CAMBRIDGE RAMBLING CLUB

NEWSLETTER – Spring 2005

FUTURE ACTIVITIES
Sun. 9 January 2005 – New Year’s Lunch for Sunday Walkers
The lunch this year will be held at the Old Red Lion, Horseheath, with a 6 mile walk in the morning. Several places are still available at £12.35 per head. Booking and payment is requested by Tony (01223 350605) by 2nd January.



1st –3rd April – Club Coach Weekend in Llanberis
The weekend starts at 10am from the Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, and comprises Friday –Sunday B&B at the Royal Victoria Hotel, Llanberis, Snowdonia, together with Saturday dinner. The coach will stop on the way down on Friday to enable food to be purchased, and a range of meals will be available at the hotel on Friday evening. Cost is £108 per head, and full payment is due by 31st December. Please send a cheque to Carol Gautrey payable to the Cambridge Rambling Club, giving her your car registration number, if you intend leaving your car at the Centre. We intend to provide the usual 3 walks per day, although currently we have no volunteer leaders for the C walks.
The weekend is currently almost fully booked, - just one female share available. Please contact Carol if you wish to be put on the waiting list as there are sometimes late cancellations (but see the note below).


Sat. 21st May – London Walk
Please note this date in your diaries. Full details will be available in the next Newsletter.

Sat. 25th June –2nd July –Trip to France
Roger Campbell is proposing a week’s walking in Normandy for up to 11 people. The accommodation is a modern, well furnished “gite”, which sleeps 11 in 5 bedrooms. It is beside a lake in a beautiful conservation area, with red squirrels and otters by the lake. Mont St Michel is 17km away and the granite coast of Brittany a 45 minutes drive. Several members have already expressed a keen interest, and to be viable we would need a minimum of 8 people and 2 cars. Cost for the accommodation and ferry crossing will be £150 – £200, depending on numbers. Holiday insurance to be arranged individually. There are restaurants 8 km away, but self-catering is an option. Please contact Roger (01223 560303) for further details by 6th January 2005, as we need to book early to get ferry discounts.

30th September –2nd October – Coach Weekend to Church Stretton, Shropshire
Bookings are invited for our autumn 2005 ‘coach’ weekend at the 3 star Long Mynd Hotel, Church Stretton. This is a lovely walking area, close to the Stiperstones and set on the Long Mynd. The weekend comprises Friday –Sunday B&B and Saturday dinner. The cost is £112 per head, with 6 single rooms at no extra cost. Additional single rooms may be available at £10 per head per night. The coach will leave the Innovation Centre at 6pm on Friday 30th September, and will stop on the way for refreshments. Again we hope to provide a full programme of 3 walks per day, and again Chris Browne would be glad to hear from anyone willing to lead at any level. To book a place, please send a deposit of £15 to Carol by cheque, payable to Cambridge Rambling Club. Balance payable by the end of July.

Fri. 2nd -9th September – Lake District Week
There are 26 places reserved in 4- and 2-bedded rooms at Butterlip How Youth Hostel in the centre of Grasmere. Cost will be £14.50 to £16 per person per night, for bed only. A programme of walks and theatre outing(s) will be arranged. To book, send £5 deposit (to Cambridge Rambling Club) to George Brewster, 12 Chedworth Street, CB3 9JF. Pam is co-organiser. Anyone staying in a B&B is welcome to join the walks, and to take evening meals at the hostel.


Refunds for Cancellations
Please note that the Club cannot afford to give a refund to any member who has cancelled at a late date., (after the balance has been paid) It is therefore generally the Club’s policy not to make a refund in such a case, unless someone on a waiting list replaces them. Club members are recommended to take out their own holiday cancellation insurance.


HOSTEL WEEKENDS


Unless otherwise stated, hostel weekend trips involve walks on Saturday and Sunday with overnight accommodation on the Friday and Saturday nights. Trips a long way from Cambridge are often for 3 nights or more. ‘A’ walks are guaranteed and involve around 6 hours walking. There will only be ‘B’ walks if a leader volunteers – please do come forward so we can advertise well in advance. Help with routes is available. We normally travel in cars, returning Sunday evening. All bookings to Jill Tuffnell with cheques payable to ‘E G Tuffnell’. Please book early as the full balance is due 2 months before the trip and it may be difficult to secure a place late on. Also offers of cars and requests from those seeking a lift. You are very welcome to book into a nearby B&B and join us for the walks.

