Some of you know that Kate Valaer of Denver, Colorado, contacted the Penrith Ramblers, having seen our web site in the USA, and asked if she could join us on one of our walks, while she was holidaying in the UK. Kate is a strong walker and with no 'A' walks available on the Wednesday that she was in Penrith, she was welcomed to go on Mike Winn's 'B+' walk to the Yorkshire Dales. She says she really enjoyed the walk and would be more than happy to return the favour by taking Penrith group members (or members of other Ramblers' groups) hiking in the Rockies, if they ever plan to go to Denver. She is also happy to give information on hiking in the area. Kate is an experienced walk leader, where in the last month, since returning to the USA, she has led 3 hikes (to Boulder Lake, Herman Lake (12,000 feet) and Uneva pass) and also been to James Peak (13,294 feet). Because the hikes start at a high altitude, the total height gain is about 3000 feet with distances up to 12.5 miles. (Hiking in winter, even at lower levels, will probably need specialist equipment). The views can be fantastic - see photos 23 and 24 on 'Penrith Ramblers Photos' web page. If anybody would like to contact Kate, her e-mail address can be obtained from John Walker, Membership Secretary and web site manager. (25th Aug 08)
A new set of photographs have replaced the previous set, which have been placed on 'fotopic'. If you wish to see any previous sets of photos, go to 'Penrith Ramblers Photos' web page, which has a link to 'fotopic'. (25th Aug 08)
Newsletter Update: It is now the July 2008 copy. (31st July)
Change of meeting point.
Because of the new shopping development, our usual meeting point at Southend Road carpark, Penrith, is not now available. Hence, ramblers are asked to meet at the Rugby Club on Carleton Avenue, (A686). Details of how to get there are on the web page 'Contacting Penrith Group'.
Those who would normally walk to Southend Road could try to get a lift from a fellow rambler, who lives on the north side of town.
Until this change of venue is generally known, leaders (or a representative) are asked to check for ramblers at Southend Road, so that no ramblers are left behind, even if this causes some delay in leaving for the walk. (11th July, 2008)
A celebratory day to commemorate 25 years of the Penrith Ramblers has been organised for Saturday 6th September 2008. The day will include a B+ walk and a gentler B/C grade walk, each starting from and finishing at Melmerby Village Hall where supper will follow at 6 p.m.
The B+ walk will be led by Graham Allan, starting at 10 p.m. and finishing at 4.30 p.m.
The B/C walk will be led by Stewart Rainbow, starting at 2.00 p.m. also finishing at 4.30 p.m.
Details of the buffet meal, costing £11.50 per head, and how to reserve places for the meal, will be included with the next news letter out in late July. Cheques payable to Ramblers Association and a stamped addressed envelope will need to be sent to Stewart Rainbow by 22nd August
Mark a space for the event in your calendar, now! (4th July 2008)
Reluctantly, pictures have been removed from the section of the web site. dealing with 'attractions in the region' i.e Lakes, Dales, etc. This is to reduce the amount of memory used when these pages are downloaded, and will lessen the chance of exceeding the memory allocation supplied by the present web host, 123-reg.co.uk. The site was closed down by the web host in May and June for this reason. Relevant technical information on the Site Management page has also been removed. It is hoped to re-introduce the pictures at a later date. (1st July, 2008)
The memory limit purchased from the web site host was exceeded in May, which meant that the web site was shut down with over 10 days in the month still to run! However, after extra memory was purchased, the site was soon back on line.
The reason for exceeding the limit was two fold.
a.) The number of visits to the site increased to over 2800 in May, with the number of hits exceeding 28,500.
b.) the memory downloaded per visit also increased, probably due to some of the web pages' extra content.
Apologies go to those who were inconvenienced by the site being down. (5th June, 2008)
Extra sections on 'Preventing aches after a walk' and 'Recognition and prevention of possible medical problems' have been added to the web page, 'Guide lines to walks'. (10th April 2008)
In compliance with a decision by the committee, an extra web page showing the latest newsletter has been added to the website. This newsletter can be viewed in both HTML and PDF format. (The latter format shows the newsletter in its original layout.) (25th March.)
The result of 'overhauling' the website technically and having some old material updated eventually found its way onto the internet on 25th March. The new walks programme for May to August was added at the same time.
Thumbnail images have now been added to all the web pages forming the three Fs - 'physical features and facilities' - of the Penrith walks' region. Clicking on any of these will overlay an enlargement of the thumbnail, assuming javascript is enabled. Any body who would like to contribute relevant photographs is very welcome to do so. (25th March 2008)
A new set of photographs, replacing those put on the site on 3rd September 2007, was added on 21st January. 2008.
Advert for walking holiday in the Vanoise National park, French alps, was added in January 2008. See 'Adverts 'below.
A copy of an email about a walking holiday in North Wales has been added. See 'Adverts' below. (October 2007)
A section on Open Access Land, - your rights and obligations - was added to the 'Guide Lines to Walks' page in October 2007.
Ancillary information on how to enable Javascript together with information on the risks involved was added in October 2007.
Graham Allan has kindly answered the call by Ron Lyon for volunteers to help with the on-going walk book project (October 2007.)
A section on using a GPS was added to the 'Walking Equipment' page in September 2007.
A printout facility making it easier to print out any one-month of walks in tabular form was added to the walks page. (3rd May 2007)
Advert for walking holiday in Serbia has been added. See 'Adverts' below. (March 2007)
A slideshow facility was added to the 'Penrith Ramblers Photos' web page in mid February 2007..
Deleted photos from the site have not been lost altogether! Each set of deleted photos is now stored on a site run by Photopic. Details of how to view them are on the 'Penrith Ramblers Photos' web page. This facility is free and has been available since mid February 2007. However it is clear that not many know this yet!
On 17th December, 2006, a facility to check out a grid refence was added to the map reading section of the Map and Compass work page. This can be accessed from the section relating to 'Compass' on the 'Walking Equipment' page.
A facility to select the OS map (or maps) relevant for a particular walk was added to the mapping facility. Further details are given on the 'Site Management' page. (7th October 2006)
A mapping facility has been installed on the 'Walks ' Programme' page. You need javascript to be enabled to use it, otherwise the information displayed will not have altered and you should notice no difference.(2nd September 2006)
Now that Mary Teedale has resigned as Social Secretary we have a vacancy. Any volunteers?
After the talk on 'Mountain Safety', some of you may be interested in improving your skills in 'Basic Life Support ', including mouth to mouth resuscitation, chest compression and the recovery position. Free courses are available in Penrith at the BEEP Fund, part of the Birkbeck medical group. A number of Penrith ramblers have already attended courses.
The Footpath secretary, Alan Duval works deals quietly and efficiently with Footpaths and Rights of Way issues for the Penrith Group. The work load is now getting too much for one person and Alan is seeking others to help him with the work. A suggestion is to split the Penrith Group's area into three and have a footpath secretary to deal with each area. Those who volunteer will not be thrown straight into the deep end, as Alan will still be available to give guidance and advice. If you want more information on what is involved, please contact Alan on 017684 83727. (Message dated 09/03/06)
