The Oak is a fine establishment, boasting the largest beer garden in the country.  We will have exclusive use of an outside area, where BBQ food will be served in the (hopefuly) glorious sunshine, and will also have some quality tunes indoors for those who want to work up an appetite.

Tickets will soon be available from committee members, and some walk leaders, at the spectacularly good value price of £10 per person.  Take a Hike members may purchase tickets for themselves and one guest, so please have your ramblers membership card handy.

The photo is from a group walk near Pately Bridge, taken by our Web Secretery Dave who also produces the literature for the Yorkshire “Area” Ramblers.  Though this isn’t the first time that Take A Hike have appeared on the front cover: the previous Winter edition featured a snowy scene by our Walks Secretary Rob Dearden.

The Walks Diary contains details of hundreds of walks lead by all the Ramblers groups in our area.  Unfortunately, Take A Hike don’t include their walks in the diary as they have to be planned 6 months in advance to be included!  If you haven’t recieved your copy through the post, you can also download it as a PDF here.

The workshop is for both new-comers to walk leading, and experienced leaders alike.  Read more here.

From 7:30pm until 10:30pm.  Join us in many traditional Scottish, English and American country dances.  No partners needed.

OPEN TO MEMBERS AND NON-MEMBERS OF TAKE A HIKE!

Tickets £10.  Email: n.chester@o2.co.uk

(full details here http://www.takeahike.org.uk/socials/?id=1489)

With good health, weather and a new car needing a run out, I headed off to Malham with a couple of friends to see if I could still walk up hills. On reaching Gordale Scar (which we elected to miss climbing up due to the ice and my lack of fitness) we took the path around and headed to take a look at the waterfall and those who had climbed from the bottom. With the prospect of lunch and more delicious cake, we set off back up the climb when I lost my footing on the wet rocks and fell around 2m to the base of the waterfall. Luckily, rescue came swiftly as I was pulled out of the water, checked over and patched up with a makeshift sling made from waterproof trousers. At this point, I was getting cold so we managed to climb (very slowly) to open ground to get a mobile signal which wasn’t proving to be an easy job.

By the time we had reached the road, the ambulance was just arriving, as was the air ambulance and cave rescue, but I was more concerned with inhaling drugs and watching my clothing being cut to shreds. It all became a little fuzzy then, but I did make it to Airedale hospital for x-rays and to be told I had broken my shoulder.

I felt I had to write something as we all probably get a little complacent with heading out into the Dales at the weekend and not taking enough gear. Thankfully, there have been few incidents and always someone skilled when things have gone wrong, but this accident really brought home what could happen. Therefore, I have decided to make a donation to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance to help keep this vital service in the air. I would like to urge anyone who can to do likewise: www.justgiving.com/rabman

I would also like to thank Mike and Lindsay for all their help, getting my car back safe, and staying around until early evening. Another account of the accident can be found here.

David Husband

The role of Footpath Secretary is a new one for Take A Hike.  Steve will be our group point of contact for any footpath problems you find, from dangerous stiles to obstructed footpaths. Steve is also looking to organise some volunteer events, so please get in touch with Steve if you are interested in volunteering some time.  You can read more on our new footpath problems page here.

For more information on the committee roles, and if you would like to contact the group you can find full committee details on our Take A Hike committee page.

You don’t have to have lots of experience, you don’t need to be a mountain-trained emergency first-aider – you just need to be a Ramblers member so the walk is covered by our group insurance.

So where do you start?  First you have to come up with an idea for a walk.  The easiest way to do this is to buy a book of local walks, or find some routes online.  Start with somewhere you know or have walked before and scout out a start point that has plenty of places for people to park and if possible links to public transport.  Next, get a friend and go try the walk out together!  If you are struggling to find someone put a message on the messageboard asking for someone to come with you.  If you are struggling we also operate a “buddy” system where we will try to match you with an experienced walk leader to lead the walk with you – contact the Walks Secretary for more information.

Once you have gone out and recced the walk you then need to email the Walks Secretary with your Ramblers membership number, who will send you a link to our online walks submission form for you to fill out.  For help with how to grade your walk (and for lots of other useful information!), download our Walk Leader Checklist from our Walk Leader page. The Walks Secretary will review your walk, and once OKed publish it to the walks diary.

A lot of new walk leaders are concerned about getting too many people on their first walk – you don’t need to be!  Just think about your walk beforehand: if you put a walk on starting mid-morning from the centre of Leeds there is a good chance you will get a very large turn-out, so make sure you have a buddy who can act as a back-marker.  Also, winter walks always have lower numbers of people than summer ones, so this time of year is a great time to lead your first walk.

Finally, have fun.  Leading a walk is a great way to put on a walk that you want to do.  Pick somewhere interesting or seasonal – a walk that takes in some sculpture or art trail, a hill that you’ve always wanted to climb or even a walk that just ends at your favourite pub!  Once you’ve led your first walk, you will get such a buzz you will start planning your second straight away!

Photos by Rob Dearden

One of the opening phrases: “There’s a group gathering around a man with clipboard. They’re all wearing waterproof trousers, a few are already making inroads into their packed lunch and flasks of tea” will sound familiar to any Take A Hiker, and it’s fascinating reading the view of someone looking into the group.

The article features soundbites from TAH members Tim Rollett, Nic Oliver, Martin Earp and Phil Hadfield.

The full article can be read on the Yorkshire Post’s website here.

Get your tickets and see full details here.

Only the Web Secretary (Dave Pannell) is offering to stand again for the committee, so we’re looking for people to come forward to take the General Secretary , Membership Secretary, Walks Secretary and Social Secretary roles.  You can see an overview of these roles on our committee page here.  Nominations for the committee need to be submitted to our current General Secretary Vicky by the 15th November.  We will only be accepting nominations at the AGM is no-one has stepped forward for a role.

As this is an AGM, only members of the Ramblers Association can attend and you need to bring your membership card along for us to check on the door.  Following this, only members who have their affiliated Ramblers Group as The Leeds and Bradford Area 20s and 30s Group will be able to vote at the AGM.  If you are not sure of your group affiliation please contact our Membership Secretary.

Finally, we are also looking to add the role of Footpath Officer to the committee.  This is a role that all other Ramblers groups have and is a liaison with the wider Ramblers Association, responsible for reporting any problems we find as a group with footpaths in our area.  If you would like more information on this role and think you would like to get involved, please contact Vicky (all committee contacts on the committee page).