2014 Winter – 2015 Spring Newsletter

WINTER/SPRING NEWSLETTER 2015

Future Activities

11th January 2015 Sunday B and C New Year lunch walk from The Pergola, Harlton. There will be 2 walks, one for each group of around 5 or 6 miles, followed by a 2 or 3 course lunch for £15.50, £16.50 or £21 including tea or coffee and tip. Menus will be available from walk secretaries by email or on walks from November. Alternatively, please send John a SAE for a menu. Cheques with menu choices must be received by John by 21st December.

Spring Coach Hotel Weekend Friday 27th to Sunday 29th March 2015 (2 nights), Long Mynd Hotel (HF). The balance for the Shropshire weekend is due by 2nd February 2015 latest. Don’t forget to indicate if you require car parking which is £12 this time. You need to let Alex know your car registration number. This payment needs to be added to your final balance – £130 for a single room and £115 for a share/double. If you haven’t done so already, please specify any special dietary requirements. The Club requires ‘next of kin’ or contact details for those of you participating in hotel weekends. Please include these details when you pay your final balance. If your ‘next of kin’ is with you on the weekend, you need to provide separate contact details. (These details are not made public and are only held in case of emergency on the actual weekend). To keep overall costs down, briefing letters will be sent out via email where possible, so please make sure that Alex has your email, home address and phone number.

London walk, Saturday April 25th 2015. David (01763 242677) Email: david.allard@ntlworld.com will be leading a London walk of about 8 miles from Stratford, mostly on paths and through parks, finishing along the river Thames to North Woolwich. If you are interested in coming, please contact David, preferably by email. Details will be sent to you in due course.

Summer Coach Outing, Sunday 28th June 2015: The 2015 Outing will be to the Hunstanton area, mainly using the coastal footpath. Booking details and cost TBA. We will probably pick up from Milton P&R site. Offers of leaders to Angela please (01223 872128),

Lakes Trip, September 2015: Following the success of the 2014 trip, we will return to Keswick for the week Friday September 11th to 18th 2015. The format this year worked well – so please book your own accommodation, letting Jenny know details, especially if you have spare room(s) available in self-catering properties.

Autumn Hotel & Coach Weekend Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th October 2015, (2 nights) HF Harrington House, Bourton-on-the-Water. Meg has booked sole occupancy of HF’s charming ancient Country House situated in this picturesque and popular north Cotswolds village. There are stunning walks for all abilities, including the ‘chocolate box’ villages of Upper and Lower Slaughter, following the Windrush Valley, Stow-on-the-Wold, Sherborne and fantastic panoramic views from the hills near Chipping Camden and Broadway. The accommodation is in both the main house and adjacent cottages, in a mix of single and twin en-suite rooms. The total cost including 2 days’ evening meals, B&B, packed lunches, coach travel and gratuities is £210 per person for a shared room and £225 for a single. There are a few places left in twin en-suite rooms now remaining. To reserve a place please send a non-refundable deposit of £75 per head to Meg; (see Programme card for address).Cheques payable to Cambridge Rambling Club, please.

Spring coach weekend 2016: No details yet, but we are investigating a return trip to the Peak district in early April.

Hostel & budget trips: These trips are informal affairs and, if a long way from Cambridge, are often for 3 nights or more. ‘A’ walks are guaranteed; ‘B’ walks depend on a volunteer leader – please do offer! Travel is normally in cars and we try to arrange car sharing. All bookings are handled by Jill Tuffnell, with cheques payable to ‘E G Tuffnell’. Please book with deposit or payment well in advance as the full balance must be paid at least 8 weeks before the trip. Offers to drive or requests for a lift to Jill please. You are very welcome to book your own accommodation and join us on walks.

*Wells next the Sea, north Norfolk, Friday 30th January to Sunday 1st February 2015 (2 nights). We have sole occupancy of this 30 bed self-catering hostel in the delightful coastal village of Wells, close to Holkham Hall. The regular coastal bus enables us to walk part of the Coast Path. The double rooms have been booked but there are plenty of bunks in 4-bedded rooms available. The cost for these is £35 per person for the weekend. A and B walks on offer.

*Hastings weekend – March 13th-15th 2015 (2 nights): All 10 rooms booked by the Club last May at the Hastings Travelodge were snapped up within 36 hours! Unfortunately prices have since increased, no doubt due to our booking. It could be cheaper for anyone wanting to join us to book a B&B in the town or arrange to share a twin room.
*Corris, near Cadair Idris, south Snowdonia, Wales: Thursday April 30th to Monday May 4th 2015, (4 nights, first Spring BH weekend). The Club has sole occupancy of this large private hostel in the village of Corris, just south of Cadair Idris and close to Dolgellau. As well as the Snowdonia mountains, it is close to several RSPB reserves, such as Golden Valley. There is still one double/twin room available at £25 per person per night. All other dorm beds cost £20 per person per night. Communal facilities include a lounge with log-burning stove. See the website for Canolfan Corris. The hostel has a self-catering kitchen but can also provide meals; and there is a pub nearby. More information from Jill; initial deposits of £25 please, with the balance due 1st March 2015.

