2016 Autumn Newsletter

AUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2016

Future Activities

Friday 14th to Sunday 16th October 2016 – Hotel & Coach Weekend, Abingworth, Sussex. This trip is now full. However, if you wish to go on the waiting list in case of last-minute cancellations, contact Meg. The final balance is now due and should be sent to Meg (£165 for single, £150 for shared) with cheques payable to Cambridge Rambling Club. Please include your emergency contact details, also any dietary requirements. The coach will pick us up from the lay-by opposite Christ the Redeemer Church, Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8RS at 10.30am on the Friday. Please add £10 per car if parking is required at the Church CP and include your car reg. no. Please share cars if possible as the church car park is used by other people. To keep costs down, a letter with final details will be emailed, where possible, nearer the time – so please make sure Meg has your current email address.

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AGM 2016 – Saturday 19th November, St James Church, Wulfstan Way, Cambridge at 14.30. Please come along and support your Club! Find out what has been going on during the year and what plans we have for the future; also please support our speaker Brian

who will be talking about ‘Cambridge University Past & Present’.

Friday 25th November: Open invitation to hear Lord Chris Smith talk about his views on the future prospects for ‘rambling’ in the country – 19.00 at the Friends Meeting House, Hartington Grove, Cambridge. The Cambridge Group of the Ramblers Association (RA) is opening up part of its AGM to all CRC members – as we are an RA affiliate group. Chris Smith – when an MP – was Culture Secretary in the last Labour Government and subsequently became Chairman of the Environment Agency until 2014. Chris was instrumental in bringing the ‘right to roam’ into being, opening up huge areas of the countryside for walkers; he has also been President of the Ramblers. He has climbed every mountain in the UK of 3,000’ or more so is one of the elite group of ‘Munroists’. Now he is Master of Pembroke College, so knows Cambridge well. Please contact Jill at secretary@cambridgeramblers.org.uk.You can also stay on for a buffet meal afterwards at a cost of £5.

15th January 2017 Sunday B and C New Year lunch walk from The Crown, Girton. There will be 2 walks, one for each group followed by lunch. 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 21st December.

Friday 31st March to Sunday 2nd April 2017 Hotel & Coach Weekend, Pickering, Yorkshire. There are just a few places in shared rooms still available on the Club’s trip to Pickering in the spring of 2017. The total cost for 2 nights, dinner, B&B, packed lunches on Saturday and Sunday, coach travel and gratuities is £225 per head for a shared room. To reserve a place, please send a non-refundable deposit of £75 per person to Alex (address on the Walks’ Programme). The balance is to be paid by 27 January 2017. Car parking details will be given later. Please include your address, email and telephone details with your deposit and any dietary requirements. As usual we hope to offer 3 different walks each day, including Friday afternoon – please let Alex know if you would be willing to lead a walk.

Summer 2017 – CRC’s 90th Anniversary! The CRC was founded back in 1927 – and we want to celebrate our 90th Anniversary in style next summer. We are thinking of offering a range of walks, followed by a party. If anyone knows of a suitable venue – such as a village hall fairly close to Cambridge with plenty of parking – please let Jenny or Jill know. The Club would also like to compile a photo album covering our activities during the last decade. If you have any suitable photos of members/events – with a guide as to ‘Who’s who’ – please contact Jenny.

Autumn Hotel and Coach Weekend 2017 Forest of Dean and Wye Valley: The Club has provisionally booked 44 places for the weekend of Friday 13th to Sunday 15th October 2017 (2 nights) at the Speech House Hotel (www.thespeechhouse.co.uk). More details in the next newsletter when bookings will be taken.

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.

*Maidenhead Travelodge, Friday 30th September to Sunday 2nd October (2 nights): We have filled all 9 rooms reserved by the Club at the Maidenhead Travelodge for the first weekend in October – but please do book independently (or in other accommodation) if you would like to join us. There is excellent walking nearby, using the Thames path, and an opportunity to visit Cliveden (National Trust). The hotel is close to the railway station and there is parking nearby. It also has a restaurant – so there’s no need to rely on a DIY breakfast! A and B led walks available.

*Hathersage Youth Hostel, Friday 4th to Sunday 6th November 2016 (2 nights): We have booked sole occupancy of this 40-bed self-catering hostel close to Frogatt Edge and some of the best walking country in Derbyshire. It is situated in a delightful village with lots of tea shops and pubs! The cost is £40 per person for the weekend. You are welcome to join us on walks if you book a B&B separately. A and B walks available.

*Brancaster Activity Centre, north Norfolk, Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th February 2017 (2 nights): We have booked sole occupancy of this newly-refurbished National Trust-owned property on the north Norfolk Coast at Brancaster Staithe. With excellent self-catering facilities, alongside spacious lounges, dining areas and a nearby pub, this is a new venue for the Club. Most of the 9 rooms have 4 to 6 beds (almost all are en-suite). We aren’t using all 48 beds – so there should be lots of space for everyone. The cost is £36 per person for the weekend. ‘A’ and ‘B’ walks available..

