2016 Summer Newsletter

SUMMER NEWSLETTER 2016

Future Activities

Map-reading for beginners: Therfield Heath Royston, Saturday 4th June at 14.00: Norman is organising a practical ‘introduction to map-reading & compass work’ course in early June, assuming absolutely no prior knowledge and based on the OS Map Reading course. This afternoon session should finish by 17.00. It involves a walk of around 2.5 miles, so please bring ordinary walking gear. You will need a suitable compass (e.g. Silva). 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. If you have previously expressed an interest and are on Norman’s waiting list you will be contacted directly.

Summer Outing, Aldeburgh & Suffolk Coast, Sunday 26th June 2016: Thanks to Caroline, who has taken on the job of organising our Summer Outing. `A`, `B` & `C` walks will be offered. The coach will leave from Milton Park & Ride at 8.30am (TBC) and return there by about 7.30pm.  Please send Caroline a cheque for £15 payable to Cambridge Rambling Club to reserve your place. Please include your address, phone number(s) and email address if you have one so Caroline can acknowledge your cheque. Caroline’s address is on the Summer 2016 Programme. Telephone 01223 573618 or mobile 07765 335568.

Lakes trip, based Keswick, Friday 9th to Friday 16th September 2016: The Club is returning to Keswick in early September with 25 ramblers already booked. Please contact Jenny for details if you are interested in coming; 01223 811525 or jenny.u@btinternet.com

Friday 14th to Sunday 16th October 2016 – Hotel & Coach Weekend, Abingworth, Sussex. We have booked sole occupancy of HF Holidays’ Abingworth Hall, a charming four-star property set in the peaceful Sussex countryside, with fantastic views of the South Downs National Park. Walking opportunities include Storrington and the South Downs Way, Pulborough Brooks RSPB Reserve and West Chiltington, Parham Park, Ditchling Village & Beacon. We can also include visits to Arundel and Petworth House. All places for this weekend have now been reserved; if you wish to go on the waiting list in case of cancellations, contact Meg. The final balance (£165 for single, £150 for shared) is payable to Cambridge Rambling Club by 29th July 2016 and should be sent to Meg. Please include your emergency contact details, also any dietary requirements. The coach will be leaving Cambridge on the Friday morning. Car parking details will be provided later. Please include a fee of £10 with your final balance if car parking is required – although we encourage car sharing as spaces may be limited.

AGM 2016 – Advance notice Saturday 19th November (afternoon), St James Church, Wulfstan Way, Cambridge. If anyone has suggestions for a speaker, please contact Jenny.

15th January 2017 : Please reserve this date for Sunday B and Sunday C New Year Lunch and walks.

Friday 31st March to Sunday 2nd April 2017 Hotel & Coach Weekend, Pickering, Yorkshire. Booking is now open for the Club’s Spring 2017 weekend trip to the Best Western Forest and Vale hotel in Pickering, Yorkshire. There are 43 places in a mix of single, double and twin en-suite rooms. See

http://www.bw-forestandvalehotel.co.uk/. Due to the size of the Forest and Vale hotel, additional rooms have been booked in the nearby Crossways Hotel. http://www.thecrosswayshotel.com/. All meals will be taken with the main group at the Forest and Vale hotel. The total cost for 2 nights, dinner, B&B, packed lunches on Saturday and Sunday, coach travel and gratuities is likely to be £225 per head for a shared room and £240 for a single room. To reserve a place, please send a non-refundable deposit of £75 per person to Alex (address on the Summer Walks’ Programme). Deposits are required by 14 August 2016, with cheques payable to Cambridge Rambling Club; 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. Leaders are particularly needed for B and C walks.

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.

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.

* 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. There is also still one 2-bed room available at a cost of £120 per head for the trip. There are pubs nearby!

*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 ‘Gannel View’, a 10-bedroom, 22 bed self-catering 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. Please let Jill know if you would like to be on a waiting list. You can, of course, also book a B&B nearby and join us on walks.

*Pitlochry, Perthshire, Monday 15th to Monday 22nd August 2016 (7 nights): This is the Club’s first visit to Scotland for years! We have booked a large private self-catering house close to the theatre and river in this beautiful area. Dunfallandy House is now fully booked. The balance of £85 for those who have paid a deposit is due by 15th June. There is a SYHA hostel nearby and also lots of B&Bs, guest houses and self-catering properties in the town for anyone who wants to join us. Pitlochry is on the main Edinburgh – Inverness railway line. A and B walks on offer.

*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. B walks leader wanted. You are welcome to join us on walks if you book a B&B separately.

*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 don’t anticipate using all 48 beds – so there should be lots of space for everyone. The cost is £36 per person for the weekend. ‘A’ walks guaranteed; ‘B’ walks’ leader wanted.

News and Notices

Autumn Coach/Hotel Trip organiser wanted! After 6 years, Meg wishes to retire from this post – so we need a successor. Please contact Jenny if you can help.

Wednesday B (all day) and C walks. We know that 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.

Recording facilities for our walking groups: To assist walks’ leaders, we already maintain records of parking places and closed pubs on our website. It might be useful to add information on churches with toilets! Toft and Kirtling are excellent examples. Please contribute to church funds if using these loos – and let Jill know of any others which are generally available.

Reporting problems on Rights of Way: A guide to reporting problems with rights of way in Cambridgeshire and adjoining counties is available 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. Between 2012 and 2015 the Club received £1,500 from Ramblers Worldwide Holidays under the ‘Walking Partnership’ scheme – more than any other Club in the UK! We have used this fund to promote and support walking locally. Last year we paid for two new gates and drainage material to improve some boggy paths. We have also asked Parish Councils and our local Ramblers’ Group to identify practical schemes which will improve facilities for walkers. 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.

The ‘Big Pathwatch Survey’ – the Ramblers check on the condition of our Rights of Way: Launched in July 2015 and running through to early January 2016, this project involved thousands of volunteers inspecting public rights of way across the country, reporting problems to the relevant Highways Authority. Cambs CC was notified of around 150 problems every month. Around two-thirds of the county’s paths were checked out, a very high coverage. Overall the main problems identified were missing signs where paths leave roads and poor signing along paths; vegetation obstructing paths was also an issue. But there were also many positive factors recorded, including good views across open country. Thanks to everyone who took part.

Please switch from paper & post to email for your Programme & Newsletter: We now pay commercial printing rates and high postage charges – recently increased – so please consider switching to email delivery for your Club programme and newsletter! Just let Anne know if you are happy to switch. It will save the Club £££s – and also mean we can avoid raising our modest annual subscription. This would be an administrative nightmare!

Standing orders make sense! Most Club members have set up Standing Orders to pay their annual subs – but there are STILL OVER 150 of you paying by cheque. This creates a lot of work for our hard-working Treasurer and Membership Secretary. Don’t forget that these folk are volunteers! PLEASE switch to a Standing Order for your next subscription – payable on 1st November 2016. Contact Jim for a form NOW!

Next Committee Meeting: Thursday July 7th at the Wesley Church, King Street, Cambridge at 7.30pm.

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