track opposite, only for Terry to call me back and point to a way through some trees, with no obvious path. Throwing our packs over some fallen trees and climbing after them, or in some cases lifting the more slender ones and dodging underneath we took about 50 minutes to cover a concealed track that should have taken 10 - with Terry muttering about "having to report this".

D - And as Terry's house was on the footpath we'd planned to stop there overnight. We arrived and had a beer and a wash and as I prepared to enjoy a time of relaxation I was summoned to 'reboot' and we walked on to Alte - an additional 13 Km - so around 38 Km for the day! It was a great opportunity and I shall forever be grateful to Terry for guiding me along, and his patience as I struggled on occasion to keep up.

May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

Fr Bob

Show me the way to go home

From Geoffrey Hill:

"Sue and I first met Terry in October 2010 ( might have been 2009) when we answered his advert in the local paper and met him in Salir for a walk. We recall he insisted on getting a coffee before we started!

He mentioned the AWW to us, but it wasn't until May 2011 that our sporadic trips to Portugal aligned with a Wednesday Walk, when Sue went on this from Messines, led by Terry.

Terry's work with the Algarve Way with David et al., the fore-runner of the Via Algarviana, was much appreciated when the AWW walked the VA last year"

On the Annual AWW Round the Corner Walk 6th December 2012

Rayner Otter, an ex- AWW walker wrote an article for the Algarve Goodlife magazine in about 2009 about his experience on one of Terry's Guided Walks. (Edited)

He wrote:

I opted to join walk-leader Terry Ames for one of his favourite chunks of the Algarve Way. This was a 25 kilometre yomp through the picturesque but hardly visited Serras from Barranco da Velha to Benafim, a descent of 270 metres with quite a few uphill bits thrown in to slow us down. By the way, for the uninitiated; going down hurts more than going up. I didn’t confess to Terry that he had a cripple in the team until he was driving us to the starting point in his comfortable people carrier. Fortunately the group was small comprising - besides the leader and me - my partner, the Fräulein, a lovely lady called Cêlianne and two dogs, Rusty and Harry. Terry assured us that he was in no rush and that we could amble along at our own paces. Oh yeah? As though I was going to be out-walked by two women and a couple of mutts! Two minutes after leaving the mountain-top village of Barranco da Velha, however, I dropped my machismo by the roadside, took a deep breath and said to myself, ’You’ve got another 24.9 kilometres to go - just get there.’ As it was, Terry kept the pace down and for a lot of the way he and I walked together through gobsmackingly fabulous countryside, stopping occasionally for the chattering ladies to catch us up. This made me feel better about my capabilities and gave me a chance to learn something about our leader. Terry Ames was born in Norfolk but spent much of his life in South Wales. It was there where he really took to walking seriously. Before moving to the Valleys Terry had walked a lot having been involved in game shooting and training gundogs; but that was in Norfolk and, as the saying goes,… ‘Very flat, Norfolk’. He didn’t know what hit him when he first encountered those Welsh bumpy things. But he, like so many of us, was bitten by the urge to climb hills. Before long, he was entering ‘challenge walks’ - huge distances that have to be covered in a set time. One of these is an annual 45 mile (72 kilometres) hike across Wales that has to be done in 18 hours, but the slightly more demanding is the annual ‘Hundreds‘. Yes, that’s 100 miles (161 kilometres), virtually non-stop, which has to be completed in 48 hours. Terry, 64 years old, normally takes 40. He went on to become a qualified group walking leader and moved to the Algarve seven years ago. Here he set up The Algarve Walking Experience offering bespoke on-foot holidays

From Ian Wilson:

Very sorry to hear of Terry’s passing. He will be missed. A strong walker and one of the good guys.

Some tributes from current AWW members:

Its all downhill - easy

What sad news Terry was a lovely man a great human being ……Tina

From Marian Hall

I met Terry around 2008 when I was looking for a hiking guide in the Algarve having just bought a holiday villa there. …and was lucky enough to find Terry who took myself and friends on some really lovely guided walks. One of my friends Sally, who walked with Terry also comes from Gillingham in Suffolk. Terry knew Trisha Bramley, my friends very fierce sister in law. (What a small world). We had quite a few giggles about her temper. Apparently there is a roundabout now where your mum had her dreadful car accident.

Terry was a great guide, kind, friendly and knowledgeable who became a really good friend. I continued to walk with him and the AWW ever since he introduced me to the group. Of course latterly what with your mum and his illness we sadly haven’t seen much of him.

I shall of course be thinking of you in Faro this Monday and send all my very fondest love. Terry will be hugely missed.

Very sad news Geoff. We only met Terry a few times, but heard so much about his AWW exploits and amazing walking activities. Best wishes to Clare and family…..Tony & Julie

Nothing like Wales

That is so sad but wonderful we got to spend Sparrowfart with him. …….Miriam & Ken

Very sad. Condolences to his family especially his daughter who I met on an AWW….Susan

I see no ships

Gosh so sad to hear that Geoff. Such a nice man……Ness

Very sad news…….Martin

Thoughtful

Our thoughts are very much with Claire and her brothers. Have been in contact with Claire and, we are afraid that we can't be much help to her at the moment but hopefully on our return will assist whatever…..Jan & Otter