2019 Winter Spring newsletter

WINTER/SPRING NEWSLETTER 2019

Future Activities

13th January 2019 Sunday B and C New Year lunch walk This will be from the “Five Miles from Anywhere” Inn at Upware. There are 2 morning walks; 7 miles for the B group and 4.5 miles for the C group, followed by lunch. Menus will be available from walk secretaries by email or, for those without internet access, on walks during December. If you are not on the Sunday B or C Walk Secretaries’ email lists please give them your email address. Alternatively, please phone Miranda or Penny and arrange to send a stamped addressed envelope for a menu. Cheques with menu choices must be received by Penny by 19th December.

Friday 5th to Sunday 7th April 2019, Hotel & Coach weekend based on Buxton, Peak District (2 nights). There are still 12 places available for this weekend in double or shared rooms at the Best Western Buxton Lee Wood Hotel, Buxton, Derbyshire.

See. http://www.leewoodhotel.co.uk/ Buxton is a thermal spa town nestled in the centre of the beautiful Peak District and the UK’s oldest National Park. A varied range of walks has been prepared for A, B and C walkers. The total cost for 2 nights, dinner, B&B, simple packed lunches on Saturday and Sunday, coach travel and gratuities is £220 per head for a shared room. (Note – single rooms have been allocated but you can put your name on a waiting list. Cost £250 for a single room.) To reserve your place, please send a non-refundable deposit of £75 per person to Alex (address on the Club’s Programme). Cheques are payable to Cambridge Rambling Club, with the balance to be paid by 1 March 2019. If you wish to pay by BACS, please contact Alex for details. Car parking details will be given later. Please include your address, email and telephone details with your deposit and any dietary requirements.

London walk Saturday 27th April 2019

David will again be leading a London walk in 2019 and, as previously, members will travel by train from Cambridge to King’s Cross where David will meet them for onward travel to the start of the walk. On this occasion, it will be an 8 mile walk from Greenwich to Forest Hill. If you are interested, please email david.allard@ntlworld.com or telephone 01763 242677 and full details will be sent to you.

Map-reading course: Norman led a very successful map-reading course for 6 people in May 2018 and is willing to run a repeat course in May 2019. Please contact him if you are interested in taking part: norman.njd@gmail.com or phone 01223 870121.

Summer coach outing Sunday 23rd June 2019. We will be walking in and around Wells-next-the-Sea on the Norfolk coast. Following the high take-up on these trips in recent years we are using the surplus funds to reduce the cost to £13.50 per person. Please send a cheque, payable to Cambridge Rambling Club to Caroline (address on your Programme). Offers to Caroline for B and C leaders are very welcome!

Lakes’ week, Saturday 14th to 21st September 2019. We are returning to Keswick for our annual week’s walking in the Lakes in 2019 – one week later than usual to take advantage of lower accommodation prices. Susan has taken over from Jenny as the organiser/coordinator; please let her know if you are coming and if you have a spare room or want to share with others. We hope to offer a wide range of walks, probably splitting the ‘A’s into two on a few days when numbers are high.

Friday 11th to Sunday 13th October 2019 Hotel & Coach Weekend to Great Malvern (2 nights)

The club has booked The Abbey Hotel, Gt Malvern for the Autumn Hotel weekend 2019, there are 45 places in a mix of single, double and twin en-suite rooms. See abbey@sarova.com We will be situated on the edge of this spa town near the Great Malvern Hills.

The cost for 2 nights’ dinner, B & B, packed lunch, coach travel and gratuities will be £215 per person for a shared room and £250 for a single room. To reserve a place please send a non-refundable deposit of £75 per person to Sally (address is on the Club’s programme) and make cheques payable to Cambridge Rambling Club. Please include your address and email details and any dietary requirements. If you prefer to pay by BACS please ask for details. Next of kin details are not required. Final payment will be due by 31st July 2019. We plan to organise a walk on the Friday afternoon and three walks on both Saturday and Sunday. Offers of leaders would be much appreciated, especially for one of the C walks.

Budget trips. These trips, using a mixture of budget hotels, hostels and large self-catering properties, 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 leader – please do offer! Or come along to do your own thing. Travel is normally in cars and we try to arrange car sharing. Offers to drive or requests for a lift to Jill, please. All bookings are handled by Jill, with cheques payable to ‘E G Tuffnell’ or contact her for BACS details. Please note that the full balance must be paid at least 8 weeks before most trips. You are very welcome to book your own accommodation and join us on walks.

*Cromer, Friday 8th to Monday 11th February 2019 (3 nights). The Club has booked two self-catering properties in Cromer in early February 2019: Although booked for 3 nights, (the minimum stay), the cost per person is very reasonable at £50, so it is cheap even if you have to get back home on Sunday! Balances of £30 are NOW DUE. One female share and one double room are available. A and B walks on offer.

