This month’s newsletter includes: • The walks programme; • forthcoming walks; • Walk4Life Festival – call for volunteers • the AGM; • the City Council’s Walking Strategy; • events; • Chief Medical Officer’s Guidelines for Physical Activity.

The walks programme

The Committee is calling for nominations for awards for 2010/11 walks, to be awarded at the AGM. Specifically, we would welcome your nominations for the following categories: • Most memorable walk; • Muddiest walk; • Wettest walk; • Windiest walk; • Best pub/picnic lunch stop.

Nominations to [email protected], please.

Thanks to those who offered to lead walks for the national Walk in the Woods Week (3-9 October). These will appear in the next programme, and will be included in the Ramblers national publicity. The week will also see the publication of the interim report of the group set up by Government to advise on future arrangements for forests.

It is not too late to offer walks for the Festival of Winter Walks (24 December-7 January).

Forthcoming walks

On 6 September, Gwyneth Littlejohn is leading a Historic Pub Trail walk. Meet at 18.30pm at College Green. This is a Bob Emerson walk from Backs. The original walk is technically 2 miles and linear. In making it circular, returning to College Green, it has the potential of being 4 miles, but that of course depends on how far we get. There are a number of historic diversions en route; the Hatchet Inn, the Bunch of Grapes, , the , the King's Head, the Shakespeare ... Seems a fitting way to end the evening programme for 2011.

On 14 September, Nigel de Bray is leading a walk on the Dramway. This walk covers all the Dramway Path from Ram Hill colliery to Londonderry Wharf on the Avon. We could also visit the end of the other branch at Avonside Wharf.

Nigel Andrews is leading the A walk on 18 September: Hills around Wotton. This walk lives up to its title as the ascents keep coming throughout the day! None of them are particularly arduous and you will hopefully be rewarded by fine views of the Cotswolds and the River Severn. On leaving Wotton we walk above the strip lynchets on Coombe Hill before descending to Waterley Bottom. We climb again through woodland before our next downhill to the Uley Valley. Clearly we could not miss out on the chance to climb on to Uley Bury hill fort from which we see Cam Long Down and, you've guessed it, it's our next ascent. Fortunately lunch at Dursley is near before another woodland climb leads us to Stinchcombe Common. A spectacular section along the escarpment is followed by a steep descent. The next stretch is very easy and will give you a chance to recharge your batteries before the last climb to Tyndall's monument, high above North Nibley. The Cotswold Way is followed to Wotton and journey's end.

Peter Gould is leading the latest of this year’s short Sunday afternoon walk in Leigh Woods on 25 September. He asks, don't we rather take Leigh Woods for granted?

He is also leading two Wessex Wanderer rail walks (Saturday 24 and Wednesday 28). Both have a touch of Somerset & Dorset industrial archaeology and a good cider pub.

Walk4Life Festival – call for volunteers

Would any of you be willing to help Eileen Bartlett at the Bristol Ramblers stand at , 11.30am to 1pm on Sunday 25 September? The Festival/Fair is intended to encourage newcomers to walking.

Please contact Eileen on 9744248 if you can help.

Annual General Meeting – 6 December

The Group’s AGM will take place at 7.30pm on 6 December, at Redland Park Church Hall. Among the many other attractions, free copies of the Walking Bristol booklets (Routes in Central and South Bristol and Routes in North and East Bristol) will be available.

If there are any issues that you think should be put onto the agenda, please contact [email protected].

Likewise, if you think that anyone should be given a Certificate of Thanks for work they have done for the Group.

It looks as if there will be nominations for most of the Group Offices, but don’t let that stop you from nominating others, or yourself. Offices currently without nominations are: • Vice-chairman; • Secretary; • Membership Secretary: Angela Stansbie has kindly offered to carry on until December 2012, but early identification of a successor would allow an extended hand-over; • Website Editor: following the sad death of John Maher, Peter Gould has gallantly stepped into the role of Website Manager for the time being, but it would greatly strengthen the arrangements if one or more others were willing to serve as Website Editors. This role would not require great technical expertise.

Nominations would be very welcome: to Carew Reynell, please.

The City Council’s Walking Strategy

In August, we were consulted on a draft of the City Council’s long- awaited Walking Strategy. The Group responded by welcoming the strategic approach but seeking some clear targets and additions:

• make Bristol a Walking City, complementing the Cycling City designation, with a bid for funding from the national Local Sustainable Transport Fund; • dedicate more public rights of way to fill in gaps in the network and to protect and promote paths on Council-owned land; • dedicate Council-owned open spaces as access land under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000; • designation of strategic recreational areas; • a new harbour crossing parallel to Princes Street Bridge; • improved public transport links to the rights of way network; • signage to include walking times to destinations.

The full response is on the Group’s website.

Events

We have been notified of: • the Hay on Wye Walking Festival (7-9 October): see www.haywalkingfestival.co.uk; and • the Monmouthshire Walking Festival (21-31 October): see www.walkinginmonmouthshire.org.uk.

Comedian Mark Thomas brings his Extreme Rambling – Walking the Wall to the , 5-10 September.

And the Bristol Ramblers stand will be at the Victoria Prk Fair on 17 September.

Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines for physical exercise

You may have spotted that the Chief Medical Officer has recently issued revised guidelines for physical exercise. These reflect current research, including research undertaken at the University of Bristol. Perhaps you could draw these to the attention of any sedentary friends, together with the benefits of Ramblers membership.

The principal change is the inclusion of advice to minimize time spent sitting for extended periods. Current research suggests that, regardless of the amount of moderate/vigorous activity undertaken, time spent being sedentary has negative health consequences. So get up now, even if only to walk round the room.

The guidelines are:

ADULTS (19-64 years)

1. Adults should aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) of moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more - one way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least 5 days a week.

2. Alternatively, comparable benefits can be achieved through 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the week or a combination of moderate and vigorous intensity activity.

3. Adults should also undertake physical activity to improve muscle strength on at least two days a week.

4. All adults should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (sitting) for extended periods.

OLDER ADULTS (65+ years)

1. Older adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits, including maintenance of good physical and cognitive function. Some physical activity is better than none, and more physical activity provides greater health benefits.

2. Older adults should aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) of moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more - one way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least 5 days a week.

3. For those who are already regularly active at moderate intensity, comparable benefits can be achieved through 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the week or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity.

4. Older adults should also undertake physical activity to improve muscle strength on at least two days a week.

5. Older adults at risk of falls should incorporate physical activity to improve balance and co-ordination on at least two days a week.

6. All older adults should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (sitting) for extended periods.