AUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2015
Future Activities
Lakes Trip, September 2015: We are returning to Keswick for the week Friday September 11th to 18th. With 33 people already booked this trip is now FULL!
Autumn Hotel & Coach Weekend Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th October 2015, (2 nights) Harrington House, Bourton-on-the-Water. Meg has booked sole occupancy of HF’s country house situated in this picturesque north Cotswolds village, often described as the “Little Venice” of the Cotswolds. The balance for the weekend is now due. The final balance for a single room is £150 and £135 per person for a shared room. Please include your emergency contact details with your payment. Cheques payable to Cambridge Rambling Club should be sent to Meg (see Programme card for address). All rooms have been taken; however, if you wish to go on the waiting list in case of last-minute cancellations, please contact Meg. Parking for coach pick-up: We are currently looking at a number of options for parking our cars over the weekend. Parking details will be publicised on the CRC website in due course. To keep costs down, a letter with final details will be emailed to you, where possible, nearer the time – so please make sure Meg has your up-to-date email address.
Map reading for novices: If you are interested in coming on a course please contact Norman for further details: 01223 870121 or norman.njd@gmail.com .We hope to run a course on a Saturday in the early autumn. All you need to bring along is a compass!
CRC AGM: Our AGM will be held on Saturday November 21st at 2.30pm at St James Church, Wulfstan Way Cambridge which has parking. A speaker will follow the business meeting – check the website for details.
Group Christmas lunches: Please note the dates for your Group’s Christmas (or New Year) lunch. The Wednesday A lunch will be on 16th December; the Wednesday Bs and Cs will celebrate on Wednesday 9th. See below for a joint Sunday B and C New Year lunch.
Wednesday C Christmas lunch: organised by Linda and booked for December 9th at the Crown, Linton. The menu and further details will be available by email/phone later this year.
17th January 2016 Sunday B and C New Year lunch walk from The Pergola, Harlton: There will be 2 walks, one for each group of approximately 5 or 6 miles, followed by a 2 or 3 course lunch including tea or coffee. Menus will be available from walk secretaries by email or on walks from November. Alternatively, please send John a stamped addressed envelope for a menu. Cheques with menu choices must be received by John by 24th December.
Spring coach hotel weekend 2016: Friday 18th to Sunday 20th March: Peveril of the Peak Hotel, Dovedale. We are still waiting for final details from HF for this trip. Please check the CRC website as the details will be available in August for bookings to be taken in September. The price looks likely to be the same as the Bourton on the Water weekend in October; please send Alex a deposit of £75 (payable to Cambridge Rambling Club) to secure a place.
Friday 14th to Sunday 16th October 2016 – Hotel & Coach Weekend, Abingworth, Sussex. We have provisionally booked sole occupancy of HF Holidays’ Abingworth Hall, a charming four-star property set in peaceful Sussex countryside with fantastic views of the South Downs National Park. Walking opportunities on and around the South Downs include the iconic Seven Sisters close to Eastbourne, as well as Ditchling Beacon. We can also include visits to the grand estates at Arundel and Petworth House. There are 44 places in a mix of single, double and twin en-suite rooms. The final costs are not yet known, but should be about the same price as the Cotswolds weekend. Bookings will be taken in February 2016, with details included in the Winter/Spring newsletter.
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.
*Dorking Travelodge Friday 16th to Sunday 18th October (2 nights): All rooms booked by the Club have been snapped up – but you are very welcome to sort out your own accommodation out and join us for walks along the North Downs. Please let Jill know if you are coming. ‘A’ walks guaranteed.
*Thurlby YH, Lincolnshire, Friday 13th to Sunday 15th November 2015, (2 nights): The Club has sole occupancy of this small, self-catering hostel in the village of Thurlby, just south of Bourne, Lincolnshire. We plan one walk very close by, using paths through the Grimsthorpe Castle estate and nearby woodlands. On Sunday we will walk from beautiful Stamford. Offers of a B walks’ leader please. The cost is £36 per person for the weekend for a dorm bed: 5 places are still available.
*Sheringham YH, Friday 5th to Sunday 7th February 2016 (2 nights): The YHA rents out 40 beds at this large, comfortable hostel on an exclusive basis to groups in winter – and the Club has sole use for a weekend in early February. There is still one twin room available; other rooms have either 3 or 4 bunk beds. There are good self-catering facilities, but many options for eating out in the evening. The north Norfolk coastpath is on our doorstep – and we can also walk through the grounds of the National Trust properties Sheringham Park and Felbrigg Hall. Offers of a leader for B walks, please. The cost is £40 per person in the twin rooms and £36 in the larger rooms. Lots of places available!
*Arundel – Fontwell Park Travelodge Friday 8th to Sunday 10th April 2016 (2 nights): The 10 rooms booked by the Club for this trip to the South Downs have been taken, but you are very welcome to book yourself in and join us. ‘A’ walks guaranteed.