*Lyndhurst (Stoney Cross) New Forest Travelodge weekend, Friday 10th to Sunday 12th March 2017 (2 nights). All 9 rooms booked by the Club and advertised on our website have been snapped up – but you are very welcome to join us on this trip to the wonderful New Forest – please book your own room and let Jill know. There are A and B walks available.

*Brecon Beacons: Danywenallt Youth Hostel, Friday April 28th to Tuesday May 1st 2017 (4 nights – half board). The Club has exclusive use of this remote youth hostel, close to the Talybont on Usk reservoir in the wonderful Brecon Beacons. Due to limited kitchen space it isn’t possible to self-cater and the Club has booked half board for 4 nights – at the very reasonable price of £130 per person. Most of the 20 places available have been taken but there are still 3 on offer; please contact Jill if interested. Deposits of £30 are required to secure a place, with the balance due on February 25th. If you book a B&B nearby you are welcome to join us for an evening meal. A & B walks.

*Somerset & Devon South West Coast Path: Lynton, Friday 2nd to Friday 9th June (7 nights). The Club is shifting to the start of the South West Coast Path for a week’s walking in early June 2017. The plan is to walk from Minehead to Woolacombe – and add one or two days’ walking inland. There are high cliffs (up to 1,000’ at Countisbury Head), secluded valleys and exceptional views. We have booked sole occupancy of a 10-bedroom self-catering house in Lynton Devon – Lynhurst – for the week, (see website). With space for 19 in total we still have 4 places available in shared ensuite rooms. The total cost is £140 per head for the week, with a deposit payable of £45. Please contact Jill if interested. It is also possible to book a B&B in Lynton or Lynmouth and join us for walks. As in recent years, we will arrange private coach transport for our linear walks, which could add up to £75 to the overall cost. You can travel by public transport – rail to Barnstaple via Exeter and then on by bus to Lynton.

News and Notices

Ramblers Association ‘Walk About’ Festival, Sat 3rd to Sun 11th September. There is the opportunity to join a local ramble open to all each day in early September. The Cambridge Group of the Ramblers is providing lots of choice for anyone who wants to join them; there’s no need to be a RA member – please see www.cambridgeramblers.org.uk .

RON BAILEY 100 Years old May 6th 2016 – former original Wednesday ‘C’ walk organiser. Two older members visited Ron in his care home at Hayleigh, taking with them a letter of appreciation signed by Barbara Ann and Josie on behalf of all members. He was in fine fettle for his age, and very vocal! Several cards had been sent separately,

Network Rail plans to close level crossings: Network Rail has announced plans to close 33 level crossings in Cambridgeshire and has recently consulted on the detailed plans, which affect many footpaths. Whilst happy to support schemes which significantly improve safety, the Club is concerned about a number of proposals which involve long diversions and create new safety issues – such as having to walk alongside and over busy roads, many without an off-road footpath. Some closure proposals involve a long and inconvenient diversion to another level crossing! We have expressed concern about those proposals which appear to increase danger, rather than reduce it. A second round of consultations is planned for the autumn.

Autumn Coach/Hotel Trip organiser wanted! After 6 years, Meg wishes to retire from this post – so we need a successor. The role can be split between someone planning walks and someone dealing with bookings. Please contact Jenny if you can help.

Open to all! Apparently some new CRC members think they are restricted to walking with just one of our many regular groups. We want to make it clear that you are welcome to mix and match!

Wednesday C walks. We know that there can be pressure on parking and pub capacity. It is essential that anyone planning to come on the Wednesday C walk contacts the leader in advance.

Support our ‘Walking Partnership’ funds. Between 2012 and 2016 the Club has received over £1,700 from Ramblers Worldwide Holidays under the ‘Walking Partnership’ scheme. We have used this fund to promote and support walking locally. If you have any proposals please contact Jill or Jenny. And please keep nominating the CRC to receive ‘Walking Partnership’ funds if you go on a Ramblers’ holiday! We receive £30 for any longhaul trip, £20 for every holiday in Europe and £10 for each UK holiday.

Beds. Cambs & Northants Wildlife Trust – events; programme. The CRC is a corporate member of our local Wildlife Trust and we like to promote their events, including walks around local nature reserves. Please check out the Trust’s website for more information:

Please switch from paper & post to email for your Programme & Newsletter: Just let our Membership Secretary Anne know if you are happy to switch. It will save the Club £££s – and also means we can avoid raising our modest annual subscription – an administrative nightmare!

Standing orders make sense! Please don’t write a cheque for your £4 CRC subscription due 1st November 2016 – but switch to a Standing Order. There are STILL OVER 150 of you paying by cheque. This creates a lot of work for our hard-working Treasurer and Membership Secretary. Remember that these folk are volunteers. Contact our Treasurer Jim Rickard for a form NOW!

Next Committee Meeting: Tuesday November 8th at the Wesley Church, King Street, Cambridge at 7.30pm.

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