eBoot – September 2019 This month’s edition includes: • Lake District trip, 2020 • Long weekend in Dartmoor, June 2020 • Zillertal Alps, 2019 • Bristol parks ! • Transport to shorter B walks • Notices • Books for walkers • Forthcoming walks • Commercial corner Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/bristolramblersgroup/ Lake District trip - 2nd–9th May 2020 There are a very few vacancies on the trip that Nigel Andrews will be leading, based in Ambleside. The programme includes classics such as the Fairfield Horseshoe and the fells around Kidsty Pike, as well as showcasing some lesser-known tops in walks starting from Ambleside, Grasmere and near Coniston. The walks are not the hardest the Lake District has to offer but still require a good standard of hill fitness. Those who completed the Bob Graham Round with John in May will only renew acquaintance with three fells from that route and will hopefully find many more to enjoy on this trip. To express an interest please contact Nigel on [email protected] or 0117 959 1701 as soon as possible. Please do not book any accommoda- tion until your place has been confirmed. Long weekend on Dartmoor - 12th-14th June 2020 There will be a long weekend of A walks on Dartmoor in June 2020. We will be based in Okehampton, where there is a range of accommodation. The programme of walks is still being developed, but it is likely that there will be a Ten Tors walk, a walk in the vicinity of Heytor, and a walk in the attractive countryside to the east of Dartmoor. If you would like to join this trip, please contact [email protected] com, [email protected] or [email protected]. It is hoped that this will be the first of a number of trips to areas that are just too far from Bristol to be sensible destinations for a single day walk, but are well worth visiting for two or three walks. Zillertal Alps - August 2019 Chris Sanders writes: we have been organising walking trips for the group !1 for a little while, and wanted to try a guided walking holiday organised by a tour operator. Initially we were a little concerned that not many people would be interested as these holidays are quite expensive. As it turned out, more people than we anticipated expressed an interest. We chose Mayrhofen in Austria as it was recommended by several people and it turned out to be a spot-on place for a group like us. As well as great walking, the resort offers all sorts of activities for rest days, and you don’t even need to be a walker to have a lovely holiday there. So was it a good idea to go away with HF? Yes, definitely because we liked: • A choice of Easy or Harder walks everyday, and High Routes walks avail- able • Walks were all guided by leaders • Breakfast and Dinner were included so we ate together every evening at the hotel. • There were social activities in the evening that were enjoyed by many • Transport was included so we didn’t have to worry about bus timetables. • We had price discounts as we booked as a group! • Magnificent environment and views at Mayrhofen • One of our members was able to switch to High Routes whilst on the holiday (depends on availability and acceptance by the leader) Things that didn’t go so well: • When we booked we didn’t know how much the flight cost would be. We were hoping we could take advantage of cheap flights with Easyjet but this didn’t materialise. • The flight schedule was changed and this caused extra cost to those us- ing a coach to get to the airport. • There was a delay on our outbound flight. By the time we got to the hotel it was 9:30 and we were all very tired. • HF’s group booking arrangements seem to be poorly communicated and poorly executed; this was a pain for the organisers, but this didn’t de- tract from the actual holiday. • There were insufficient single rooms so some people were unable to come. So what was the holiday like? We stayed at a very nice family run hotel which HF have been using for over 20 years. Mayrhofen is also a ski resort and quite low lying so there are several gondola lifts to whisk walk- ers up into the mountains. Valleys and mountains radiate from the town giving a wide choice of walks. Our walks included high rocky terrain, high grassy alms and steep-sided gorges as well as undulating valleys and plateaus. We used cable cars and/or minibuses to get to the start of the walks. Very often there were welcoming mountain huts with supplies of coffee, beer, apple strudel and Kaiserschmarrn. One walk crossed the Italian bor- der and people enjoyed pasta in an Italian hut! This and some other !2 walks started from a high valley with a hydro-electric dam. A spectacular mountain road had been built for the dam and we were taken up by minibuses. The road clung to the cliff-side and there were hairpins and three tunnels blasted through the rock to get us there, as well as ava- lanche shelters in the gorge lower down. As we walked up from the lake the views of the turquoise lake with glaciers behind were a sight to be- hold. In the evenings we had the option of activities like bowling, music and after-dinner strolls. It was great being with friends and this is why we did it, but we mixed very well with other people on the holiday. Mayrhofen is also very well equipped with lots of other activities to enjoy on the rest day. Some of us used our passes to go up in lifts, or on the railway to do more walks or travel on the steam train. The most adven- turous went paragliding and enjoyed it tremendously. Our return flight was scheduled for the evening and we had a jolly farewell lunch and congratulated each other on our success. Thank you to all who came along! Will there be another one? If you have suggestions for another holiday, or would like to organise one we’d be delighted: • If you are thinking of organising an HF holiday, Bristol Ramblers is now a Member of HF which means individual non-members don’t pay a book- ing fee on group bookings. • There were a limited number of single rooms and everyone else has to be prepared to share with another member of the group. • HF benefits have changed since we booked. For next year HF are offer- ing 5% discount for group bookings and £500 cashback for groups of 20 or more, subject to conditions. • Its probably too late for next year but, if you are going to book a group with HF, we suggest you talk to Chris or Ikuko who will help you ask questions before you start. • The Committee arranged that payments could be made into the Bristol Ramblers bank account. Bristol Parks Bristol City Council and Bath & Northeast Somerset Council have joined forces to develop a Parks Foundation to support parks across the two cities. This collaborative approach will test how public giving, volunteering and social enterprise can be encouraged to benefit parks for public use and enjoyment. These plans recognise prospect of continuing reductions in public spending, and a belief that historic arrangements may not have fully capitalised on the potential of Bristol’s parks. There is more information on the Bristol Parks Forum website. Linked to this, a more systematic approach is being adopted to providing opportunities for volunteers in Bristol’s parks. If you enjoy working !3 outdoors, making a positive contribution to the local environment, and enjoying good company, see www.bristol.gov.uk/museums-parks-sports- culture/volunteering-in-parks. Or join one of the local Ramblers footpaths maintenance groups: • Bath Ramblers Path Volunteers: [email protected] or 01225 483438 • Kingswood: [email protected] or 07745 118226 • Southwold Footpath Wardens: [email protected]. Transport for shorter B walks Carol Nichols, the coordinator for shorter B walks, writes: We are all very grateful to the many people who provide transport for walkers to the start point of our walks. I would just like to encourage other walkers who have cars to consider driving to the meeting place and making their car available for lifts to the start of walks. There have been a few occasions on shorter B walks when there have not been enough cars to transport the number of people who would like to go on the walk and, while this may not be completely soluble, if you do the shorter B walks and don’t currently drive on a Sunday it would be very much appreciated if you could do so occasionally. Notices Taunton Leisure The next Taunton Leisure 20% discount evening is on 5th September. Ramblers Roadshow – Saturday 26th October - Cirencester This year, the Cirencester event will be the nearest Roadshow to Bristol. Travel expenses can be claimed from the Ramblers. You can book at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ramblers-roadshow-gloucestershire-tickets-63729809576?ref=ecal. Options are: All day workshop: Walk Leadership Induction - the ethos behind being a Ramblers walk leader and the practicalities, legal requirements, ideas and some skills needed for planning and leading a walk. Partly based in the training room, and partly out walking. Designed to give a greater understanding of what makes a good walk, and how to go about delivering this, linking this knowledge to Ramblers guidelines, and best practice.