Kent Ramblers News
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 16
June 2021: White Cliffs Walking Festival
The festival, organised by the local White Cliffs
Ramblers group, is now in its 7th year and is one of the
top walking events of the year in the UK. In 2019
we attracted over 1250 delighted walkers visiting this
historical area from the far-flung corners of the UK and
abroad.
Centred on the historic towns of Dover, Deal,
Sandwich and Folkestone, this festival features 34 walks
ranging in length from 2 to 30 miles. Whatever
your walking ability or interest, we offer walks that
will tempt you to discover our beautiful coast and
nearby countryside. Immerse yourself walking among
Dover’s fascinating military fortifications or take in
the delightful coastal views. Most walks are free,
though a voluntary contribution would be appreciated
please. A few of our special guided walks cost a
very modest amount to cover the costs of specialist
speakers.
The Festival will take place from Thursday 26 August
to Tuesday 31 August 2021.
Visit us or contact the festival through our website
www.whitecliffswalkingfestival.org.uk. Booking
in advance is essential, a maximum of 20 on each walk.
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 5
May 2021: International Recognition for the Ramblers!
The French television channel France 2 contacted Kent
Ramblers to request an interview as part of a short
report for the evening news. The report was
highlighting the UK’s success in reducing the effects of
the pandemic and how normal life is now resuming.
As well as recordings in a care home and in a
vaccination centre, they wanted footage of a midweek
ramble in which an older tranche of the population was
involved.
As a former teacher of languages,
Colin Philpott of our Maidstone Group was happy to
discuss the arrangements with the French journalist and
suggested they come the next day to White Horse Country
Park, near Maidstone.
So, on Wednesday 5th May
two journalists joined Maidstone Group for the first
hour of their ramble along the North Downs. They spoke
to three of the Maidstone group and showed group shots
of the 25 participants enjoying the beautiful scenery.
The report is due to be broadcast on national TV
news next week.
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 19-25
April 2021: Canterbury Walking Week
Canterbury Ramblers and the Canterbury Rings team are
planning a new event, Canterbury Walking Week, to take
place in April. Full details are on the
Canterbury Rings
website.
Photograph: North Downs Way near Wye Crown
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12 February 2021: CPRE Sussex Festival of Spring
Countryside Talks ….
"Looking for lockdown entertainment? From the comfort
of your armchair, hear from inspirational people who
love nature, the countryside and the Sussex landscape
and help raise vital funds for a beautiful and thriving
Sussex countryside that enriches all our lives!
We have Sir Charles Burrell – rewilding pioneer, Prof
Dave Goulson – author and campaigner for Bumblebees and
all small creatures, our brilliant local crime novelist
– William Shaw and local Sussex historian and landscape
expert Dr Geoffrey Mead who will bring his enthusiasm
and knowledge to bear on all things Sussex.
Find out
more and book your tickets at:
https://www.cpresussex.org.uk/news/cpre-sussex-festival-of-spring/."
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24 December 2020: New Annual Review Published
Our 2020 Annual Review has been printed and is in the
post, so it should reach members between Christmas and
the New Year.
The Annual Review is also available to download here:
Higher
resolution version (38 MB)
Lower
resolution version (16 MB)
If you receive a paper copy but would prefer just the
on-line version next year, please email your membership
number and postcode to
nopaper@kentramblers.org.uk.
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 19
December 2020: Group Walks Suspended Again
Following a brief period when we were able to run led
walks again, the latest restrictions on meeting and
movement have forced us to suspend our programme again.
We currently have no idea when we might be able resume
this activity. You can still walk locally on your
own, with members of your household or with one person
from another household, provided that safe distancing is
exercised. There are many good walks on our
walking routes page
and we remain happy to supply the items listed on our
publications page.
Our Groups look forward to restarting led walks as soon
as they are permitted to do so.
Photograph shows Lower Halstow on the
Saxon Shore
Way.
