We are the Isle of Wight Ramblers. We arrange walks, monitor paths and help our local community to enjoy the pleasures of walking.
Paul C.
The Marine Conservation Society's "Great British Beach Clean" is a national event, this year running between 19-28 September. Not only a beach clean, but a survey of what is being found on our beaches. See MCS's website for further information
This walk is part of the Isle of Wight Ramblers' contribution to this national event. Other walk(s) will be happening on other beach(es) so please keep an eye on the programme. Hoping you will join us ! Obviously do feel free to participate in more than one beach clean !
Today's event is a joint effort - Serena is leading the walk, and Paul is in charge of the MCS actual beach clean / data submission aspects. Any questions, you can ask either of us
We meet at St Helen's Green carpark for a 10.15am start. (No 8 buses arrives from Newport direction at 09.54 and from Ryde direction at 10.08 - "Vine Inn" stop) . The car park is free (or free on-street parking in the vicinity if it is full).
The plan is that we do our walk (bring drinks and snack or packed lunch) , then do our beach clean and survey on our allocated 100-metre stretch of St Helen's Duver, before walking back up to our cars or bus to complete the circle.
The precise walk route has yet to be decided and recced. This listing will be updated in due course so please check back nearer the time, but it is likely to be a circular walk of approx 5 miles, and include some countryside and obviously some beach. (nevitably there is likely to be an element of road-walking, but we will try and keep this to a minimum.
The finishing time is an estimate only and will be dependent on a number of factors, including the weather, the speed at which the group walks and the number of breaks taken
Toilets (free) on St Helen's green and at the Duver. Will check nearer the time whether the Baywatch cafe will be open on the Duver. But there will at least definitely be the Vine Inn on St Helen's Green if we wish to reward our cleaning efforts with a drink afterwards.
Please can you bring gardening gloves or similar for the beach clean. And IF you happen to have a litter-picker tool it would be brilliant if you could bring that too, but don't worry if you haven't.
We will provide survey forms and pens on the day. However If anyone wishes to use the app/online to add things to the beach clean rather than the paper copy, then you will need to register as a volunteer on the MCS website - see below for web link
New walkers welcome. If you are new to the Ramblers you can just turn up for any of our walks, unless we specify otherwise. We invite you to come along for three walks as a non-member.
Additional Notes
Depending on the weather, consider suitable, clothing, footwear, walking poles, sun cream, drinks, and food. Walking poles can be particularly useful in winter in helping you to stay upright! Watch out for ticks and remove ASAP. If you are unsure about your ability to undertake this walk, please contact the walks leader. If you need to leave the walking group, please ensure you inform the leader or back marker.
Please note that there may be short sections of road walking, so please walk in a single file and take good care.
Wise to look at the website on the day just in case of any changes or additional info. And in the event of extreme weather please check back for cancellation notices.
Emergencies
It's very rare that an emergency occurs, but we may need info about
• Any health concerns that you have
• Any emergency contact information
We'd ask you to make sure that we have ready access to this, if needed.
Some people may wish to carry an ICE (in case of emergency) card. We have Ramblers cards for this purpose. Do discuss this subject with your walk leader if it is of interest.
WhatsApp group
If you would like to join the informal WhatsApp group (even just for the purposes of communicating regarding this specific walk and then exit again), please message Serena on 07564 811690 to be added.
Meet at St Helens Green (free car park). There is free on-street parking in the vicinity if car park is full.
