Minutes & Reports
Walking In East Lancashire
Annual Report 2011
Chairman’s report from Allan Aspinall
A huge thank you to everyone who has helped the Burnley and Pendle Ramblers over the last 12 months,
not least, all those who have renewed their membership who can no longer play an active part!
Our thoughts and fond memories must be shared with sad losses of long standing members, colleagues and
walking pals.
Walks Programme.
The B&P Ramblers committee really do want to extend your 2012 walking programme into new and exciting
areas but with the disappointingly poor attendance at your walks meeting at Brierfield Town Hall on the 15th
September we are left with over 20 weekends without walk leaders. The solution is in your hands, it isn’t easy to
expect the regular leaders to do more.
Walkers without Membership.
May I remind all members that we are delighted to see new faces joining us for 3 trial walks - without being
members! After that they MUST join or not attend future walks. This does not mean 3 walks with each group
in the North East Lancashire Area but 3 in total! We simply cannot afford or expect, our members to subsidise
people who bounce around one walking club to another without commitment to any.
Burnley Group Tourism
We have been fortunate in being invited to join future meetings of the above group which includes members as
diverse as Lancashire & Blackpool Tourist Board, Moorhouses Brewery, Weavers Triangle Trust, Gawthorpe
Hall, HAPPA, Rossendale Sailing Club, Foulridge Canal Cruises, Burnley Youth Theatre and Burnley Borough
Council and many more organisations working tirelessly to promote the great leisure time activities available in
this part of Lancashire
Secretary’s Report from Janet Lofthouse
We have had a very busy year with a good choice of walks, social events and a week away.
Allan Aspinall, Margaret Fletcher, John Lofthouse and Alan Shorrock led walks in the Burnley Walking festival
in May and Allan, Margaret, John and Tom Ainsworth led walks in the Pendle Walking Festival in September. It
is good that we promote the name of the Ramblers in these festivals.
Our thanks must go to all walks leaders who have given their time to leading walks, it is not just a case of turning
up at the start of the walk, there is a lot of time spent planning and checking the route out before hand so it is
appreciated when the walk is well attended.
The Social Committee works hard to plan events for the year and we have had an enjoyable year. We
have already planned our programme for next year, I hope you will continue to support us and enjoy the outings,
as without you we would be wasting our time!
Many thanks go to our Footpath Officers, Christine and Terry, who work hard trying to keep our
footpaths clear. Thanks also to Mark Chung who has volunteered to take over from Christine. Please contact
them if you encounter any problem on your walks.
Veronica Canty has volunteered to be Publicity Officer and has already started distributing leaflets in the
area, contacting the local press and radio etc.
.Stuart has set up the website (www.burnleypendleramblers.co.uk) and updates it regularly with photos
from our walks.
If you have any photos you would like to see on the website please e-mail them to Stuart at:
bpramblers@ymail.com. Thank you to all committee members who give their time willingly and to all members
for your support throughout the year.
Treasurers Report for year ending 30th September 2010 by Ann Entwistle
Well the Entwistle team has survived another year and Burnley and Pendle Group are still solvent! One
of the reasons for relatively small expenses is due the vast amount of work that is done by a small minority not
only free gratis but also at their own expense. I have now decided to record and estimate this expense by treating
it as a donation in the accounts.
The annual Budget figures are always a bit of headache for me but I have now accumulated a
comprehensive working paper of fact and figures. This year I felt it appropriate to reduce the request for funding
from Head Office for 2011-12 by £500 which will be covered by funds held in our bank. This was unanimously
agreed by the committee at our last meeting. I had to prepare the budget in August before I had all the year end
expenses and now the accounts have been finalized there is £497 surplus for the year. This was only a co-
Best wishes and I hope to see you at the AGM
Pendle Footpath Report from Christine Harrison
For the last 15 years or so I have been the Pendle Footpath Secretary for the Group. It is only my lack of
mobility causing me to relinquish the post.
Half the parishes of Pendle have been surveyed and faults reported to Pendle Borough Council, most of which
have been resolved. Members and the general public have reported obstructions that I have subsequently
investigated and I have spoken at four or five Public Enquiries. It has brought me into contact with many
interesting people, only one has made me feel uncomfortable and only one dog bite- a Jack Russell!
We are blessed in Pendle with a network of footpaths over our rugged countryside, and I hope that the new
officer will get as much pleasure out of it as I Have.
There are two outstanding problems:
1) Barden Marina has obstructed a path.
2) Upgrading the paths from Carry Lane, Laneshawbridge to Wycoller to bridleway ( Financial restraints
will probably delay this indefinitely)
Members have helped me with local knowledge and companionship when walking and I thank you, and feel
sure, that when the new officer is in post the same courtesy will be offered to him. I also thank Mark Chung
who has been acting for me recently.
