FUTURE EVENTS April to July 2008

Quiz Night on Friday 11th April.
Another quiz night is planned for Friday 11th April at The Bell, Leigh on Mendip. Arrive at 6:45pm and the quiz starts at 7pm. As usual, participants will be grouped into teams of four and the fee of £7.50 per person includes meal and prizes. If attending, please send cheques payable to Mendip Ramblers to: Alice Lock, 8 Beverley Close, Frome, Somerset BA11 4EP to arrive by Friday 4th April 2008.

Peak District Holiday, between Monday April 14th & Friday April 18th.
Janet is organising a week’s self booking holiday in the Peak District. There is a walk “en route” for the first and last days and fairly strenuous walks for the other days. If any ramblers want shorter walks, they will be self led. If you are interested, please let Janet know on 01458 835238. Participants will need to book their own accommodation. Please contact Janet for information and for details of each day’s starting point. The walks are: Monday: Malvern Hills, 6 miles TBA. Tuesday: Goyt Valley & Shining Tor, 12 miles. SK024752. Wednesday: Dales circular walks, 5 & 6 miles, SK152755. Thursday: Edale & Mam Tor, SK133834. Friday: The Roaches & Gradbach, SK406627.

Ceilidh on Friday 11th July. 7:30pm to 10:30pm.
Keinton Mandeville Village Hall is the venue for the summer Ceilidh. There will be a caller to keep everyone in the same rhythm and the price of £10 includes a fish & chip supper. If attending, please send cheques to Alice as for Quiz Night above. To find KM Village Hall: At the cross roads in the village centre, turn south into Queen Street, take the first road on the right, Chistles Lane, pass the school and as the road bears to the right, keep straight on to the hall. Postcode: TA11 6ES. Map ref. ST545305.

August Bank Holiday Weekend Walking Festival 2008.
Saturday 23rd, Sunday 24th and Monday 25th August 2008.
Location: Wookey Village Hall, 2 miles west of Wells. Grid Ref: ST519458.
There will be four walks each day.
Choose from: 10-12 miles, 8 miles and 6 miles all starting at 10:00 am or 3-4 miles, starting at 1pm.
Refreshments will be available after the walks as in previous years.
Donations of cakes and biscuits etc. will be appreciated and enjoyed by all.
For more information see www.mendipramblers.co.uk or phone either Paula on 01458 860751 or Alice on 01373 474695. There will be more walks information in the late summer/autumn programme.

Mendip Ring Long Distance Path.
Over the past three programmes, the intrepid Mendip Ramblers have progressed in an anticlockwise direction from Ashcott Corner to Farrington Gurney and will be completing the final three stages during this programme. Because the walks are linear, all walkers should meet at the end of the walk and be ferried to the start. Please note that the meeting time for walks is 09:30, with the aim of starting the walk by 10:00. In case of doubt, contact Gus or Bob.

September Weekend 2008. Friday 26th to Tuesday 30th September 2008.
This year’s self booking holiday will be in the Abergavenny area. The landscape is varied and many walks will have an element of local interest. For those who may not wish to walk every day, Abergavenny has some excellent shops and there are also many local attractions worth a visit, many of which are free. Further details will be in the next programme or phone Richard on 01749 672373 for a printed summary of the event.

Legs Explore Family Group Walks.
Phone Mary Henry on 01823 333369 for details of walks suitable for all the family.

Wessex Rail Ramble.
On Wednesday July 16th, Dave Wilcox is leading a circular walk from Frome Station. For information, phone Dave on 01373 301797

NEWS April to July 2008

Xmas Pub Lunch Walk.
On Friday 13th December, the Horse & Jockey in Binegar was packed to capacity with 36 Mendip Ramblers enjoying their Christmas lunch after an interesting walk. Thank you to Alice, Paula & Owen for organising this event.

New Year Meal.
The Queens Arms, Wraxall was the venue for the New Year meal on Friday 18th January. The Queens Arms has a reputation for proper home-cooked food, with good-sized portions and it didn’t disappoint. Everyone enjoyed the lively and noisy event. Thank you Alice for organising it.

Somerset Area Annual General Meeting.
This was held on Saturday 17th February 2008 at Trull Village Hall. Disappointingly, only 30 out of Somerset Ramblers 2300 members (1.3%) attended this important event. After an interesting 6 mile walk through Poundisford Park and the local countryside, the meeting began with a talk by the President, Tony Goverd on the difficulty faced by Somerset County Council in prioritising rights of way for the rights of way improvement plan. The Honorary Officers were elected unopposed with the exception of the posts of Access Officer & Newsletter Editor, which are vacant. If any members are interested and wish to find out about these posts, please contact Owen Star or Gus Halfhide. It was agreed that the Area’s Constitution be amended to bring it into line with the Ramblers’ Association (RA) Model Constitution. Finally, Kate Gocher, RA Board of Trustees member, gave a talk on the work of the RA Trustees.

Spring Walking Weekend in Bude.
At the time of printing, everyone is preparing for Norman’s weekend of walks in North Cornwall. Full report will be in the next programme.

GENERAL INFORMATION.

Websites. Mendip Ramblers’ website, www.mendipramblers.co.uk is packed with information about our activities, news, programmes, local history, photographs etc. Information on all Ramblers’ groups in Somerset is on www.somersetramblers.co.uk. Both websites are easy to use.

Working parties.
Path Clearance. Jean and Paula would be very pleased to hear from anyone interested in joining them with footpath clearance work. For more information, phone Jean on 01749 677600 or Paula on 01458 860751. If anyone finds a path blocked by overgrown vegetation, please ring Jean or Paula and give the full map reference, plus description of the work needed. Please note that obstructions other than vegetation should be reported to the appropriate local authority.
Stiles, kissing gates, bridges etc. Bob and his team are hard at work preparing for the 2008 August Walking Festival. Paths are being opened up in the Wookey area, 2 miles to the west of Wells. The highlight so far is the installation of a footbridge over the rhyne at bleadney ST481547. Look on website for photos.Anyone wishing to help on Tuesdays should ring Bob or any committee member for details. Ramblers are encouraged to clear as they go and also to report any problems they may find to the footpath officers.

Transport and PRCP. Starting times for walks and their locations, Ordnance Survey map grid references (GR) and Landranger map numbers, are listed in the programme below. Car sharing is encouraged and passengers should pay an amount appropriate with distance and the current fuel price.
Princes Road Car Park, Wells (PRCP), is about to be redeveloped, but pick-up times will continue to be printed. Walkers should ensure that they have arranged a lift beforehand and not rely on turning up and expecting transport to be available. Dogs on leads are usually welcome, but please ring leader beforehand to confirm. All routes may be muddy after rain. The overall pace including stops is about 2 miles per hour. A somewhat slower pace is used on Thursdays and the shorter Sunday walks. For walks longer than 9 miles, a slightly faster pace is common. Bring a packed lunch (approx. 20 mins.) and fluid for one or two drinks stops (approx. 10 mins.).

Future Walks. Thank you to all the leaders who have contributed walks to this programme. New leaders are always welcome, especially for Thursday, short Sunday and Bank Holiday walks. Details of walks for the next programme (August to November 2008) should be sent to the Walks Programme secretary, Richard Plant by Monday 16th June 2008. Email to: richard@mendipramblers.co.uk or phone 01749 672373.

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