CAMBRIDGE RAMBLING CLUB

NEWSLETTER

No. 3 - Autumn 2004

 

 

FUTURE ACTIVITIES

5-12 September – Lake District Week at Grasmere

There is still one place left in a ladies 4-bed room at Butharlyp How Youth Hostel in Grasmere. Cost of the week £99.40. Party numbers 25; walks to suit; and theatre trips to Please contact George Brewster, 12 Chedworth St. (01223 301615) as soon as possible.

 

Sun. 5 September – ‘Bridge The Gap’ Charity Walk

This is a 4 ½ mile sponsored walk in aid of three charities, including East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. It starts at 9.30am from Jesus Green, and will take in some Colleges and bridges of Cambridge. For registration forms phone 01223 434378, or email helenbearfield-smith@cambridge-news.co.uk

 

Sun. 10 October – London Parks Walk

Christine Pizey is offering a 12 mile walk starting at 10am from East Finchley Underground station. We will take the tube to Embankment and walk back via St James Park, Green Park, Hyde Park, Regents Park, Primrose Hill, Hampstead Heath and Kenwood House. Meet at Harvey Road at 8.30am to share cars.

22-24 October – Club Coach Weekend – Dovedale

There is a waiting list for anyone still wishing to go on this trip. Please remember that the coach will leave St Johns Innovation Centre, Cowley Road . at 6pm promptly on Friday 22 October, and will leave the Peak District between 5 and 6 pm on the Sunday. Anyone who has not yet paid the balance of £93 should urgently send a cheque (payable to Cambridge Rambling Club) to Carol Gautrey. Please also remember to give Carol the registration number of your car, if you wish to leave it at the St Johns Innovation Centre car park.

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1-3 April 2005 – Club Coach Weekend – Llanberis

As mentioned in the last Newsletter, there is accommodation for 50 people at the 3 Star Royal Victoria Hotel, at the foot of Snowdon. The hotel has full en-suite facilities, with easy access to the Snowdonia National Park. It has extensive grounds of over 30 acres, and its website www.hotelsnowdonia-llanberis-wales.co.uk, provides lots of beautiful pictures. Cost is £108, including £15 for dinner on Saturday. Packed lunches cost an additional £4. -50 per day. We plan to stop for a meal on the journey to and from the hotel. To reserve a place please send Carol Gautrey a deposit of £15 by cheque , (payable to the Cambridge Rambling Club). , The balance of £93 is due by the 31st December. Please state if a single room is preferred - first come, first served. Volunteer leaders at all levels are very welcome – please contact Chris Browne on 01353-665596. The coach will leave the St Johns Innovation Centre car park, Cowley Road, at 10.00am sharp on Friday 1st April. If you plan to leave your car here, please give Carol details of the registration number at least a week in advance, so the security staff can be informed.

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.

 

Tanners Hatch YH Surrey, Saturday and Sunday October 2nd & 3rd

Just a one-night stay at this remote YH near Polesden Lacy, although you will have to do some light back-packing for two days! We will be starting from Guildford station on Saturday morning, walking through to Tanners Hatch where we will have to self-cater over night. On the Sunday we will walk along the North Downs and return to Cambridge by train in the afternoon/early evening. There are a few places left – but please book ASAP. Cost £9.30.

 

Canterbury YH, Friday 12th to Sunday 14th November

Explore the North Downs Way and Pilgrims Way and this attractive city in autumn. The hostel, just 1 mile south of the city centre, requires everyone to book B&B at £16.40 per person per night. We hope to include at least one linear walk.

 

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. As usual, we are looking for ‘B’ walks leaders. There are, unfortunately, no double rooms available. The hostel is, however, very cosy, with an open fire. Self-catering – but plenty of pubs in nearby villages or in Beaconsfield. Please send £20 for accommodation for the weekend.

 

Spring in the Cotswolds – Stow-on-the-Wold Hostel, Friday 4th to Saturday 6th March 2005

We have visited beautiful Stow-on-the-Wold in the autumn – but rarely in the spring. The hostel, recently fully renovated and updated, is right in the centre of town, 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.