*South West Coast Path in Cornwall: Falmouth to Looe, Friday 5th to Saturday 13th June (8 nights). Spurred on by the very successful trip to Penzance and the Lizard in 2014 we have worked out a follow-up for 2015 – walking much of the SW coast path from the Helford River to Plymouth. We have booked 3 nights at a private hostel in Falmouth, 2 nights at Boswinger YH and finish up with 3 nights at a luxury self-catering house in Looe with 22 beds in 9 bedrooms! Our overnight bags will be transported separately, so we can walk with day sacks. We can travel by train to Falmouth, returning from Looe by branch line, using a mix of local buses, taxis and perhaps a private coach in between. Anyone wanting a day off can visit the Eden Project. The accommodation cost varies from £181 for someone in a ‘dorm’ to £208 for sharing a double/twin room and £217 for luxury ‘sole use’ of a double room at Looe. Large deposits have already been paid so £60 is required now to secure a place, with the balance due on 1st April 2015. Transport costs within Cornwall are extra – so budget for at least £50. Please call Jill to check what is available.

*Currer Laithe Farm, Keighley, Yorkshire: Saturday 8th to 15th August 2015 (7 nights). We have arranged a budget walking trip to the self-catering Currer Laithe Farm, just outside Keighley, close to Hebden Bridge and 4 miles from Bronte land at Haworth. There is an excellent pub within half a mile. We have booked the farm and an adjoining cottage which can sleep up to 18 – mainly in twin-bedded and one three-bedded rooms. (Sorry – the two doubles have already been snapped up). We have booked a week at this old-fashioned farm (which is owned by the National Trust) – just see the rave reviews on Trip Advisor. Don’t expect all mod cons, but it’s a snip at £100 each for the week for beds; there are also 4 bunks which are available at £80 each for the week. Please send Jill £25 deposit per person.

Autumn 2015: No firm details yet, but we will probably book another budget hotel as these are proving very popular. The most likely location is the north Downs, possibly Dorking in late October. Please look at the CRC website for details, to be posted soon.

News and Notices

AGM update: Our new President is Jenny, who will be combining the role with organising the 2015 trip to the Lake District. Sue has taken over the Thursday evening walks’ Secretary job and Penny the Sunday C Secretary’s role. Thanks were given to retiring Committee members Angela, Shirley and Linda and Jill was thanked for her 5 years in office – with the wonderful gift of a Glynn Thomas etching of Wandlebury. Jill continues as ‘budget’ trips organiser. Harriet, our Ramblers ‘link’ for many years, was awarded Honorary Club membership. Veronica Bennett gave a very interesting talk on Wimpole Hall, gardens and estate – a popular venue for many Club walks. For a more detailed account of the meeting, please see the CRC website.

2014/15 Club membership subscriptions & cards: Subscriptions for Club membership in 2014/15 are now due; please set up a Standing Order if you haven’t already done so! Membership cards are sent to members who still receive programmes by post. If you receive programmes by email you can pick up a card from Programme Secretaries. Alternatively, please call Anne and she will post you one.

New Wednesday B morning walking group starts this January (B-am). Derek and Linda have set up a new morning only Wednesday walking group offering a 5-7 mile walk at a moderate (not slow) pace. There will be a stop for coffee (from flasks) en route but no pub lunch arrangements.

Wednesday B (all day) walk organisation (B-all). The option of a full day B walk on Wednesdays is still on offer! Pam has kindly stepped in to collate the weekly walks’ programme for May to August; Spencer & Janet will be taking over as joint Secretaries in May 2015.

News from Wednesday B walkers: Eric, who led a variety of walks in the Saffron Walden area, has moved to the Cotswolds to be near family. We miss his company and his walks. We wish a speedy recovery to both Janet, who has a broken hip and Norma, following an operation.

Sunday C Walks have continued to welcome walkers of a wide range of ages and abilities. Shirley writes “I’m delighted to say that Penny has volunteered to take over as Programme Secretary in January. I’d like to thank everyone who has led walks and supported the group over the past few years”.

Sad to report. We have been notified of the deaths of Alan Fakes, Shirley Bowler, Pat Cheale, Brian Gardner, Nigel Walker and Tony Hillier in recent months. All have supported the Club’s activities over many years and are greatly missed.

Meeting/parking details for all walks online. It is our Club policy to post details of the meeting place for all walks online. But we do know that in some cases – especially Wednesday B (all) and Wednesday C walks – there can be pressure on parking and pub capacity. It is essential that anyone planning to come on these walks contacts the leader in advance; please don’t just turn up at the pub/car park without notice. And please note that we will still be providing walks’ details by slips and phone to members without internet access.

Reporting problems on Rights of Way: A new guide to reporting problems with rights of way in Cambridgeshire and adjoining counties has been posted on the CRC website. Please do report all problems; without this information resources devoted to maintaining our paths could soon be lost!

Using our ‘Walking Partnership’ funds. The Club has received £500 over the past year from Ramblers Worldwide Holidays, under the ‘Walking Partnership’ scheme – which we must use to promote and support walking locally. We have printed a Club publicity leaflet for circulation to GP practices, local libraries etc; please do help by taking a few to your local doctor. (Please contact Jenny). The Club has agreed to identify projects which need funding to improve access for walkers, such as replacing stiles with gates.

Next Committee Meeting is on Tuesday March 10th at the Wesley Church, King Street, Cambridge at 7.30pm.

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