Marsden Walkers are Welcome had a great day at the Marsden anniversary celebrations, held at the Watersedge Cafe at Standedge. The occasion was to celebrate the anniversary of the re-opening of the Standedge Tunnel (Britain’s longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel) and Yorkshire Day. It was great to see it so busy and to see Robbie Cummings from Canal Boat Diaries reenact the opening of Standedge Tunnel.
It was also a fabulous opportunity to meet lots of people and talk about what we do!
As the new Westmorland and Furness Unitary Council was taking shape, David Pitt, author of the Pennine Journey and Howgill and Limestone Trail guides, came up with a truly inspired idea of a long-distance footpath running the full length of the new authority, creating a shared sense of identity, pride, and unity.
His proposed route would begin in Alston, follow the Pennine Journey to Kirkby Stephen, then link with other established long-distance trails including the Howgill and Limestone Trail and the Dales Highway, finishing in the historic grounds of Furness Abbey. David even suggested adding a trip on the Windermere ferry for an extra dash of enjoyment.
Ann Sandell, Chairman of Kirkby Stephen & District Walkers are Welcome, immediately recognised the potential of this vision and took it straight to Sam Plum, Chief Executive of the newly formed council. As departments were established and councillors elected, the idea gathered momentum. Funding was applied for, and with the combined efforts of numerous teams, particularly including Countryside Access, the Westmorland and Furness Way is now ready to be launched on Tuesday 15th September at the Sedbergh Walking and Wellbeing Festival. To mark the occasion, Kirkby Stephen has been invited to host a celebratory walk along the Church Brough to Kirkby Stephen section of the Pennine Journey. This special event will take place on Thursday 17th September, joined by Cumbria Tourism and representatives of the Pennine Journey Supporters Club. This approximately 4.5 mile linear walk has been timed to connect conveniently with the 563 Stagecoach bus, leaving Kirkby Stephen at 09:49, meeting in Church Brough at 10:15 for a 10:30 start. If you would like to join the walk, please contact waw@uppereden.org.uk
The updated map now proudly shows the Westmorland and Furness Way alongside the many long-distance trails accessible from Kirkby Stephen, reinforcing our reputation as a true walking hub.
Kirkby Stephen & District Walkers are Welcome would like to express heartfelt thanks to everyone who has contributed to bringing this exciting new route to life.
Don’t you just love it when construction workers see a public right of way as a nice, flat, readymade surface on which to park their fencing; these construction workers blocking not one, but two connecting countryside rights of way at Whitchurch Hampshire, severing the promoted Test & Dever Way long distance trail.
Jackie Browne, the local WaW co-ordinator thanked Borough Councillor Chloe Ashfield and the Basingstoke and Deane Enforcement Team for reacting within 24 hours of her phone call. The developers, by not keeping the public right of way open, were informed that they were currently in breach of their planning permission and were served a two week Enforcement Notice.
Shick-Shack Day in Hampshire is the traditional name for Oak Apple Day, which is celebrated annually on 29th May to mark King Charles II’s birthday and his restoration to the the throne (after hiding in an oak tree during the Civil War).
Following the Civil War Oliver Cromwell’s protectorate had closed the pubs and ale houses, closed the theatres, banned holidays & music in public places, banned most sport and ladies the make-up had to go. As if that wasn’t enough, they also banned Christmas and Easter Feasts! When Charles II was returned to the throne, the country basically got its ‘fun’ back…. Oak Apple Day is all about having FUN.
Traditionally Oak Apple Day was marked by village celebrations and people wearing oak leaves or ‘oak apples’ (galls) to show loyalty, while those who didn’t, risked being nettled and yelled at with “shick-shack”.
This old celebration is still enacted in parts of Hampshire and it’s great to see how the youngsters and not so young in Whitchurch, Hampshire are helping to keep this old tradition alive……
Whitchurch After School Club and the young people from Montessori Nursery learnt about the king in the tree and produced this amazing display for the Town Hall… thanks went to Whitchurch in Bloom for assembling the art work; residents hit the walking trails searching out the Parishes oaks and Whitchurch Walkers are Welcome footpath team celebrated with an away day to nearby Goodworth Clatford to admire the village’s ancient oak still thriving in the riverside meadow and, following a short walk criss crossing the chalk stream, they finished up at the Royal Oak Goodworth Clatford for lunch… a very pleasant way to start planning this year’s footpath cutting.
