2017 Summer Newsletter

SUMMER NEWSLETTER 2017

Future Activities & urgent notices!

AUTUMN COACH WEEKENDS TO CEASE AFTER 2017 UNLESS NEW ORGANISER(S) COME FORWARD. Autumn 2017 will be the last trip organised by Meg, and the last Autumn coach weekend ever, unless some member/s come forward to help organise – it doesn’t have to be one person. The Committee can offer advice and help to volunteers; Graham and Cynthia are also very willing to organise the walks. The 2018 weekend could be to an HF house, so that HF personnel could also assist the organisers. If you enjoy and value these weekends, do consider  contacting  Jenny to discuss getting involved.

Thursday evening walks: We have a full programme of Thursday evening walks, starting on May 11th and running right through to August 24th. With longer evenings in June, please note the later start time of a couple of walks – hopefully attracting a few more folk after work! Do come along and support the leaders,

Club Summer Coach Outing to Sheringham, north Norfolk coast, Sunday 18th June: Please support our annual coach trip, with A, B and C walks on offer in and around Sheringham. With good support in 2016 we have been able to keep the cost to £15.00 per person for 2017. The pick-up will be from Milton P&R at 8.30, (not 8.45 as stated in the last newsletter), returning around 19.00. Please send cheques, payable to Cambridge Rambling Club, to organiser Caroline (address on Programme Card), including details of a contact in case of an accident. Offers of leaders for B and C walks welcome – please call Caroline.

Lake District week Saturday 9th to 16th September, Windermere: Our new base is Windermere Town, with a railway station, good bus & ferry links & a wide range of shops. The area offers excellent opportunities for all levels of walks & a range of sightseeing possibilities. Members book their own accommodation in cottages or flats. There is also a Youth Hostel. Short meetings are held each evening to discuss options for the next day. Please contact Jenny for further information or to add your name to the list.

Friday 13th to Sunday 15th October 2017 Autumn Hotel and Coach Weekend – Forest of Dean and Wye Valley: There are still places available in shared rooms for the Club’s trip to the Royal Forest of Dean. We will be staying at the historic Speech House Hotel near Coleford, Glos, .(www.thespeechhouse.co.uk). set in the heart of the forest. Walking opportunities include Symonds Yat Rock with spectacular views across the River Wye and the forest beyond. Graham and Cynthia are organising 2 walks on Friday afternoon and 3 walks for all abilities on Saturday and Sunday. Offers of leaders to Meg please. We have booked 44 places in a mix of single, double and twin en-suite rooms. The total cost for 2 nights dinner, B&B, packed lunches, coach travel and gratuities will 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 Meg (see walks programme for address), with cheques payable to Cambridge Rambling Club. The final payment will be due by 31st July 2017. Please include your address, email and telephone details, emergency contact and any dietary requirements. Car parking information will be circulated by email before 31st July in order that the cost can be included in the final payment if this is needed.. If you wish to pay by BACS contact Meg for details.

Note that this is the last trip Meg will be organising.

Club AGM: Saturday 25th November 2017, St James Church, Wulfstan Way, Cambridge at 2.30pm. Please put a note in your diary; more details later.

Friday 6th to Sunday 8th April 2018: Hotel and coach weekend trip to Ilkley (2 nights). It is several years since our last trip to Ilkley, close to the River Derwent and some of Yorkshire’s best walking country. So, put a note in your diary. Booking details will be posted on the Club’s website and circulated in the next 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.

*Brecon Beacons: Danywenallt Youth Hostel, Friday April 28th to Tuesday May 2nd (4 nights – half board). This trip to a remote youth hostel in the wonderful Brecon Beacons is now full – please contact Jill if you would like to be on a reserve list. If you book a B&B nearby you are welcome to join us at the hostel for an evening meal – but let Jill know! A & B walks.

*Somerset & Devon South West Coast Path: Lynton, Friday 2nd to Friday 9th June (7 nights). We have booked sole occupancy of ‘Lynhurst’, a 10-bedroom self-catering house in Lynton, Devon for the week. All places are now taken. You can also book a B&B in Lynton or Lynmouth and join us for walks. We have arranged private coach transport for our linear walks. If you would like to be on a reserve list please contact Jill.

*Middleham, Wensleydale, Friday 11th to Friday 18th August (7 nights). We have booked a week’s stay in the well-equipped self-catering School House in the historic village of Middleham in Wensleydale, Yorkshire. Most places have been booked already, but there is still one shared room available, (no bunks!). The week’s cost per person is £150, The balance is due early June 2017 for those who have paid a deposit.

*Glossop Travelodge, Friday 29th September to Sunday 1st October 2017. All 12 rooms booked by the Club at the centrally-located Travelodge in Glossop have been taken. If you would like to join us please arrange your own accommodation – but check first with Jill to see if there has been a cancellation. Glossop is situated on the western edge of the Peak District, close to Buxton and not far from Castleton. There is an excellent choice of local walks.