Burnley Footpath Report from Terry Letch
I have to say that it has been a fairly quiet year for Burnley footpaths. The bad weather at the beginning
of the year curtailed my efforts somewhat, but even so, there has been little major activity. I admit, as I have said
before, that I rarely go out looking for trouble, I tend to wait for people to contact me. None of the problems have
caused anyone a real difficulty although some of the more recent ones have yet to be cleared. There have been no
path diversions or closures. I believe that the present economic situation has probably put paid to a number of
plans. There has been no movement on the scheme to upgrade Coal Clough wind farm which I imagine will have
a substantial impact on the Cliviger valley should it ever materialize. There are plans to install windmills on a
couple of local sites but no footpaths should be affected. Of course, it may well be that in Burnley and Pendle we
are doing such a good footpath job that most of our paths are in excellent condition!
Another aspect of the financial cut backs is the reduction and re-organization of the staff at L.C.C.
So far, the few complaints that I have sent through have been picked up quite quickly, but of course, I have not
yet had cause to give them any great problem.
Let us see what 2012 brings.
Membership Report from Margaret Fletcher
Burnley and Pendle Group membership has declined again over the year. We now have 281 paid up
members with a further 4 whose renewal payment is pending. This reflects a net loss of 45 from last year’s total.
We recruited 11 new members, 5 lapsed members resumed their membership and 1 member moved in from
Blackburn Group. The renewal rate for the group was 83%. We lost 62 members over the year but 11 of these
were removed as a result of administrative errors by head office, which showed them as paid up last year when in
fact their memberships had lapsed. Hopefully now the figures I am reporting show the true picture.
Social Secretarys’ Report from John Lofthouse & Ian Fletcher
All our events continue to be well supported with something for everyone.
This year we had a change and decided to have just one, extended, trip away. This was five days in Weymouth in
September. I’m sure that all the people who have attended the events will, no doubt, tell you how enjoyable they
have been. We would like to thank all those who have supported the social events and especially those who have
organized & helped in any way.
If you could recommend an interesting venue, then please contact either of us and we can perhaps include it for
the future.
The social side of the association is continuing to help create, and maintain, friendships that are necessary for the
group to remain strong and able to continue the true work of protecting footpaths. Please help us to continue.
Last year’s events were:
October 22nd
Weekend away to Rushyford, Durham
Saturday – Walks taking in High Force and Middleton in Teesdale
Sunday – Walks on Durham Coast Path to Seaham
December 10th
Christmas Buffet Dance @ St Cuthbert’s church hall, Burnley
Christmas Walk with Meal @ MayPole Inn, Long Preston
This was cancelled due to heavy snowfall
Quiz Night @ Burnley Cricket Club
Social Trip to Bowes Museum
‘Christmas’ Walk with meal @ Maypole Long Preston
Rearranged from last December
May 15th
Social Trip to Chatsworth
th
August 14
Social Trip to Ellesmere Port Boat Museum & Chester
September 19th
Weymouth 5 day holiday – staying at the Royal Hotel
Tuesday – Walk following Portland Coastal Path
Wednesday – Walk alongside The Fleet & Chesil Beach to Abbotsbury
Thursday – Walk on S.W. Coast Path past Durdle Door to Lulworth Cove
Based on a questionnaire completed by those on the Weymouth trip, we will continue next year with only one,
extended, holiday.
Next year’s itinerary has already been planned -details being finalized……….... See you then.
Webmasters Report from Stuart Thorn
When I was asked if I could use my web and computer knowledge to manage and update the groups
website. I readily agreed to undertake the task as this is my thing, and with my Photoshop experience for photo
adjustment I felt I was up to the task. The only thing left was for my position to be agreed by the membership at
the 2010 AGM, being underwhelmed with other candidates I was duly voted in to the task.
I set about the task with a new web authoring programme, and within a short space of time had produced
a new web site Mk1 this I uploaded and was a fair first try with the programme. However it did have several
problems that needed to be addressed. I decided to try another version Mk2. I was still not happy with the result
so a few days later Mk3 was born then followed Mk4 and finally Mk5 as can be seen today. A Mk6 may be
needed later but at the moment Mk5 seems to fit the bill.
I decided that the inclusion of the Flickr photo stream for week to week pictures would be easier to
manage than on the main site and would give us greater range and flexibility for uploading and text inclusion
with each picture. The photo stream seems to be popular with members, as to date we have had over 2000 views
on 180 photos. Any of you can become a member of Flickr and be able to comment on our pictures, if you don’t
wish to upload your own photos onto your web space allocated by Flickr. You do not have to. Please speak to me
if you are interested in this and I will explain how to join……………….
