John G & few others are organising a Christmas Day Dinner for anyone that does not want to cook or be on their own on the big day & would like Company. The Venue will be Worcester Area The Cost will depend on Numbers ect & Pub/Restaurant chosen. If you are Interested & would like more Information please let Alan T know, once we have everyone's Expression of Interest We will forward full information.
As part of our continued drive to improve the visibility of Worcester Ramblers within our community, your committee agreed to invest in a print run of economical credit card sized contact (handout) cards.
The objective is for members of our Group who wish, to carry a few of these cards with them to hand out to potential interested contacts on walks, at events or indeed on social occasions. The reverse of each card is blank to enable more personal contact information to be handwritten if desired.
If you would like a small supply of these cards, please contact either Cliff or Rod either on a walk or via the Details button.
Since November 2013 the committee has been recording a selection of data that effectively monitors the health of our Group over time. Sandra C. has been capturing the base data from walk attendance sheets in a spreadsheet and Cliff D. has been analysing it.
Summary analyses have been published on our website every six months since May 2014. The data up to and including May 2017 has now been analysed and gives a total of three and a half years of information, enabling seasonal factors to be taken into account.
Observations that could be made from the latest data include:
1. The number of registered members at 431 has remained relatively stable over the past eighteen months and sits midway between the peak of 453 recorded in March 2015 and the baseline figure of 399 in October 2013. It is the highest total since January 2016.
2. 39 new members have joined over the past seven months, way ahead of the same period in any of the three previous years. The impressive stream of new recruits is however essentially offsetting those existing members not renewing.
3. Membership within the remainder of the Worcestershire Area (comprising Bromsgrove, Wyre Forest, Redditch and Evesham) currently stands at 632 compared with 625 in November 2016.
4. The number of registered members who are ‘active’ walkers is currently 117, which is an increase of 16% over the same period last year and close to the peak of 123 in February 2015. However, ‘active’ walkers still only represent 27% of overall membership (117 out of 431).
5. The number of different members walking in any given month has increased significantly with an average of 89.7 over the past seven months compared with 72.4 during the same period last year and the previous highest for the same period of 81.7. During the month of April, we registered 112 different Worcester Group members walking which is by a huge margin of 21, the highest number ever since recording began.
6. Over the past seven months, our Group has put on 117 walks compared with 99 during the same period last year, 97 the year before and 86 the year before that.
7. We offered 36 shorter walks (of 6 miles or less) during this period compared with 35 last year alongside 81 longer walks compared with 64 walks previously.
8. The number of different walk leaders continues to increase from an average per month of 8.9 in 2014 to 10.7 in 2015 to 11.6 in 2016 and again 11.6 in 2017.
9. During the year to date there has been an average of 17.8 participants per walk compared with 16.7 when compared with the same period last year and 19.6 and 17.1 in the years before that.
10. We have continued to undertake working party assignments at a rate in excess of one per month with 8 completed in the first seven months of this period.
Another detailed analysis will be published in or around November 2017 but if you have any observations or questions about this information, please feel free to bring them up with Cliff.
If you are interested contact Annette via the Details button.
Worcester Ramblers members often meet at local pubs for an evening sampling the latest real ales.
If you would like to join in please contact Cliff D via Details button.
Network Rail proposes to close 130 level crossings in East Anglia, 109 of which are part of Rights of Way. Network Rail argues that closures are needed for safety reasons, but diverting pedestrians onto busy roads means they must face the dangers of fast traffic. We understand that Network Rail is planning to roll out this programme across the country. We'd also like to hear from you if you live elsewhere but have heard about planned closures of level crossings in your region.
At our recent Area Committee meeting, the Area Footpath Secretary reported on two local level crossing closures (one near Worcester, one near Bromsgrove) with which he is involved on behalf of Ramblers. He pointed out that one closure can affect the viability of a number of paths (three in the case of the Worcester closure) – hence any closure can have a multiplied effect on our local path network.
