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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.) 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.
The new meeting point is some way out of the centre of Penrith and so those who do not wish to use their own transport and find walking too far are advised to seek a lift from a fellow rambler driving in from their side of town.
A basic map of Penrith , showing the A686 and the position of the Rugby Club, can be referred to.
If you have javascript enabled and (Adobe) flash player installed, you can use a commercial map by Yahoo instead.
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.
Copies of the walks' programme can be found at the Information Centre, Middlegate Penrith, 'Penrith Outdoor Sports', also in Middlegate and the Library in Penrith. 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 Lake District Area website is not updated, so will not show these changes!) The walk co-ordinators are listed below.
Saturdays: John Upson - telephone no. 01768 863538.
The walk co-ordinators of the 4 Wednesday walk parties are: A: David Whittaker - telephone no. 01768 866225. B+: Polly Allen - telephone no. 01768 840016. B: Keith Scott - telephone no. 01768 867112. C: Marjorie Oakey - telephone no. 01768 890194.
Thursdays, (in Summer only): Mary Patmore - telephone no. 01768 897074.
Sundays: these are extra walks with a theme sometimes put on by Graham Allan - telephone no. 01768 890390.
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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 five 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 database. He can be contacted by telephone on 01768 895328 or by e-mail.
For detailed information go to 'Membership Secretary's Role'.
(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 by telephone on 017684 83727,
by e-mail. or by using a Path Problem Report Form specially produced for this purpose.
The Walks' Programme Secretary is Janet Arnison. She puts together the overall walks' programme and can be contacted by telephone on 01931 714305.
The Social Secretary, Sarah Cantrell, is involved with organising social events. You can contact her by telephone on
017684 86282,
or by e-mail.
Last but not least is the Secretary David Dixon, who deals with the minutes of the AGM and committee meetings and all other matters not dealt with by the previous four 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. To Top
20 to 30 year olds.
Summitt 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 go to their blog on www.sumittgood.blogspot.com. This gives details of latest walks, lots of pictures and contact information.
Contacting 'Ramblers'.
Use this link to contact 'Ramblers' website for more information on the organisation nationally.
The postal address is: Ramblers,
2nd Floor, Camelford House,
87 - 90 Albert Embankment,
London, SE1 7TW. |
Telephone Number is: 020 7339 8500
Email address: ramblers@ramblers.org.uk Existing members:
Please inform 'Ramblers' of any change of address or change in circumstances as soon as possible. Please remember to state your membership number. Informing Ramblers means that its database is kept correct and that copies of the 'Walk' magazine and other correspondence can be addressed correctly. Those who pay subscriptions by cheque should aim to pay within a month after the due date otherwise they are deemed 'Payment Pending' and are not counted as part of the membership. (N.B. 'Ramblers' will inform your membership secretary of any changes to its database, including payments, so that he/she can update his/her records. Informing your membership secretary about a change of address but not informing 'Ramblers' will not only lead to a mismatch in these records but will result in the membership secretary receiving incorrect address labels for mailing. Ramblers' used to send to membership secretaries a list of existing members but not anymore. Hence these address labels act as a membership check, so such errors should be avoided.) Applying to join Ramblers. (Updated October 2010)
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 go to the section Contacting 'Ramblers' above and use the link to their web site. When you go to their 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 2010. The new costs are as follows:
Individual £31, which is reduced to £21 in first year, when you pay by Direct Debit,
Joint † £41, which is reduced to £31 in first year, when you pay by Direct Debit,
Individual Life £685 (or £340 if aged 60 or over),
Joint Life † £815 (or £420 if both members are aged 60 or over),
Individual concessionary £19.50, *
Joint concessionary † £25.50. *
†Joint is for 2 adults at the same address.
* 'Ramblers' state that concessionary rates are available for full time students, people on means tested benefits 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. Prior to October 2010, people paying by Direct Debit received 13 month's membership instead of 12 in the first so-called 'year'. This has been removed but the reduced subscription now on offer in the first year of membership more than compensates. This new incentive to pay by Direct Debit, will reduce the time new members paying by Direct Debit are notified that they have joined Ramblers. This is because the extra month of membership on offer previously was achieved by delaying the start of the Direct Debit payment by a month and so notification was delayed by a month too!
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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 get a worthwhile saving on your subscription in the first year.
- You will not have to send in a cheque or give credit card details over the phone or online each time renewal is due. (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 might otherwise 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.
Contacting Tourist Information Centre, Penrith.
The Tourist Information Centre, (T.I.C.), Penrith, keeps copies of the Penrith Ramblers walks' programmes. Because these may run out or become out of date, updated versions of any month of the programme may be available. This depends on the goodwill of the staff and their being able to print out a copy from the Penrith ramblers website.
Visitors to the T.I.C. can get leaflets on facilities in the area, including information on boarding house vacancies.
The T.I.C. is located at the north-west end of Middlegate, just below its junction with Brunswick Road, Penrith. You could use the link to the map in the section 'How to get there' to locate this junction. (Note: 'How to get there' refers to the Penrith meeting point and not the T.I.C. in Penrith.)
The T.I.C. is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and on Sundays from 11 am to 4 pm.
Telephone number: 01768 867466. Email: pen.tic@eden.gov.uk.
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