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 10
September 2020: Lost Ways Update
Kent Rambers' Lost Ways project aims to identify
public rights of way that were omitted from the
definitive map when it was created in the 1950s and
1960s and apply to have them added before the 1 January
2026 deadline. For the past three years one of our
Vice Chairmen, Neville Machin, has been leading the
project. Neville has now handed over this
responsibility to Colin Sefton who can be contacted on
lostways@kentramblers.org.uk.
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 1 September 2020: High Weald Walking Festival
The High Weald Walking Festival was a highlight of
Autumn 2019 but this year the organising team felt that
it would be impractical to offer led walks while
complying with guidelines for meeting in groups and
ensuring everyone's safety from infection. Instead
the team has put together a "virtual" festival of fifty
self-led walking routes, available for the month of
September only. Please visit the
Festival web
site for more details.
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 19
August 2020: New Walking Guide Published
Kent Ramblers has today published a new walking guide
to the Tunbridge Wells Circular Walk. The 80 page
guide also includes a Tunbridge Wells Town Trail and six
Walks Through Time from Cranbrook. The guide
adopts the same style as our two previous guides with
full colour 1:25,000 mapping created especially for the
book using up to date Ordnance Survey data.
Although the cover price is £7.50, we are currently
offering the guide for £6.75 including P&P. For
more details please see our
publications page.
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28 May 2020: White Cliffs Walking Festival Cancelled
 Sadly
we have had to cancel this year's festival because of
the continuing restrictions on personal contact and
proximity due to the Covid-19 outbreak. We thank
everyone for their support and hard work and look
forward to seeing you at the 2021 festival.
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26 December 2019: Kent Ramblers' 2019 Annual Review
Published
The Annual Review is now available on-line.
There are two versions so that those with slow internet
connections can choose a smaller file but with poorer
quality images than the larger, higher resolution
version:
2019
Annual Review Hi Res (52MB)
2019
Annual Review Low Res (12MB)
Nearly 40 members have chosen to forego a paper copy
of the Annual Review and have on-line access only.
All other members should by now have received a copy in
the post.
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14 September 2019: Opening of the High Weald Walking
Festival
The Festival, organised by Sussex Ramblers, runs from
14 to 22 September, offering a choice of 46 walks over
nine days. Every walk has a theme. There are
easy walks, leisurely walks and moderate walks.
All offer lovely scenery and most are in the High Weald
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Outstanding it
certainly is.
There are more details here:
https://www.highwealdwalks.org/
Kent Ramblers will be at the launch at the Hub at
Quarry Farm in Bodiam – we hope to see you there.
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 22
August 2019: Opening of White Cliffs Walking Festival
Ramblers' Chair Kate Ashbrook today opened the sixth
annual White Cliffs Walking Festival. Immediately
after the brief ceremony at the bandstand on the sea
front at Deal the walkers departed on one of the three
walks scheduled to start from Deal that morning.
The festival runs until 28 August and more details can
be found at
www.whitecliffswalkingfestival.org.uk.
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 2
July 2019: Grand Opening of the Kearsney Loop
Ramblers's volunteers, Dover District Council
staff and military personnel gathered at Bushy Ruff
Country Park today for the opening of a new walking
route whose creation has been made possible by new
access arrangements across land owned by the Ministry of
Defence. The permissive path provides the missing
link in a 2.6 mile circular walk that previously
involved walking along a very busy road with no verge or
footway. To encourage more people to enjoy the
walk, volunteers from Ramblers' White Cliffs Group have,
with the support of the MOD's Defence Infrastructure
Organisation and Dover District Council, installed
gates, steps, posts and waymarks throughout the route
except for a short section within Bush Ruff
and adjoining Russell Gardens.
 Starting
close to Kearsney Abbey Gardens, the new route offers an
excellent opportunity for those amongst the many
visitors for whom a walk in the park is just a little
too tame to enjoy a health boosting extension offering
fine views up the Alkham Valley. With good train
and bus links and with an enlarged car park currently
under construction, the walk is readily available to a
large number of people in the Dover and Folkestone area.
