The RWP started in August 2003 and by July 2009 finished working through the 63 parishes in West Berkshire.  We started to go round again and are well into the second circuit having just completed the 23rd parish.  The group meets fortnightly and uses the database held by West Berkshire Council (WBC).   Every path in the parish is walked, checked against the database and low level maintenance carried out.  A sub group, under the leadership of Colin Honeybone, has been steadily putting in a variety of installations, mainly gates, and the 150th installation has recently been completed.

The group has recently enjoyed returning a footpath to its correct, definitive line and this will provide a good route from a housing estate to Paices Wood. Paices Wood is a rather attractive but hidden, woodland park situated behind Young’s Industrial estate in Aldermaston, which now has a brand new entrance facilitating access without having to drive through the industrial estate. The park is described in the following leaflet: Download here

In 2005 The Ramblers awarded us ‘The Group of the Year’ for our work with ROWs. The Ramblers were especially interested in our way of organising the group.  Any one who is a member of the Ramblers Association and is interested is welcome to come along to a work party. He or she may come to every session or only two or three each year as their other commitments permit.  This relaxed way of working has proved to be very successful.

A small number of Ramblers continue to work with volunteers from the Phoenix Centre in Newbury which supports adults with learning disabilities. This group also meets fortnightly and is used by WBC to carry out ROW maintenance, usually in response to a condition report from a member of the public.

West Berkshire Ramblers (WBR) responded to the RA Challenge ‘Use Your Paths’ by asking members to walk all their grid squares against WBC database, as it was felt this was more productive than just walking grid squares.  Our number of grid squares in West Berkshire was 504 and this covered 32 parishes.  We managed to complete the project by the end of 2007 and those involved in the project found it to be interesting and enjoyable.

Fiona Walker

The Rambler’s Work Party

Next time you are on Snelsmore Common do look out for our Fiona's gate

This map of West Berkshire parishes indicates the progress made in footpath clearance. We have now completed all the Parishes apart from Basildon which is dealt with by local volunteers and Beech Hill which is dealt with by a single local volunteer.

And now we are well on our way round a second time!

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The 150th Gate Installation

The 11th day of the 11th month of the 11th year wasn’t only a good and auspicious date for millions of Chinese people, it was pretty good for the West Berks Ramblers too. We installed our 150th gate!

Our Ramblers’ Working Party has three arms – ROAR (Rangers’ Official Active Response); Path clearing and Gate building. ROAR is comprised of Ramblers and people with LD who give their time to litter picking and tidying paths too (more about this in a future article). Most volunteers help on path clearing to keep accessible rights of way which the local council has pointed up as needing attention but there is a much smaller bunch of gallant workers within the team, led by the inimitable Colin Honeybone, who bend their mighty muscles, and expertise, to repairing, replacing and installing new gates across West Berkshire.

The gate-building group and path clearers all labour on the same fortnightly Friday morning but don’t very often meet up because they’re working to a different programme. We made an exception in November though when we all came together to celebrate the momentous occasion of our century and a half.

The weather was glorious, bright sunshine and not a cloud in the sky as we took a lovely walk through the countryside to meet up with the gate installers just as they were finishing their work at mid-day, stopping along the way for the minute’s silence at 11. This annual momentary quiet is always poignant but to stand in silent commemoration of all the people who have given so much for us to stand safely and happily in such beautiful, serene surroundings was really moving.

Everything went according to plan and we met up just as the last hammer blows were being struck. Members of the local authority’s rights of way team came out to meet us too and after loads of photos we all wandered down to a local pub for a well deserved lunch. Complete, naturally, with a celebration cake which Fiona Walker, the RWP leader and coordinator, had ordered for us. It seemed a shame to spoil  the decoration but we soon mastered our concern about that and demolished the lot!

Our first gate was installed in 2005 so we’re averaging 25 a year. If we keep up that pace – here’s to our 200th in 2014. Cheers!