2015 Summer Newsletter

CAMBRIDGE RAMBLING CLUB (Affiliated to HF Holidays and the Ramblers)

SUMMER NEWSLETTER 2015

Future Activities

Thursday evening walks start May 7th: The new season of 16 walks starts at 18.30 with a 6 mile walk from Ely to Little Thetford. There is then a walk every Thursday evening through to August 20th, finishing with Jill’s regular ‘fish’n’chips’ supper walk from the Bull at Burrough Green – (advance booking required).

Map reading for novices: Saturday May 9th (afternoon). The course will be held on Therfield Heath, Royston on 9th May at 14.00. We should finish by 17.00 latest.  We will be doing a short walk of approx. 2.5 miles so bring your normal walking gear. This is a beginner’s course and we assume absolutely no prior knowledge of map reading or compass work. The course will be based on the OS Map Reading course. Participants must provide themselves with a compass of an approved type and full details of what to bring will be sent to all participants. If you are interested please contact Norman for further details. Tel 01223 870121 or norman.njd@gmail.com .

Summer Coach Outing, Sunday 28th June 2015: Walks of 14, 11, 8, & 6 miles will be available as well as a Hunstanton town option if preferred. The coach (Mil-Ken) will depart from Milton Park & Ride at 8:45am promptly. There is a car parking ticket charge of £1. Please bring a packed lunch & drink for the day. Walks will be mainly along the lovely Norfolk Coast Path, finishing in Hunstanton with time for refreshments prior to departure at 5:30pm. The estimated return time is 7:15pm at Milton P&R. The cost is £14; cheques, made out to ‘Cambridge Rambling Club’, should be sent to Angela. Please also include details of an ‘Emergency Contact’ name & phone for the day. If transport is required to Milton please call Angela on 01223 872128.

Lakes Trip, September 2015: We are returning to Keswick for the week Friday September 11th to 18th 2015. 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 right on the doorstep and further afield, including the ‘chocolate box’ villages of Upper and Lower Slaughter, the Cotswold Way with fine views across the Vale of Evesham, the Windrush Valley to Naunton, the charming village of Little Rissington and fantastic panoramic views from the hills near Chipping Campden and Broadway. We are planning 4 different walks each day and 2 options on Friday.

The accommodation is in both the main house and adjacent cottages, with 42 places in a mix of single and twin en-suite rooms. The total cost including two evening meals, B&B, packed lunches on Saturday and Sunday, coach travel and gratuities is £210 per person for a shared room and £225 for a single. All places have now been reserved, but let Meg know if you wish to be put on the waiting list for cancellations. The final balance is due by 3rd August 2015, Please include email address and emergency contact details. (Meg’s address is on the programme card). 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.

Autumn coach weekend 2016: We have provisionally booked a weekend at HF Abingworth, Sussex in October 2016 but have no firm dates as yet.

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.

*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. Hostel bookings are now closed but contact Jill for late cancellations or if you want to join us from a B&B.

*South West Coast Path in Cornwall: Falmouth to Looe, Friday 5th to Saturday 13th June (8 nights). Walking much of the SW coast path from the Helford River to Plymouth. Bookings are now closed – please contact Jill for late cancellations.

*Currer Laithe Farm, Keighley, Yorkshire: Saturday 8th to 15th August 2015 (7 nights). We have arranged a budget walking trip for a full week at 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 this old-fashioned farm and an adjoining cottage which together can sleep up to 18 – mainly in twin-bedded and one three-bedded rooms. Don’t expect all mod cons. Please check with Jill before booking as most beds are now taken. The cost is just £100 for the week; deposits of £25 now with the balance payable by 1st June, please.

*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 can walk from beautiful Stamford. As an alternative, Rutland Water is nearby, offering great bird-watching – or cycling – possibilities. Offers of a B walks’ leader please. The cost is £36 per person for the weekend for a dorm bed.

*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 are two twin rooms; 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.

*March 2016: Early plans are for another visit to a Travelodge (or similar) on or close to the south coast – possibly Margate or Canterbury. The white cliffs of Dover beckon!

News and Notices

CRC ‘etiquette’ for walkers! The enlarged programme of weekly walks means that we have had to cut down the ‘Notes’ section on the card to the bare minimum. We are also aware that very few people probably ever look at this guidance! So the Committee has decided to produce a stand-alone note about the standards we expect from our members (!) We have termed this our ‘Etiquette for walkers’. It covers many practical issues, ranging from coming on a first walk to visiting pubs and going on a Club trip. It is posted on our website and is being circulated to all members.

Sad to report: January saw the loss of two long-standing Club members. Gerald was a regular Sunday and Wednesday walker and entertained us greatly! Ailsa joined the Club in the early 1970s and was for many years the Club’s archivist, as well as a regular leader on both local walks and trips away. Ailsa wrote the first edition of the Club’s history, which can be found on our website.

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Website developments: We are often contacted by the relatives of members who have died, asking that details are circulated to current CRC members. We have set up an ‘Obituaries’ section on the website to provide more information than it is possible to cover in the newsletter.

News from Wednesday B ‘all day’ walkers: We thank Pam for stepping in as Secretary and organising the Summer programme. Janet & Spencer are taking over as joint Secretaries to compile the autumn 2015 programme of walks for the group.

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 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. 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 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! Cambridgeshire County Council has made the post of ‘Rights of Way Manager’ redundant from 1st April 2015 and resources for proactively identifying path problems have been cut right back. Consequently it is vital that we do our bit.

Using our ‘Walking Partnership’ funds. The Club has received over £800 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, swimming pools etc; please do help by taking a few for a local outlet. (Contact Jenny). We have also asked Parish Councils to identify practical schemes which will improve access for walkers. Toft PC has been awarded £200 for the installation of two kissing gates (provided by the County Council), replacing stiles which were difficult to climb over. And we also expect to pay for new gates in Cottenham parish which will open up a circular walk round the village. We are actively seeking other schemes which will make walking easier – such as improved drainage on rights of way, levelling steep, angled paths and replacing stiles with gates. If you have any proposals please contact Jenny.

Help the Ramblers with checking path conditions: The Ramblers Association wants to check on the condition of all rights of way in the UK over the summer of 2015 – a hefty task! The Club is affiliated to the Ramblers and we have been asked to take part. The proposal is to sample 1km squares and seek volunteers to check the condition of all the rights of way in the squares. We haven’t been given the details yet for our area – so watch this space – or rather, keep an eye on the ‘News’ section of the CRC website. We understand that it will be possible to download maps of the selected squares, together with guidance on what issues to look for – and how to report them. Any problems you find should ideally be reported to the County Council as well as recorded for the Ramblers. Our Club ‘links’ are CRC Committee members Jill and Paul.

Next Committee Meeting is on Tuesday July 14th at the Wesley Church, King Street, Cambridge at 7.30pm.

Advance notice: Our AGM is scheduled for Saturday November 21st at St James Church, Wulfstan Way.

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