Cambridge Rambling Club - Summer 2008 Newsletter


Future Activities

26th April 2008  London Walk  2 walks by boat -Tower Pier to Greenwich Pier - boot and bus. A 6 mile walk exploring Greenwich Park and the Thames Barrier and an 8 mile walk which includes a section of the Capital Ring route from Falconwood to the Barrier.  Please contact Audrey for full details, 01223 292336

8th May 2008 Thursday Walks. The first walk starts from Toft at 6.30 pm led by George. Walks every Thursday thereafter during the summer. Please see your programme for details.

11th May 2008 Oxfam Walk from Wimpole Hall. This will be the 41st Walk and the target is to raise £60,000 for Oxfam's emergency work around the world. It starts and finishes at the National Trust's Wimpole Hall, with 4,9,13,17,22,& 26 mile routes in attractive countryside. To register for the walk or obtain more details, go to www.oxfam.org.uk/walk. If you can help with stewarding, which can be combined with one of the shorter walks, contact Graham Waterhouse on 01223 604667. Any other information contact Simon on 01223 526157.

13th July 2008 Summer Outing. Walking eastwards on Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path finishing at Holkham or Wells-next-the Sea. 10 or 13 mile walks or a shorter stroll. Easy terrain.
Coach leaves Harvey Road at 8.30 am sharp, returning to Cambridge by 8.00 pm. To book please send a cheque for £12 payable to Cambridge Rambling Club to George 12 Chedworth Street, Cambridge, CB3 9JF. Tel 01223 301615.

29th August-5th September 2008. Lake District Week. Only 7 places left for the Youth Hostel at Butharlyp Howe, Grasmere - 3 in dorm accommodation, 4 in twin bunk rooms. Deposits of £50 per head to Chris, full cost £125.65 pp for a dorm room and £307.65 for a twin bunk room. Please note in your diaries to forward Chris a cheque for the balance by 31st May at the latest. Cheques payable to Cambridge Rambling Club.

10th-12th October 2008 Coach Weekend, Long Mynd, Shropshire.  9 twin rooms, 3 double rooms & 2 single rooms still available at the 3-star Long Mynd Hotel, Church Stretton, amidst splendid walking country. Cost £153 with £20 supplement for single room for 2 nights Dinner, Bed & Breakfast, Coach leaves St. John's Innovation Centre off Cowley Road at 2.00 pm. Please send a deposit of £25 (£45 for a single room) to David, payable to Cambridge Rambling Club, with final balance by 31 August at the latest. Please let David have car reg. number if parking in Cambridge. Offers to lead 'C' walks most welcome.

29th November 2008 Annual General Meeting. Friends Meeting House, Jesus Lane, Cambridge, 2.00pm followed by a talk by Tony Caldwell MBE.  Full details in next newsletter.

27th-29th March 2009 Coach Weekend, Forest of Dean. This re-visit to the fantastic Speech House Hotel is already proving very popular. We have only scratched the surface of the walking in the area, and as those who went last time will know, the service, location and quality of this old coaching hotel are second to none. Whilst we have not yet confirmed the coach price, we have again negotiated a super deal of £65 per head per night for 2 nights Dinner, Bed & Breakfast. The total weekend cost is likely to be in the region of £150 max. Deposits of £30 to secure a place to Chris, with cheques payable to Cambridge Rambling Club. There should be a number of single rooms available on a first come first served basis.

Hostel (& similar) Weekends


Hostel weekends are relatively informal affairs, with walks on Saturday and Sunday and overnight accommodation on Friday and Saturday. Trips a long way from Cambridge are often for 3 nights or more. 'A' walks are guaranteed, with around 6 hours walking; 'B' walks depend on a volunteer leader. 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 well in advance as the full balance must be paid 8 weeks before the trip. If you can offer to drive or want a lift - please let Jill know. And you are very welcome to book your own B&B or hotel and join us on walks.

* Kings YH, near Dolgellau, north Wales, Bank Holiday w/e Thursday 1st May to Monday 5th May (4 nights)
3 or 4 nights at this well-situated hostel next to Cader Idris. Fully booked, but contact Jill Tuffnell for last minute cancellations.


* St Cuthbert's Way - 'light' backpacking: Bank Holiday w/e Friday May 23rd to Thursday 29th May (6 nights)

5 or 6 nights on the Scottish borders. Also fully booked but with a party of 20 there may be a last minute cancellation - call Jill if you are interested.