Jordans YH – the Chilterns, near High Wycombe, Friday 4th to Sunday 6th February 2005
Next year’s ‘Rent-a-Hostel’ trip is to the small hostel ‘Jordans’, close to Burnham Beeches and Marlow. The Club has sole occupancy for the weekend. Self-catering – but plenty of pubs in nearby villages or in Beaconsfield. There is a waiting list for female places – but 2 male places still available. Please send £20 for accommodation for the weekend.

Spring in the Cotswolds – Stow-on-the-Wold Hostel, Friday 4th to Saturday 6th March 2005
The hostel, recently fully renovated and updated, is right in the centre of beautiful Stow-on-the Wold, on the main market square. We hope to walk part of the Cotswold Way on the Saturday. ‘B’ leaders required. There are no double rooms. Prices for next year are provisional, but will be around £12 per person per night. The hostel has a full meals service. Please send a deposit of £20 to secure a booking by January 1st as the full balance is then payable to the hostel.

Spring Bank Holiday – Visit to the Brecon Beacons National Park, Thursday 28th April to Monday May 2nd
We have booked a four night stay at the hostel closest to Brecon town – T’yn y Caeu. It is very well situated for exploring the Usk Canal and valley, climbing Pen y Fan and visiting the beautiful ‘waterfalls’ area to the south of the main hills. The hostel provides meals, or we can drive into Brecon for the evening. ‘B’ walks possible. The provisional accommodation charge per night has been confirmed as £12.50 a night. Please send a deposit of £20 to secure a place and the balance by 26th February at the latest.

Backpacking (part of) the Herriott Way – Friday 27th May toWednesday 1st June (Bank Holiday)
The next ‘back-packing’ trip uses hostels is in the Yorkshire dales, walking in Wensleydale and Swaledale on the ‘Herriott Way’. We start with two nights in Hawes hostel, then walk on first to Keld, (on both the Coast-to-Coast walk and the Pennine Way), followed the next day by a walk to Grinton Lodge, high on the moors above Reeth. Here we should be re-united with the rest of our luggage and cars – and spend two more nights. All hostels provide a full meals service and some are licensed. Prices are as yet unconfirmed – so please send Jill £50 if you would like to come, by 25th March at the latest, when our final payment is due.

Crowden in the north Peaks – Friday 15th to Sunday 17th July
Crowden YH is a fully renovated hostel in the beautiful Longdendale Valley in the north Peak District. We have booked two nights in the middle of July. Full meals available. ‘B’ leader sought. Please send cheques for £22 to Jill Tuffnell.

Lulworth Cove, Dorset, Thursday 4th to Sunday 7th August
We have managed to book 14 places at Lulworth Cove YH, situated on the wonderful Dorset heritage coast, for 3 nights in early August. Please send a deposit if £30 if you would like to book. We will try and secure extra beds if there is a high demand!

NEWS AND NOTICES
Annual Subscriptions – DUE NOW**NOW DUE**DUE NOW Still a bargain at £3.50 / £3.00 concessions!

Annual General Meeting – 16 November
Walter Shelton was elected as President to replace Dieter Benziger, who has decided to retire from the committee. Sarah Cole has stood down, and Denise Walters was elected as an ordinary committee member. Following the AGM, the Ramblers Association has appointed Roger Moreton to be the local ‘RA’ representative on our Committee.


First Aid Course – 20th July last
Chris Peters gave a very useful first aid course, covering all basic injuries and health problems one might expect on a walk. One point which came out clearly was the need for at least one person (preferably the leader) to carry a basic first aid kit with them.

For Sale -
35-litre rucksack, hardly used, new price £50. Would accept £20. Contact Tony Palmer (01223 350605).

Membership cards – for 2004/05 are being sent out. These entitle you to discounts in Open Air, Blacks & Country Walking.

Next Newsletter
- Items of general interest to members are welcome; please forward to Walter Shelton by about 14 March.

Committee Meeting
- The next meeting will be on Wednesday 16th March 2005 at Pam Landshoff’s house at 19.45.


Incident/Accident Reporting
For insurance purposes, it is now necessary to report to Angela Gardiner any significant incident or accident which might lead to a claim for damages being made against the Club. Typical examples are:
• Any head injury, bone fracture or other injury requiring professional medical treatment
• Damage to a landowner’s property (eg livestock or farm equipment) due to a member’s negligence.

The following details (as and when appropriate) must be recorded as soon as possible after an incident, and then forwarded to Angela:-
1. Name, age and contact details of injured person (or details of damage to third party property, as appropriate);
2. Time and place of incident;
3. Any initial action taken;
4. Names of two witnesses and their contact details;
5. Name and contact details of walk leader;
6. Full description of circumstances, including any threats made; and
7. Who is considered responsible, and whether blame has been “apportioned”.