 

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. This 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’ leaders wanted. The provisional accommodation charge per night is £10.60. Please send a deposit of £20 to secure a place.

 

Backpacking the Herriott Way – Friday 27th May toWednesday 1st June (Bank Holiday)

The next ‘back-packing’ trip using hostels is in the Yorkshire dales, walking in Wensleydale and Swaledale on the ‘Herriott Way’. Unfortunately one of the hostels on the original route, Aysgarth, has closed – so we will have to improvise with the occasional minibus journey. However, this does mean that we will only have to carry our overnight gear on two days – possibly attracting a few souls who don’t like the idea of living out of a rucsac for days on end! 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 a £10 deposit if you would like to come.

 

NEWS AND NOTICES

 

Public Liability Insurance

For many years the Club has maintained a third party liability insurance, and we are now required by our Insurers to keep records of any serious incidents resulting from Club activities. The records will be kept by Angela Gardiner as Club Secretary. Any injuries to members, (in particular any head injuries or fractures), must be reported to her, as also any damage to third party property, eg farm equipment or livestock.

 

Tue 16 November – AGM

As usual, the Club’s AGM will take place at the Friends Meeting House in Park Street at 7.45 on Tuesday 16th November. All members are invited to attend.

This is your opportunity to raise any matter of concern – and to hold your committee to account! There are also vacancies on the committee, so please speak to Angela or Dieter if you are interested in making a contribution to the Club.

 

Kettlewell Weekend on 19-21 March

Chris Browne reports that, despite the weather, Club members had an excellent time and some beautiful , if very windy, walks. The religious community at Scargill House made everyone feel very welcome, and looked after themextremely well.

 

Shops with a Discount for CRC Members

Dieter has managed to negotiate a new discount for CRC members buying walking and outdoor clothing at Countryside, on Jesus Lane. You can get a discount of 10% if you show your CRC membership card.

Other local shops offering a discount include Open Air, Blacks and Millets, (all 10%) and Field & Trek, (5%).

 

Rob Ward’s Maps

A large number of Rob’s maps have been left to members ; t here is also a collection of magazines (Great Outdoors and The Walkers Magazine, and The Great Outdoors) dating from 1994), plus and a Gipron walking pole. They will be distributed generally on a first-come-first-served basis. Initially please contact Dieter (benziger@ntlworld.com or 01223 527763 by 15th September

‘Lost’ Highways in Cambridgeshire

The recent ‘Countryside & Rights of Way’, or ‘CroW’ Act, includes a section relating to paths which have been left off the country’s ‘definitive maps’. The Act determines the steps which must be followed before any of these ‘lost highways’ can be established for public use. They are often routes which were identified as rights of way at the time of the Enclosures, but have never made it onto the Ordnance Survey maps. The County Council has checked through the Enclosure Awards and has come up with a long list of around 80 possible routes to be investigated. Not all are practical – when built over, for example! But others can improve the footpath network by, for example, linking dead end paths to a road, or helping to provide circular routes. Jill Tuffnell is examining some of the possible ‘lost highways’ in and around Cambridge, including Fulbourn, Waterbeach and Bourn.

 

Members with E-mails

The committee have decided that it would be helpful to set up an e-mail group listing to enable important information to be sent out rapidly, especially between Newsletters mailings . For example, details could be circulated about last-minute changes in the walks programme. It is hoped that members in the group will pass on such information to those not on e-mail. Chris Browne has agreed to organise the group , and asks any member who wishes to be included to send him an e -mail at brownewace@screaming.net

Public Liability Insurance

For a number of years the Club has maintained a third party liability insurance, and we are now required by our Insurers to keep records of any serious incidents resulting from Club activities. The records will be kept by Angela Gardiner, to whom full details should be reported of any injury to members (in particular any head injury or fracture) and also of any damage or injury to third party property, eg to farm livestock.

Committee Meeting

The next meeting will be on Monday 1st N ovember at 19.45 at George Brewster’s house.

 

*******Extra*****Extra*****Extra

Extra walk – Saturday 20th November: Saffron Walden, Fig of 8. 15 miles, (9/6). Joint with RA. Meet Football Club CP 9.15 or 13.30. Leader Jill 01223 362881.