Oakhill Festival of Walks
Saturday 29th August to Monday 31st August 2009

SATURDAY 29th AUGUST  Starting at 10.00am  Distance  Total Ascent (Terrain) Leader Phone Short walk Beacon Hill, Windsor Hill, Masbury Castle 7 miles 216m Bill 01458 835711 Medium walk Gurney Slade, Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Stoke Bottom 9 miles 225m Bryn 01761 233455 Long walk Masbury Castle & Croscombe 12 miles 356m Gus 01749 840349 Starting at 1.00pm Afternoon walk         Tape Hill, T’Other Side of the Hill, Ashwick 4.5 miles 117m Doreen 01749 840271             SUNDAY 30th AUGUST  Starting at 10.00am  Distance  Total Ascent Leader Phone Short walk Little London, Badger’s Cross, Ashwick 6 miles 163m Tony D   Medium walk Gurney Slade, Emborough, Binegar 9 miles 192m Tony P 01749 342285 Long walk Midway, Edford and Harridge Wood 12 miles 369m Bob 01749 346023   Starting at 1.00pm Afternoon walk           Harridge Woods, Neighbourne, Ashwick Church 4 miles 73m Dave               MONDAY 31st AUGUST  Starting at 10.00am  Distance  Total Ascent Leader Phone Short walk Fosse Way, Three Ashes Lane, Harridge Wood 7 miles 224m Les 07768 556735 Medium walk Fosse way, Chelynch, Three Ashes Lane 8 miles 212m Rick 01749 672373 Long walk Withybrook, Cranmore Tower, Long Cross 10.5 miles 278m Owen 01458 860751   Starting at 1.00pm Afternoon walk           Ashwick Grove, Withybrook, Three Ashes 4 miles 90m Ken 01373 812865

Walking Festival Background Information

The Mendip Ramblers volunteer work party meets every Tuesday, in all weathers, to open up footpaths by installing/repairing stiles and kissing gates, building bridges, etc and waymarking. Every year an area is agreed, in conjunction with Mendip District Council Footpath Officer and hopefully, by the time of the festival most, if not all, of the footpaths in those parishes will be accessible to anyone wishing to walk them. The walking festival originated, about five years ago, to celebrate the completion of the work and gratifyingly the number of walkers has been increasing year on year.

Mendip Ramblers Footpath Work

Mendip Ramblers Group has been working on footpaths in the Mendip area for the past six years, organised and co-ordinated throughout by Bob Berry. Every year an area is chosen and routes selected within it to produce about a dozen varied walks. The work party group then walks these routes and identifies associated problems which range from minor repairs to stiles and steps and clearing of undergrowth to complete reopening of totally obstructed paths. Often hedges have to be cut through and new stiles installed where none previously existed or have long since disappeared. Sometimes ditches and small streams have to be bridged and at others flights of steps up steep slopes and banks are required. The tasks are varied and as the group’s experience has grown, so has the ability to tackle most situations.