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In 1967, a meeting was held at the Baptist
Church Hall in Newbury to discuss how best
to save the local footpaths in our parts, and on
Easter Monday the group went on their first walk
together – to Greenham Common.
The following year was an important one for
the group as it took on the challenge of
surveying the effect of the route of the new
M4 on the current footpaths.
Since then, the group now known as the West
Berkshire Ramblers have been involved in
actively campaigning on footpath and
countryside matters and regularly respond
to issues such as diversion proposals and
planning applications that may impact the
footpaths.
WORK UP AN APPETITE
Chatting to various members of the rambling
group, it doesn’t take long to realise that the
visits to the pub for lunches and drinks after
walks are – for some, at least – a very
important part of the appeal.
Most walks start and finish at a village pub and
usually those taking part that day need to put
in their lunch order before starting off, so the
kitchen doesn’t get overwhelmed when the
group arrives back en masse.
In fact, membership secretary Chris Reynolds,
who accompanied me on the walk, is also a
member of CAMRA and is the representative
for West Berkshire Brewery at meetings.
For him, his passion for preserving the
countryside goes hand-in-hand with supporting
the local pub communities and local produce –
especially beer.
If you really fancy working for your lunch, then
you should get involved with the work parties
that take place on alternate Fridays.
These heroes of the countryside spend the
morning inspecting the
paths in the area,
cutting back
vegetation and
replacing
waymarks,
before
meeting back
at a pub to
share their
progress
over a
snack.
The
association
also has a
team that works in collaboration with
West Berkshire Council, primarily tasked
with replacing stiles with gates, although it
occasionally installs other types of structures.
The team goes out 20 or so times a year
and since 2005 has completed more than
250 installations.
Chris Reynolds informs me that any members
of the public that discover paths that are badly
maintained should report their findings to the
council, who will then pass on details to the
relevant people.
Over the years, these referrals have led to
groups of volunteers taking out their tools
to hack back stinging nettles and brambles,
so that we can all enjoy using the footpaths
once again.
WALK THEWALK
On any given week, West Berkshire
Ramblers usually lead four or more walks.
While there can be variations, the general
annual programme is currently:
n
A morning walk of 5 to 6 miles each
Tuesday, followed by lunch.
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