* Lledr House Hostel, Lledr Valley, south of Betws-y-Coed, north Wales, Thursday 5th to Monday 9th May 2016 (4 nights): We have booked the entire private Lledr House hostel in a beautiful quiet valley just 4 miles south of Betws-y-Coed in central Snowdonia, close to great mountains, such as Moel Siabod and the Glyders as well as forests and lakes. The cost is £100 for 4 nights in the dorm rooms still available; please send a £25 deposit to reserve a place.
*North Cornish Coast Path, Friday 10th to Friday 17th June 2016 (7 nights): We hope to walk most of the north Cornish coast path from Tintagel to St Ives. Based for the week at a 10-bedroom, 22 bed house just west of Newquay, we are well-placed to use local buses, trains, taxis and the occasional private bus to walk linear stretches of this fabulous coast. The accommodation is at ‘Gannel View’ and costs are likely to be around £150 per person for the week. (Sole occupancy of a double room will be more expensive). Please send a deposit of £40 to secure a place. Transport costs to/from walks will be additional.
News and Notices
Welcome to Jean: Jean has taken over as Programme Secretary of the Wednesday ‘A’ Group; many thanks to retiring Secretary Margaret.
CRC ‘etiquette’ for walkers! Our ‘Etiquette for walkers’ is available on the Club website and is circulated to new members. A few amendments were agreed at the Club’s July 2015 Committee meeting. These relate to (i) discipline when walking along narrow lanes, (ii) dogs (see a change to policy, below) and (iii) contributions when making use of church premises and grounds. The ‘Etiquette’ covers many practical issues, ranging from coming on a first walk to visiting pubs, walking along roads and going on a Club trip.
Dogs on Club walks – policy change for Wednesday ‘C’ Group. The Club’s Committee has agreed to a request from the Wednesday C Group to ban dogs on their walks. Some walkers are not very agile and fear tripping over a dog or lead; others are concerned about problems when taking dogs through fields of livestock. (Assistance dogs are still permitted). The policy for all other Groups remains unchanged – i.e. anyone wanting to bring a dog on a walk must get permission in advance from the leader – and the leader does not have to give a reason for a refusal. If permitted, all dogs must be kept on a short lead at all times. When walking through livestock anyone with a dog should keep at the back of the group.
Supporting our parish churches. Walkers greatly value visiting our historic parish churches which not only provide places of interest to look round, but also frequently give us a sheltered porch and comfortable bench for a mid-morning break or lunch. In recent years many churches have added loos and some even offer refreshments. It costs a lot to keep churches open and it is suggested that ramblers contribute financially when making use of these facilities.
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 for Wednesday B (all day) 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.
Reporting problems on Rights of Way: A guide to reporting problems with rights of way in Cambridgeshire and adjoining counties has been posted on our website. Please do report all problems; without this information resources devoted to maintaining our paths could soon be lost entirely!
Using our ‘Walking Partnership’ funds. The Club has received over £1,000 from Ramblers Worldwide Holidays under the ‘Walking Partnership’ scheme – the second-highest sum of all participating Clubs in the UK! We are using this fund to promote and support walking locally. We have printed a Club publicity leaflet for circulation to GP practices, local libraries, swimming pools, pubs etc; please do help by taking a few for a local outlet. (Contact Jenny). We have funded the purchase of ‘road planings’ to be used on muddy paths in Dry Drayton and have paid for a new gate in Cottenham to link-up a circular route. Now we hope to replace the last remaining stile in Coton with a kissing gate, improving access for people with mobility problems. We have also asked Parish Councils and our local Ramblers’ Group to identify practical schemes which will improve access for walkers. If you have any proposals please contact Jenny.
The ‘Big Pathwatch’ – Help the Ramblers by checking and reporting on path conditions: The Ramblers Association wants to check the condition of all rights of way in England & Wales over the summer and autumn of 2015 – a hefty task! The Club is affiliated to the Ramblers and we have been asked to take part. The plan is for volunteers to walk all the rights of way within a number of 1 kilometre squares – and report on conditions via either a Smart phone app or on the internet from a PC. Please help by selecting squares and walking the paths. Just search for ‘The Big Pathwatch’ online and find out how you can help.
Please switch from paper to email for your Programme & Newsletter! For many years the Club has greatly benefitted from the fact that one of our members has had access to low cost printing. This has come to an end! With higher commercial printing bills, coupled with recent hikes in postage rates, this is a good time for anyone with an internet connection and a printer to think about switching to email delivery! Please do let Anne know if you are happy to switch. It will save the Club £££s.
Next Committee Meeting: Monday November 16th at the Wesley Church, King Street, Cambridge at 7.30pm.
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