*Truleigh Hill Youth Hostel, Friday 10th to Sunday 12th November 2017, (2 nights). The Club has booked exclusive use of the well-appointed Truleigh Hill YH in early November on a self-catering basis. Located in Sussex between Shoreham and Brighton, high up on the South Downs Way, there are fantastic views and great walks straight from the door. There are a few small rooms as well as 6-bed dorms; with over 50 beds available we can spread out! The cost for the weekend is £45 per person.

*Blaxhall Youth Hostel, Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th February 2018 (2 nights). The Club has exclusive use of Blaxhall YH in early February 2018. This comfortable hostel has been refurbished and is well situated for walks to Orwell and Snape as well as being close to Aldeburgh. The cost for 2 nights, self-catering, is £40; please reserve a place with a £10 deposit. Anyone wanting more up-market accommodation may want to book into the adjacent Ship Inn at Blaxhall, which has 8 chalets and offers B&B. A leader for B walks wanted!

*A week’s walking on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path: Friday 18th to Friday 25th May 2018. The Club has booked two adjacent self-catering holiday homes, the Old Rectory and Retreat Cottage, close to Newport, near Fishguard on the north Pembrokeshire coast, for some of the UK’s best coastal path walking. The flowers in May are magnificent! A place in a shared room costs £150, with a deposit of £45 payable now. We will hire a private coach for linear walks.

News and Notices

Spring 2018 – CRC’s 90th Anniversary. Put Sunday April 22nd 2018 in your diary! Formation of the CRC was first discussed back in 1927 – but we now think it more appropriate to celebrate the 90th Anniversary to reflect the year the first meeting and walk took place, 1928. We have settled on a venue and date – the Townley Memorial Hall at the Fulbourn Community Centre on Sunday April 22nd. A working group of Committee members has been established to plan the event, including afternoon tea. We hope to arrange at least three morning/early afternoon walks, open to everyone. The Club would also like to compile a photo album covering our activities during the last decade. Please contact Jenny if you have any photos of members on Club trips – with a guide as to ‘Who’s who’.

Network Rail’s plans to close level crossings – update: Network Rail has recently submitted its final proposals to close 29 level crossings involving footpaths, bridleways etc in Cambridgeshire and any objections/comments must now be made to the Department for Transport. Most involve the total closure of the crossings, with diversions to the affected rights of way. After two sets of informal consultations, significant improvements have been made to some of the initial diversion plans, such as providing new off-road footpaths. Other schemes, such as the proposed closure of the pedestrian crossing next to the Foxton A10 road level crossing, have been withdrawn. The Cambridge Group of the Ramblers is objecting to several proposals on grounds including long, inconvenient and unpleasant diversions, such as alongside industrial estates, along busy roads and often to another level crossing; hardly an improvement in safety, rather a financial saving for Network Rail. Public inquiries into disputed closure plans will probably be held later this year. Please contact Jill for a full list.

Sunday C walks: Please note that Sunday C walks now start at 10.00am.

Club discounts. Cotswold Outdoor has informed us that any Club member wanting to buy goods on-line must provide a code in order to benefit from a 15% discount on ‘full price’ goods. Please contact Jill Tuffnell at jill@cambridgeramblingclub.com to be emailed the code. If you are buying in-store, your Club Membership card will suffice. This benefit runs to 31st August 2017. Stores offering Club members a 10% discount include Open Air, Mountain Warehouse (where the discount appears to be available on all purchases, including sale items and promotions), Hobbs in Sidney Street and Trespass in the Grafton Centre. If you are a Ramblers member you can get a 10% discount at Rohan stores on full price goods.

Borrow a map: Cambridge Central library has full sets of both 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 maps available to borrow – all with waterproof lamination.

Buy a map: If you have access to the internet we can recommend Dash4It if you want to buy OS maps online. The prices can be as much as 40% below normal, there is no P&P charge and orders are posted off very quickly. www.dash4it.co.uk

Buy a large waterproof map case: Many Club members have discovered the excellent Ortlieb brand of map cases which really are tough and waterproof. However, some have found the usual model rather small for holding an opened OS map. Local shops used to sell a larger version, but stocks have run out and there is no large ’map-case’ advertised online. But if you search under ‘document case’ the large A3 size may be just what you want. The Cycle Store can post one to you for £14.25, no P&P payable – www.cyclestore.co.uk

Support our ‘Walking Partnership’ funds. Between 2012 and 2016 the Club has received £2,190 from Ramblers Worldwide Holidays under the ‘Walking Partnership’ scheme – the second highest funding for any walking group! We have used this money to promote and support walking locally, mainly replacing stiles with gates. Please keep nominating the CRC to receive ‘Walking Partnership’ funds when you book on a Ramblers’ Holiday! We receive £30 for a longhaul trip, £20 for holidays in Europe and £10 for each UK holiday.

Please switch from paper & post to email for your Programme & Newsletter: Just let Anne know if you are happy to switch. It will save the Club £££s.

Next Committee Meeting: Tuesday July 18th, at the Wesley Church, King Street, Cambridge at 7.30pm. The sub-committee organising the Club’s 2018 anniversary ‘do’ will meet afterwards, around 8.40pm.

.

(Visited 366 times, 1 visits today)