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Meeting Point
Initially walkers are asked to meet at the Penrith Rugby Club car park on the A686, Carleton Avenue *. The Rugby Club has asked the Penrith Group to meet on the left side of the car park entrance near to the road, where the walk-leader (or his/her representative) should be in order to arrange transport and pass on information on where to go. You may also park your car here, if you are getting a lift.
An exception to meeting at the rugby club is when you live near or on the way to the start of a walk, in which case you want to go straight to the start. You will probably need to contact the walk-leader the evening before to find out where to go and you are advised to inform the walk leader beforehand anyway, if you intend to do this, so that he/she can look out for you.
To cover parking charges (made by the Rugby Club), the group walk co-ordinator or, if he/she is not present, the walk leader should collect a small annual parking fee from those drivers who use the car park regularly. This should be handed over to the treasurer later.
(* Some of you may not know that our previous starting point was in the centre of Penrith at Southend Road. This is now part of a building project, which is in abeyance.) To Top
How to get there.
- Take the A6, going south from the town centre and after passing B & Q on the right, take the first left at the large roundabout, which is the A686, Carleton Avenue, sign posted to Alston and the Pennines. (Don't take the A66 dual carriageway.) After passing the entrance to the police station on the right, ignore the next turn on the left and look out for a 'deceleration' lane cut into the verge on the left. Take this and then turn left into the Rugby Club carpark.
- If you approach this island going east on the A66. The A686 that you require is the second left.
- If you approach this island from Eamont Bridge take the 3rd on the left and from A66 travelling west, take the 4th on the left.
- You can approach the Rugby Club from the other direction. If you enter the A686 from any road to the east and north of it, (such as Carlton Road), turn right. Look out for the farm shop on your left. The Rugby Club carpark is a further 150 yards or so on your right.
Unfortunately, this new meeting point is some way out of the centre of Penrith and so those who live centrally and would normally walk to the meeting point are advised to seek a lift from a fellow rambler driving in from their side of town.
A map of Penrith, showing the A686 and the position of the Rugby Club, can be referred to.
Tips on meeting the first time.
The Penrith Ramblers arrange four walks (sometimes five) every Wednesday and one every Saturday, throughout the year, except for a few days near Christmas. In summer there are also walks on Thursday evenings. Each set of walks, e.g. Saturday, Wednesday: A walk party , Wednesday: B+ walk party, etc. has its own walks co-ordinator. On some Sundays a set of extra walks following a particular route, may be planned, e.g. Hadrian's Wall, Isaac's Tea Trail (2009) and Cumbria Way (2010). These extra walks are listed in the walks programme with the rest. For further information on walks, use the link to the page: 'Guide Lines to walks'.
The Walks' Programme lists the times that the various walking parties leave the car park. It should not be too difficult to locate a group of walkers (carrying rucksacks ) and introduce yourself to them. You will need to ask for the correct walking party as there can be more than one assembled there at the same time. Try to get there at least 5 minutes before the stated leaving time, so that you can meet the leader (or his/her representative) to arrange transport. This could mean you will be leaving your car at the car park and taking a lift with somebody else. Alternatively, you could be the one giving the lift. If the latter, make sure you (or a passenger) know where the start of the walk is and how to get there. A small contribution by passengers towards the driver's fuel costs of the journey is expected.
For a day's walk, you should bring a packed lunch and plenty to drink, especially if it is a hot day. It is usual to have a lunch stop and at least one drinks stop during the walk and the leader usually arranges to have a stop at a cafe/pub after the walk.
Walking boots are essential and a leader may refuse you on a walk if you do not have them. A change of footwear, especially if you are having a lift is recommended. For information on walking gear and equipment go to the link: 'Walking Equipment'.
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Contacting walk leaders and/or walk co-ordinators.
The telephone number of the walk leader of each walk is given on the walks' programme. Alternatively go to a separate list of telephone numbers of present walk leaders and walk co-ordinators.
If you are in the Penrith area and wish to look at this list, then copies of the walks' programme together with telephone numbers can be found at the Information Centre in Penrith, the Library in Penrith and at 'Penrith Outdoor Sports' in Middlegate. The Library and the Information Centre may get a copy of the walks' programme for you. (They can be printed from the web site, if all their copies have been taken.) Before going on a walk for the first time, prospective members should ring up the leader of the walk, that they propose to go on, the evening before, in order to confirm the walk is still as stated in the programme and if there are any difficulties on the walk, such as scree, boggy ground etc. Also, by doing this, the leader will know of your intentions to go on his/her walk and can look out for your arrival the next day.