*North Downs, Kent – near Rochester, Friday 15th to Sunday 17th March 2019 (2 nights). We have booked sole occupancy of the comfortable, self-catering 15 bedroom YHA Medway in mid-March. This converted oast house is close to the Thames Estuary as well as rolling countryside in the North Downs. This is Charles Dickens country and there are many places of interest nearby, including historic Rochester and Chatham Dock Yards Museum. Most rooms are small, although the few singles available have been snapped up! The cost is £45 per person; a £15 deposit now and the balance of £30 payable by 10th January 2019.

*Bala, north Wales, Friday 3rd to Monday 6th May 2019 (3 nights, Bank Holiday w/e). All places are now taken at the large self-catering property booked by the Club for the first May Bank Holiday weekend. There are great walking opportunities close by, including the Berwyns, Arenigs and Arrans. Please arrange your own independent accommodation if you want to join us and let Jill know. For those who have paid a £20 deposit, the balance of £70 is due by1st March.

*Bude, north Cornwall coast: week Saturday 8th to Saturday 15th June 2019. The Club will be walking from Westward Ho! to Tintagel along the north Devon/Cornish coast path in spring 2019. We are based in Bude in self-catering accommodation and will again book a private coach to enable us to walk linear stretches of this fantastic route. All places booked by the Club have been reserved, so if anyone else wishes to come you must arrange your own accommodation. Do let Jill know if you are booked independently and want to use the coach. The balance of £120 for those who have paid a £30 deposit is due 1st April.

*Summer 2019 – a week in Whitby, Friday 9th to Friday 16th August, The Club has booked two properties in central Whitby on the North Yorkshire coast for a week’s summer walking break in 2019 and all places are now taken. For those who have paid a £60 deposit please note that the balance of £135 is due on 10th June 2019. There are lots of great walks nearby, ranging from wonderful coastal paths to the North York Moors. .Please book your own accommodation if you would like to join the trip.

*Autumn 2019: Details regarding a budget trip in late autumn 2019 will be posted on the CRC website when available.

News and Notices

Contact/next of kin details: Club members are requested to carry details of a contact or next of kin with them when taking part in all Club activities, in case of an emergency. These can be kept in a purse, wallet or rucksack pocket.

New Spring weekend coach/hotel organisers: Many thanks to Barry and Linda who have offered to take over the organisation of the Club’s Spring coach & hotel weekend. They will be organising a trip in Spring 2020, so look out for details. Meanwhile, Alex .retains responsibility for the April 2019 trip to Buxton.

Path developments on the Wimpole estate. The National Trust has announced more plans for improving access around the Wimpole estate, including applying for planning permission for a new cycle/walking track 8.5k long. This will mainly run outside The Belts and will have a drained surface. It should help reduce the wear and tear on the existing paths, which can get very muddy.

Charges likely for the Magog Down car park. The ‘Magog Down’ Trust is soon to charge £3.00 for car parking, but individuals can become ‘Friends’ for an annual membership fee of £15/£12 (concessions), which includes parking.

Club representation on the Cambridge Group of the Ramblers. Please contact Jill if you would like to be involved.

Club discounts. Club members wanting to buy goods online from Cotswold Outdoor 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, which currently runs to 31st August 2019. If you are buying in-store, your Club Membership card will suffice. Stores offering Club members a 10% discount include Open Air, Mountain Warehouse and Trespass. If you are a Ramblers, Cambridge U3A or HF member you can get a 10% discount at Rohan stores.

Support our ‘Walking Partnership’ funds. This year the Club has received £540 from Ramblers Walking Holidays under the ‘Walking Partnership’ scheme. We will use this money to promote and support walking locally, liaising with Parish Councils and the County Council’s Rights of Way officers. Please continue to nominate the CRC when you book on a Ramblers’ Holiday! We receive £30 for a long-haul trip, £20 for holidays in Europe and £10 for UK trips.

Please switch from paper & post to email for your Programme & Newsletter. Postage charges have recently increased again! Do let Anne know if you are happy to switch to email. It saves the Club ££s. Just Email: secretary@cambridgeramblingclub.com

Club subscriptions. If you currently pay by cheque or bank transfer, please switch to a Standing Order to take effect on 1st November 2019 and thereafter on 1st November each year. Please contact Jim for the Club’s bank details. Almost 90% now pay this easy way!

AGM 2018, Saturday 24th November. The business meeting thanked all Committee members for their sterling work, including Anne, who stood down after her 3 years’ service. Graham was welcomed onto the Committee. John was awarded Life Membership to recognise his work for the Club for many years. Peter Woodsford then gave us a very enlightening talk on the development of UK maps and more recently, GPS.

Club donations: You may be unaware that the Club makes a number of donations to worthy organisations each year. The 2018 AGM approved the following payments, subject to membership fees being clarified for next year: £62 group membership of the Ramblers Association; £40 as a membership fee to Cambridge Past, Present & Future (CPPF); £75 to the Beds, Cambs & Northants Wildlife Trust (membership and donation); £50 to the Magog Trust; £40 to the Friends of the Roman Road & Fleam Dyke, (membership plus donation); £150 donation to Mountain Rescue; £100 donation to the Lake District National Park to help with continuing project work following the 2016 floods.

Next Committee Meeting. Wednesday 20th March, at the Wesley Church, King Street, Cambridge at 7.30pm.

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