Bayham Abbey Appeal
We’re about to launch our Bayham Abbey Appeal. This is a really important appeal for us – the Tunbridge Wells group, supported by Kent Area and Ramblers staff, have been campaigning for over 50 years to get paths legally recognised on the Bayham Abbey Estate. We’re now facing a Public Inquiry, and we need your help. As well as an appeal letter to members and supporters, we’ll be having information about the campaign on the website.
75th Anniversary Celebrations
It's the Ramblers 75th Anniversary next year. That's a great time to celebrate all the things we've achieved over the years - from freedom to roam, to long distance trails, to national parks. It's also a time to look forward - getting the best coastal access that we can, improving the footpath network, and helping to get new generations on their feet in the countryside. Keep an eye out on the volunteer section for information about our plans to celebrate - and ideas for local celebrations.
New Volunteers Website Section
If you’re reading this, you’ve already made your way to the new Volunteers section of our website. In a bid to improve information to volunteers, as well as save money and trees, we’ve made a wholesale change to the way that we communicate. From now onwards, the main way will be through the website. Not everybody likes it, but we’ve also had volunteers say “about time too!”. The advantages are that all volunteers can see all of the information (rather than only the bits they were sent), and we can update it more frequently than the previous monthly mailings. It also means that you know where all the information is kept, if you need to refer back. The ‘RSS feeds’ means that you don’t need to hunt through the website when new information is added (there’s a separate description on RSS feeds). We’ll be adding and improving to the website as time goes on. Let us have your thoughts. What else would help you?
Walking 09 – Members Day, 5th September
We’ve had to cancel this event, as bookings were disappointingly low. It was a new attempt to involve more members, but it hasn’t worked this time. Luckily, by cancelling at this stage it hasn’t cost very much at all. Our quest of trying to involve more members will continue – we do need to keep trying new ways. Some will work, and others won’t.
Financial situation
Rodney Whittaker (Ramblers Chair) and myself have just written to all Area Chairs to update them on the Ramblers financial situation. Like most charities, we’re being buffeted by the recession. As most of you will know, we’ve had to make big cuts in our spending because our income has gone down. This has involved redundancies, and staff have left the Ramblers. It’s been a difficult time, and we're all grateful for the support and understanding which many volunteers have shown. I’d like to pay tribute to the work of the staff who have left the charity, many of whom worked with us for many years. We’re monitoring the financial situation very closely, and making sure we are living within our means.
Surrey Area 25th Anniversary
Earlier this month I was delighted to attend the Surrey Area’s 25th Anniversary celebrations. About a dozen walks took place across Surrey, with them all congregating at the same place. I went on a walk along the base of the magnificent Box Hill. About 250 people took part in the day in total – and there were quite a few people present who had been involved in the founding of Surrey Area, 25 years ago!
Thanks for all the volunteering you've done for the Ramblers over the past month. We wouldn't be the Ramblers without it. Have a great August, with lots of good walking!