Another member of the committee reported that he was aware of a proposed closure in the Malvern area - and there may well be others.
It is clear from these examples that the issue is by no means confined to East Anglia – although this appears to be the most severely affected area. In view of the above, the Worcestershire Area committee would request all Groups, and individual members to contact us if they become aware of level crossing closures, or notices of proposals to do so, in their locality. This may be while on walks, or through local notices. Please give location details and as much other information as you can. We can then pass this information on to our Area Footpath Secretary and to Ramblers Head Office to aid their campaign as requested.
Please note that we are only asking for information on closures, not for any personal judgement on the safety situation or other circumstances.
Please contact the Area Secretary directly with any information (email gmt@gmthomas.co.uk ) or forward the details through your Group committee if you find this easier.
Our Area Footpath Secretary can then collate all such reports and coordinate any subsequent actions required.
There is more information about the level crossing issue, and the petition, on the Ramblers website at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/network-rail.aspx
Plans to give Dorset a National Trail along its entire coastline for the first time have been set out.
The Natural England proposals aim to improve public access along a 42-mile (67km) stretch of coast between Kimmeridge Bay and Highcliffe.
The plans include a new route between Poole Harbour and Highcliffe.
Changes would also be made to the existing South West Coast Path between Kimmeridge Bay and Poole Harbour to help secure it from coastal erosion.
An eight-week public consultation on the plans is under way.
Click on National Trail plans in links to see full article
Having nearly exhausted supplies of our current Group brochure, we have created and printed a stock of smaller replacement pamphlets as one of our key recruitment initiatives for 2017.
This is now available, having been professionally printed as a glossy A4 trifold.
To access the full PDF version, please click Details, then Small Pamphlet in the Documents section.
Cathie A. will distribute the pamphlets in public and commercial locations across our catchment area on a regular basis.
In addition to this however we need your help:
Friends, Family and Colleagues
Do you have people that you know personally who might be tempted to try us out as a result of reading about our activities?
Back Pack Stocks
Could you carry a couple of copies in your rucksack on walks to be able to hand out if you meet fellow walkers or passers-by who express interest in our activities?
Yes – we have actually recruited people directly this way!
Other Distribution Locations
Do you have access to specific locations that Cathie might not easily identify or approach where you could leave some copies?
Sharing and extending our reach will make a huge difference, so please help with one or more elements of our campaign by contacting Cliff D as soon as possible. Cliff has a stock of pamphlets to issue which he can make available at the beginning of walks or alternatively get in touch with him via the ‘Contact Us’ page on our website.
Thanks are due to Sue R. for designing the pamphlet and to Jane Vi. for getting them printed at a very competitive cost.
More members will generate more leaders which will in turn mean a more vibrant and varied walks programme!
Cliff Dimond, your current chairman, has confirmed that he will be standing down at the forthcoming Group AGM in November. He feels strongly that after four years in post, it would be healthy for our Group to appoint a replacement offering fresh ideas, energy and approach.
You may recall that Cliff wished to stand down at the 2016 AGM, however; in the absence of any volunteers to replace him, agreed to stay on for an additional year. Cliff has informed the committee that it would not be reasonable to expect him to do the same again even if nobody volunteers to replace him.
Worcester Group has great momentum at present and it would be a major setback not to be able to build upon this seamlessly with an enthusiastic replacement. Your committee has agreed an updated role description for this key committee post and this can be accessed by clicking Role Description. In conjunction with the committee, this role description can be developed and modified over time to suit the skills and experience of the new chairman.
Cliff will provide a full hand over and could offer a ‘shadowing’ arrangement for a period of time if that would be helpful.
Your committee is very keen to fill this role at the next AGM, so please consider your nomination and take the opportunity to contribute by contacting Cliff or any member of your committee on our website or have a chat on one of our walks.
Remember – this is your Group and it can only function and continue to improve if volunteers come forward from the membership.