If you live some distance from Penrith, you may find it convenient to go directly to the start of the walk. Clearly, you will have to contact the leader (the evening) before the walk to find where the walk actually starts. However, if the weather forecast for the day of the walk is poor, the leader may not wish to commit him/herself to a particular walk in case the weather turns out to be unsuitable on the day and a different walk has to be substituted instead. In such cases you may have to check early on the morning of the walk to see if it has been changed or you may even have to travel to the initial meeting point, because the leader may wish to consult with other walkers before making a decision to change the walk or not. Try contacting the appropriate walks' co-ordinator for information, if the walk-leader cannot be reached. This can occur if the original walk leader is indisposed and another leader has been appointed instead. The walks programme on this site will usually indicate changes of walk leader, if the webmaster is informed in reasonable time.
(Note: the copy of this walks programme on the Area Site will not show these changes!)
The walk co-ordinators are:
Saturdays: John Upson
Wednesday walk parties: A: David Dixon, B+: Polly Allen, B: Keith Scott, C: Marjorie Oakey.
Thursdays, (in Summer only): Mary Teasdale.
Sundays: these are extra walks with a theme sometimes put on by Graham Allan and Stewart Rainbow.
(Use link above for telephone numbers.)
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Contacting Chairman and Secretaries of Penrith Ramblers.
The Chairman is Graham Allan. He can be contacted by telephone on 01768 890390,
or by e-mail.
There are four secretaries.
The Membership Secretary, John Walker, welcomes new members and prospective members, supplies application forms to join Ramblers, mails the group's newsletters, walks' programmes etc. every four months and updates the walks' programme. He can be contacted on 01768 895328, who can also be contacted by e-mail. (He is also the webmaster for this web site.)
The Footpaths Secretary, Alan Duval, is involved with the planning of rights of way, changes to routes of paths and deals with obstructed paths and defective crossing points such as collapsed bridges.. Any obstructions or defects should be reported to him on 017684 83727,
or by e-mail.
The Walks' Programme Secretary is Janet Arnison.. She puts together the overall walks' programme and can be contacted by telephone on 01931 714305.
Last but not least is the Secretary Dave Dixon., who deals with all other matters not dealt with by the previous three secretaries, especially subject matter not on the web site. He can be contacted by telephone on 01768 863155,
or by e-mail. Note, he does not deal with the membership.
20 to 30 year olds.
Summit Good is a group in the Lake District area of Ramblers, set up specifically for those in their 20s to 30s. For more information you can contact their present membership secretary, Anne Key, by e-mail or try phoning 01931 713608. The group has a blog on www.sumittgood.blogspot.com.
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Contacting Ramblers.
Use this link to contact Ramblers for more information on the organisation nationally. Applying to join Ramblers.
For an Application Form to join Ramblers or further assistance with the Walks' Programme:
please ring the
Membership Secretary, John Walker on 01768 895328,
who can also be contacted by e-mail.
Alternatively, you can also join Ramblers via their web site. When you go to their web site, select 'Join today' and then 'Join on line now'. This enables you to print out an application form. (A new paperless direct debit system is planned, which, when installed, means that new members will be able to pay by direct debit without having to fill in a joining form.)
Costs of joining 'Ramblers' changed on 1st October 2009. The new costs are as follows
Individual £29.50, individual concessionary £17.50 *
Joint £39.50, joint concessionary £23.50 * (joint is for 2 adults at the same address.)
Joint Life £775 (or £400 if both members are aged 60 or over).
* 'Ramblers' state that concessionary rates are available for students, people on means tested benefit or solely reliant on the state pension. These rates do not apply to overseas members.†
(† Note: prior to October 2009, 'concessionary' rates were called 'reduced' rates. 'Reduced' rates were defined as being intended for people who, through whatever circumstances, could not afford the standard rate.)
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Why not pay by direct Debit?When your fee is due, Ramblers will write to let you know and it will be debited from your account. This is beneficial to both you and Ramblers.
- You will not have to send in a cheque or give credit card details over the phone or online each time renewal is due and if you are a new member you get 1 month free membership. (If you are nervous about this method of payment, you can cancel it any time.)
- Ramblers will save on their administration costs, so your fee will go further.
- Further reminders will not have to be sent out to those, who forget to send off their renewal fee.
When joining Ramblers, you will be placed in the group allocated to the catchment area, in which you live, unless you specify that you want to be in a different group. A brief description of the catchment area covered by the Penrith Group is on the web page Introduction.
Note: - You do not have to make separate applications to join both Ramblers nationally and a local group.
- Being a member of the Penrith Group does not stop you going on walks organised by other groups and vice versa.
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