Did you know that the Royal Oak is one of the most common pub names in the United Kingdom, and if you ever pass by a public house bearing that name, you will now know the fascinating story behind it and how it links back to one of the most turbulent and important periods of British history.
How did you celebrate ‘Shick Shack’ – Oak Apple Day?
A Favourite walk offered as part of this year’s Coleford Area Walking Festival, was the walk up Plump Hill, Flaxley & Abenhall.
The view over Flaxley was really impressive from the top of the hill; the vines were maturing well and locals are now looking forward to this year’s harvest.
St Anthony’s Well is also worth a visit if you are in the area – many local people remember this as the spring water from their youth.
The seasonal shades of green are at their best in Walking Festival time…. look out for next year’s event.
On the 14th May, as part of the Coleford Area Walking Festival, a walk was organised to Perry Hay Beavers, Spruce Ride & Russells Inclosure.
Walkers loved the beaver enclosure at Perry Haye where they benefited from the expert knowledge on hand to inform the group about this second beaver introduction to the Forest. This couple have successfully bred and the group is now really changing the area’s water system. This dam is a great example of how they can slow the flow and reduce the risk of flooding downstream.
On 27th May, Stuart, one of the team from Coleford Welcomes Walkers was the star of the show on BBC Gloucestershire If anyone would like to listen to him talking about Coleford Welcomes Wakers, follow this link which is available for 30 days:
To hear Stuart’s interview fast forward to 1:20:00.
Langholm Walks Group have been working in co-operation with Tarras Valley Nature Reserve in Langholm to provide 5 new Recycled Plastic Seats for the lower part of the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve.
These seats have been provided by Langholm Rotary Club and a local family. They were placed on the reserve this week in glorious weather and have already been much admired.
As part of the Coleford Area Walking Festival, a group of 6 walkers participated in a walk of 5.5 miles approx. exploring locations with a historic link around the southern and eastern fringes of Coleford. You can walk this route using Coleford Hidden Heritage App (free to download.)
Their route encompassed visiting and learning a little about both large listed sites, including Darkhill Ironworks and the Titanic Steelworks, and other locations of cultural significance to the Coleford area, such as the Broadwell Memorial Hall and Evergreen Hall.
Intermixed with these locations, the group walked though some of the Forest’s amazing natural landscape – all this on a sunny day in May!
Early last Saturday morning, Marsden Walkers are Welcome organised and led walks on Marsden Moor on behalf of World Curlew Day 2026 and Curlew Action.
Around fifty people booked for the walks, so two parties headed onto the moors with 25 in each group, led by Marsden WaW members. The great news was that both groups saw Curlews, and were also rewarded with hearing their haunting, melancholic calls. The bad news, as it were, is that this fantastic bird is very much endangered.
It’s thanks to the founder of Curlew Action, Mary Colwell, that the plight of the Eurasian Curlew is being addressed in a range of ways. Mary and some of the Curlew Action team joined the walk – it was a real pleasure to meet them and show them this corner of the English uplands and moors.
The basis for the route – which was 6 miles with some steep elevation and great views up on the moors – was the ‘Swellands Walk’ route that MWaW devised a few years back. But as Swellands reservoir is now being abandoned and returned to moorland by Yorkshire Water, Marsden Walkers are Welcome are looking to rename the walk the ‘Curlew Walk’, as suggested by Mary at Curlew Action. A great name for it and a way to raise awareness of Curlew Action, and of course, this lovely bird.
Mary Colwell established World Curlew Day in 2017, and Curlew Action now promotes this day every year with events and competitions. It is a day to celebrate and raise awareness about Curlews across the globe and a fantastic opportunity to tell their stories. Curlews everywhere are in serious trouble, but there are many creative ways to help them.
