Newsletter - February 2022


Oh No! Not Bisley Again!

It's nice to be able to start a newsletter by sharing a recent photograph. On this occasion, it was taken at the start of Phil Heneghan's Oh No! Not Bisley Again! group walk. It's good to see so many familiar, as well as unfamiliar, faces out. The numbers out on Adrian Crocker's recent walk were also well into double figures. Shame about the mud! In over 20 years of walking, I've never had to put walking gloves in the washing machine before!

In this month's newsletter:

  • A summary of our new committee's first meeting;
  • The usual request for walk leaders, and an introduction to Meetup;
  • Arrangements for this year's Pewsey Downsaround (PDA);
  • Bea Therin's proposal for celebrating the LDWA's 50th Anniversary;
  • A Capital Day Out with Jeanette Armstrong;and
  • The usual round-up of Forthcoming Walks

 


 

Committee Meeting held on 5th January 2022

 

The key points from our recent committee meeting are as follows:

  • The website has been updated and the first monthly newsletter published;
  • We still have a healthy bank balance, after having paid for the xmas meal;
  • The next committee meeting will take place on Wednesday 9th March @ 1900hrs

The main focus of the meeting was the PDA arrangements. Click HERE to view the full minutes of the meeting.

 

 


 

Walk Leaders Needed / Meetup

 

From Steve Carver, Walks Secretary:


In order to bring Wiltshire LDWA social walks to the attention of existing members more quickly, and also to attract a wider audience of potential new members, the committee has decided to publicise them via the Meetup app. Members wishing to be alerted in this way should sign up via the following link; https://www.meetup.com/long-distance-walkers-association-wiltshire-group/.

Once signed up with this Meetup group Wiltshire members wishing to offer walks will be able to enter detailed information directly on Meetup rather than via emails to the Walks Secretary, although this is optional. All information entered in this way will also published in the traditional way via the Future Events page on the Wiltshire LDWA website, and in ‘Strider’, for the benefit of members who do not wish to use Meetup. Information provided directly to the Walks Secretary will in future be published on Meetup as well as on the website and ’Strider’.

Walks entered directly via Meetup should continue to include the same key information as in the past, i.e. walk leader/contact details, walk name, broad description of route, starting point (including grid reference and postcode if possible), starting time and distance.

The walks calendar for the first 3 months of 2022 is looking quite thin at present, particularly for midweek walks, so any volunteers for this period would be particularly welcome. We have in the past aimed to run events on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month and on the 3rd Thursday. The Future Events page will show where the gaps exist against this schedule. However members should feel totally free to offer events on any other days that may suit them.

 


 

Pewsey Downsaround (PDA)

 

Registration for this popular event has opened. Already, the number of entrants is comparable with previous events. For further information, please visit our Pewsey Downsaround 2022 - Information page.

The key points from our recent committee meeting regarding the PDA are as follows:

  • The scout hut and Avebury sports and social club have been booked. Phil Heneghan has still talk to the vicars of churches at Calstone Wellington and Huish;
  • Phil will circulate names of volunteers. 3 are needed at CP1, CP2 and CP4. 4 are needed at CP3. Numbers required at registration and the finish are still to be determined;
  • Janette Armstrong will fill checkpoint boxes. Depending on the availability of the scout hut, others may be need to help set up the venue on Saturday afternoon. We need to speak to John Walker regarding gaining access to the scout hut;
  • Janette has also produced the catering plan; and
  • We're introducing 'register and go' this years to avoid crowds gathering at the mass start.

 

 


 

LDWA's 50th Anniversary

 

From Bea Therin:

"I'm thinking of putting a Diamond Way 3-day event for the LDWA's 50-day celebration, which I suggest could be done in early May or July (so as to not coincide with Bristol & West) – with minibus support between end / start points. I’ve organized minibus transfer in the past so know what to do i.e. the Cotswold Way a few years back. The proposed route details are as follows

  • Day 1 – 24½ miles - Moreton in Marsh, Ebrington, Blockley and Ford
  • Day 2 – 24½ miles - Ford, Northleach and Bourton-on-the-Water; and
  • Day 3 – 17 miles - Bourton-on-the-Water to Bledington

A total distance of 66 miles over 3 days. Click HERE to view the route."

The committee is awaiting a detailed proposal from Bea, including costs and dates, before giving it the go ahead.

 

 


 

A Capital Day Out

 

From Jeanette Armstrong:

"A group of us are doing the Capital Challenge on Saturday 2nd April, and the 2021 Capital Anytime Challenge route on the Sunday.We're staying overnight at various locations including the Ibis near Waterloo, and the Travelodge.

The plan is to meet up at the start point on Saturday morning, do the walk, check into the accommodation then meet up for a meal (I know a Middle Eastern restaurant nearby that is good and reasonably priced).

On Sunday we will meet outside Waterloo Station at 9.00 (we can’t start any earlier as people won’t be able to get up to London for the day) and walk the other route. I’ll make sure there are enough route descriptions for anyone who wants to walk faster as those of us on day 2 might be a bit slower than usual. I’ve let people know they can easily shorten the walk if they get too tired as I’ve got a few who have only ever done one marathon walk so are anxious they won’t manage two back to back.

I’ve got 9 signed up for Sunday but I’m not sure how many on Saturday (I think at least 5).

Please note that this year's Capital Challenge is filling up fast on the Saturday. If you do manage to enter, you're more than welcome to walk with us."

 

 


 

Forthcoming Walks

 

Finally, here's the usual look ahead to all the group walks and challenge events that are taking place this month within a 50-mile radius of the geographical centre of Wiltshire.

 

Date Name Type Mileage Organiser
Sun 6th Feb 2022 Julian House - Circuit of Bath Walk Group 20ml Wiltshire
Sun 6th Feb 2022 The Downs in Winter Group 18ml Wessex
Sun 6th Feb 2022 Witchampton Snowdrops Group 17ml Dorset
Sun 13th Feb 2022 Wayfaring to Overton Group c20ml Thames Valley
Sat 19th Feb 2022 Birdlip Hills and Valleys Group 18ml Bristol & West
Sat 19th Feb 2022 Wayfairers Winter Walk Group 18ml Wessex
Sun 20th Feb 2022 Castles & Colonies Group 18ml Wiltshire
Sat 26th Feb 2022 Vale of Berkeley Group 15ml Bristol & West
Sun 27th Feb 2022 On the fiddle? Group 18ml Dorset

 


 

This e-mail has been sent to 550+ Primary and Associate group members. If you wish to opt out of receiving e-mails from us, you will need to change your e-mail preferences by logging onto the LDWA website.

That's it for another newsletter. All our newsletters are available via the Wiltshire LDWA website. If you have anything to contribute to future editions, please can you get it to me by the 20th of each month. I look forward to seeing you out on our group walks this month.

Warmest regards

Clive

Secretary of the Wiltshire LDWA
wiltshire.secretary@ldwa.org.uk