Stoke/Newcastle Group, Co-ordinator: George Shufflebotham
I took up walking seriously when I retired. In the mid-nineties I volunteered for the Ramblers as a Footpath Secretary and part of this work involved carrying out footpath surveys in local parishes. I found so many problems that I thought the rights of way network was in danger of closing down.
Around this time the Ramblers was running a campaign called “Free Your Paths”. Ramblers members, with support from members of the public, campaigned locally by organising a six mile walk along an obstructed route. I led the walk and more than eighty people took part. We were delighted that the path was reopened as a result of this campaign.
This experience motivated me to set up a team of volunteers to maintain the footpaths in our area. Our working party goes out once a week for a whole day. We install and repair stiles, clear footpaths and build foot bridges. Our project has been running for over a decade now and we receive strong support from Staffordshire County Council Countryside team.
One of our first great achievements was opening up an ancient way used by the Cistercian Monks, now known as “The Monks’ Way”. Another big project we tackled was to make the very boggy rear of Deep Hayes Country Park accessible all year round instead of just for five months.
Our working party changes over time, but at present we have a very dedicated team of seven. We are all totally committed to the task of maintaining the footpath network and enjoy the opportunity to work alongside other like-minded people who care about the environment. We fix the Ramblers’ Association logo to the stiles, steps, bridges and walkways we build and repair, providing a direct advertisement that the Ramblers is dedicated to promoting walking for all.