Kent Ramblers has produced a leaflet to promote the
walk and describe the route and its points of interest.
You can dowload it here:
Kearsney
Loop Leaflet (7 MB download)
As well as being a part of the Kearsney Loop, the new
access arrangements create opportunities for longer
walks in this delightful part of Kent where the North
Downs approach the sea at the White Cliffs.
The pictures show today's opening ceremony and one of
the new posts bearing a waymark with the specially
designed Kearsney Loop logo.
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 The Canterbury Pilgrims Festival 12-15th June:
Celebrate Canterbury's Pilgrimage history and
traditions; there will be guided walks, talks and a
delicious feast.
Booking required per activity - don't miss out!
Find out more and book
http://www.bit.ly/CanterburyPilgrimsFestival
The programme can be
downloaded here.
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31 March 2019: White Cliffs Walking Festival
Planning
is well under way for this year's White Cliffs Walking
Festival and last week the organising team issued a media
release anticipating the pleasures in store for those
who take part. The full release is available
here.
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3 May 2019: Annual Footpath Meeting
The annual workshop for all those interested in
footpath matters in Kent will be held on 3 May 2019, as
usual in Lenham Community Centre. All are welcome
– you don't need to be a current volunteer although we
will be delighted if the meeting inspires you to offer
your time to help protect the county's paths.
Advance booking is essential: there are more details
here.
BOOKING ESSENTIAL BOOKING
ESSENTIAL
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1 January 2019: 2018 Annual Review Published
The 2018 Kent Ramblers Annual Review has been
published and posted to all our members. If you
are a member and have not received your copy then please
get in touch at
info@kentramblers.org.uk.
You can also view our Annual Review on this site.
The high resolution version is a huge download (over 180
MB) so we have provided a low resolution version too
(around 18 MB). You can view the versions using
the links below:
Annual
Review 2018 High Resolution
Annual
Review 2018 Low Resolution
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29 December 2018: Stepping Out Walk: Margate
The project's first winter walk for carers and those
they care for took place in Margate. Les Preston
from White Cliffs Group was there to help and sent these
photographs. For more information on Carers'
Walks, click here.
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17 October 2018: Evaluation Report on White Cliffs
Walking Festival 2018
For the sixth consecutive year volunteers from White
Cliffs Ramblers organised a very successful walking
festival during the week of the August Bank Holiday.
They have now evaluated the event and produced a
comprehensive report showing that despite rain on two
days the total number of walkers was 1201, only a slight
fall compared with the record 1252 of the preceding
year. The full report can be read
here.
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9 October 2018: Kent Ramblers publishes New Walking
Guide
 Kent
Ramblers has published a new walking guide, the Kent
Ramblers Guide to Three River Valley Walks in West Kent.
The guide describes the routes, attractions, history and
landscape of three fine walks:
- Darent Valley Path
- Eden Valley Walk
- Medway Valley Walk
The book follows the style of our successful
Guide to the Kent
Coast Path: Part 1 with specially created 1:25,000
maps, photographs and diagrams in full colour
throughout.
The previous guides to these walks produced by Kent
County Council have been out of print for many years.
Now all three walks are covered in one book, available
from our publications page
or from good bookshops online or in the high street.
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24 September 2018: North Downs Way Pilgrims Festival
2018
To
coincide with the 40th anniversary of the opening of the
North Downs Way, a week of celebrations will take place
from 24-30 September 2018: "a fun week of music, drama,
literature, medieval feasting, beer festival, and more
walks than you could shake a pilgrim stick at".
More details here.
The photograph shows the North Downs way near the
Devil's Kneading Trough.
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22 May 2018: White Cliffs Volunteers Fit New Gate
at Hoath
 The
photograph shows the team putting the finishing touches
to a new gate in place of a rickety old stile.
Ramblers volunteers regularly give up some of their
spare time to improve the paths for everyone.
Please join us to support their work – or even
step forward to become one of them.
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