The Pickwick Club visit Bonchurch, May 2024

The Pickwick Club visit Bonchurch

On 16th May 2024, Bonchurch welcomed a wonderfully spirited group of twenty-four members of the Pickwick Club — and what a day it was.

The walk was arranged at the request of Ian Dickens, none other than the great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens himself. The occasion? A celebration of 175 years since Dickens’s own visit to Winterbourne in 1849, when he travelled with family and friends to this beautiful seaside village.

In honour of the anniversary, Sue led a specially tailored walk through Bonchurch’s literary and historical highlights — with a twist. Each guest drew a number from a hat and, at surprise moments along the way, read aloud a quote from letters, journals, or writings of the time. The readings brought history to life with humour, pathos, and a few knowing nods to Dickensian drama.

It was a day of footsteps and stories, laughter and legacy — and, in true Pickwickian style, not without a dash of theatrical flair.

The weather may have been mixed, but spirits were high. The jolly group pressed on with curiosity and good humour, clearly captivated as the story of Bonchurch unfolded around them — its famous visitors, literary echoes, and curious characters weaving a rich tapestry of the past. Rain or shine, the walk turned into a shared adventure, full of moments to remember.

The Giant Wopps

As an unexpected highlight, Ian Dickens brought along a handmade model of the ‘Giant Wopps’ — a playful nod to a Punch Magazine cartoon drawn during Dickens’s 1849 holiday. The original illustration by John Leech, a close friend of Dickens and regular Punch contributor, shows a group of terrified picnickers being ambushed by an enormous wasp — or “Wopps,” as it was labelled in full Victorian whimsy.

The cartoon was uncovered by Sue during her research into the historic Bonchurch visit, after tracking down a reference to a picnic on the downs above the village. Her detective work paid off when she finally found the original Leech drawing, capturing a scene still familiar today: warm weather, sandwiches, and the sudden chaos of a wasp invasion.

In a wonderfully collaborative touch, the owner of Hillside (formerly Hill Cottage) — where Leech stayed on holiday — graciously agreed to have the Wopps model hung on her fence for the occasion.

And, in true Pickwickian spirit, the walkers brought the Wopps along on their own picnic, eaten with relish after the walk… hoping it might scare off the real ones.

With many thanks to Jo Briggs and Andrea McCulloch for the photos.