* Eyam YH Derbyshire (the 'plague' village) , Friday 27th to Sunday 29th June, (2 nights)

A return to this very comfortable hostel on the hillside above Eyam village. Meals are available. Cost of overnight accommodation for 2 nights is £38, (this price excludes food). Closing date 25th April.


* Exford YH on Exmoor, Thursday 7th August to Monday 11th August, (4 nights)

With fantastic walking possible - on the Somerset and Devon coasts and across the moors - we have booked a 4 night stay, hoping to avoid travelling at the weekend! The overnight bed cost is £17.95, but a deposit of £10 is all that is required to secure a place now. Please pay the balance due by 9th June = closing date. Food available - with restaurants close by in this very pretty village as well.


* Ludlow - the Bishop Mascall Centre: Friday 26th to Sunday 28th September, (2 nights)

This is a new venture for the hostel group! We have booked 12 single and 2 twin bedded rooms at this Centre in beautiful Ludlow town in Shropshire. Our booking includes B&B on Friday night, and half board Saturday to Sunday morning. The cost for a single room is £70 and £65 for someone sharing a twin room. Deposits of £10 to Jill, please. The balance is due on the 20th July.


* North Downs - Palace Farm Hostel, Doddington, Kent: Friday 7th to Sunday 9th November, (2 nights)

Another independent hostel - this time on a fruit farm in the beautiful North Downs, close to Leeds Castle and Sittingbourn. We have booked 16 places. A light continental breakfast is included in the price, with good self-catering kitchen facilities available too. There is a pub within walking distance for an evening meal. The cost for the 2 nights is £36; please pay a deposit of £12 as we have already had to pay one-third of the cost as a deposit.


* Blaxhall YH near Snape, Suffolk coast, Friday 6th to Sunday 8th February 2009

The YHA is letting us book the entire hostel for the weekend at 2007 prices, so we have up to 40 places available for just £25 per person for the weekend. Self-catering and very comfortable, with nearby pubs in Snape village. 'B' leader wanted.


News and Notices

Survey Many thanks to everyone who completed the survey. 110 were received and the committee is very grateful to those of you who took the time to fill in the form and for your very kind remarks about the way we are running this club. On the whole we are providing what you want, although we can finely tune this based upon your comments. Please refer to the separate sheet for the full results.

Annual General Meeting The last meeting was attended by only 28 members and numbers have been falling gradually over the last few years. The next AGM is on Saturday 29th November and will be held at the Friends Meeting House at 2.00 pm. This, we hope, will encourage more members to attend rather than dragging themselves out on a cold dark evening. Following the meeting there will be a talk/slide show on a walking theme by Tony Caldwell MBE who is a raconteur, having given many talks over the last 25 years in aid of Leukaemia Research. His talk will be very entertaining.

Wednesday 'C' News from Sheila Ken Rolin, who died very suddenly of a heart attack in early March, will be sorely missed. Ken and his wife Thelma led a walk in London on our behalf for which we were very grateful. We had all missed the London walks, previously led by Ron.

Derwent has helped us ALL by again offering to lead several walks on the next programme. Tony and Kathy and Ken and Pauline are leading two walks, and two new members Elizabeth and Maureen have decided to take the plunge and we are grateful to Mac from the "B's" who helps us again and again.

It is lovely to see 'previous walkers' at the lunches; please keep coming. By the way only TWO people responded re a Christmas/New Year Lunch so the matter will be left at present.

Maps: Blackwells Map Centre in Heffers Booksellers, 20 Trinity Street, Cambridge can provide maps customised to your choice and centred on any site you choose. How often do you find that the area you want is on the edge of a map. From £15.99 this can work out cheaper than having to buy 2 or more maps to cover the area you want.

Path Problems If you encounter a footpath problem, e.g. missing finger post or ploughed field not reinstated, don't ignore it. Please either report to Janet/Roger Moreton or go to our website and follow the link to the Ramblers Assoiation Cambridge and complete a Cambridgeshire County Council Right of Way Problem Reporting Form.

Committee Meeting. The next meeting is on Tuesday 22nd July 2008 at the Wesley Church 7.30 pm.

Next Newsletter Any items of interest, including adverts, should be sent to John Pym by 27th July.