.I have recently added the Panoramio photo stream. This is significantly different from the Flickr
photos in that these are pictures of places we pass though on our walks (as apposed to people shots), many of
them can be viewed in Google Earth by clicking on them showing you where we have been walking. Also they
can be seen by people using Google Earth anywhere in the world! I am happy to receive any photos taken on our
walks for possible inclusion on these sites (only geo tagged photos will appear on Google Earth sorry) but they
can still be included on the photo stream if suitable.
Walks Reports from Raymond Jenkins and Tom Ainsworth
Tuesday Walks:
The Tuesday Walks continue to be very popular with our members, so far this year we have had an average of
19 people on each walk, and in addition to this we have gained more members coming forward to lead, bringing
with them new walks for us to enjoy.
A big thank you to them, and also, many thanks to the members who join us, making the walks successful.
Anyone wishing to join us on the walks will be made very welcome so why don’t you give us a try?
The last walk for 2011 will be on Tuesday 6th December, recommencing on Tuesday 3rd January.
Wednesday Evening Walks:
330 walkers of all ages enjoyed this summer’s 23 evening walks from April to September. The final walk on 7th
September was part of the Pendle Walking Festival when 22 walkers walked in the dark and rain; the Four All’s
was very welcome sight for us to dry off!
Acknowledgements and appreciation to all the leaders who helped this season and, most importantly, to all the
walkers who turned up, making it a successful 2011. The changeable weather this summer certainly did nothing
to dampen people’s spirits.
If you like walking in the countryside, meeting new people and visiting country pubs, try an evening walk in
2012. See you then!
Chairman’s report from Allan Aspinall
A huge thank you to everyone who has helped the Burnley and Pendle Ramblers over the last 12 months,
not least, all those who have renewed their membership who can no longer play an active part!
Our thoughts and fond memories must be shared with sad losses of long standing members, colleagues and
walking pals.
Walks Programme.
The B&P Ramblers committee really do want to extend your 2012 walking programme into new and exciting
areas but with the disappointingly poor attendance at your walks meeting at Brierfield Town Hall on the 15th
September we are left with over 20 weekends without walk leaders. The solution is in your hands, it isn’t easy to
expect the regular leaders to do more.
Walkers without Membership.
May I remind all members that we are delighted to see new faces joining us for 3 trial walks -
in the North East Lancashire Area but 3 in total! We simply cannot afford or expect, our members to subsidise
people who bounce around one walking club to another without commitment to any.
Burnley Group Tourism
We have been fortunate in being invited to join future meetings of the above group which includes members as
diverse as Lancashire & Blackpool Tourist Board, Moorhouses Brewery, Weavers Triangle Trust, Gawthorpe
Hall, HAPPA, Rossendale Sailing Club, Foulridge Canal Cruises, Burnley Youth Theatre and Burnley Borough
Council and many more organisations working tirelessly to promote the great leisure time activities available in
this part of Lancashire
Secretary’s Report from Janet Lofthouse
We have had a very busy year with a good choice of walks, social events and a week away.
Allan Aspinall, Margaret Fletcher, John Lofthouse and Alan Shorrock led walks in the Burnley Walking festival
in May and Allan, Margaret, John and Tom Ainsworth led walks in the Pendle Walking Festival in September. It
is good that we promote the name of the Ramblers in these festivals.
Our thanks must go to all walks leaders who have given their time to leading walks, it is not just a case of turning
up at the start of the walk, there is a lot of time spent planning and checking the route out before hand so it is
appreciated when the walk is well attended.
The Social Committee works hard to plan events for the year and we have had an enjoyable year. We
have already planned our programme for next year, I hope you will continue to support us and enjoy the outings,
as without you we would be wasting our time!
Many thanks go to our Footpath Officers, Christine and Terry, who work hard trying to keep our
footpaths clear. Thanks also to Mark Chung who has volunteered to take over from Christine. Please contact
them if you encounter any problem on your walks.
Veronica Canty has volunteered to be Publicity Officer and has already started distributing leaflets in the
area, contacting the local press and radio etc.
.Stuart has set up the website (www.burnleypendleramblers.co.uk) and updates it regularly with photos
from our walks.
If you have any photos you would like to see on the website please e-
for your support throughout the year.
Treasurers Report for year ending 30th September 2010 by Ann Entwistle
Well the Entwistle team has survived another year and Burnley and Pendle Group are still solvent! One
of the reasons for relatively small expenses is due the vast amount of work that is done by a small minority not
only free gratis but also at their own expense. I have now decided to record and estimate this expense by treating
it as a donation in the accounts.
The annual Budget figures are always a bit of headache for me but I have now accumulated a
comprehensive working paper of fact and figures. This year I felt it appropriate to reduce the request for funding
from Head Office for 2011-
expenses and now the accounts have been finalized there is £497 surplus for the year. This was only a co-
Best wishes and I hope to see you at the AGM
Pendle Footpath Report from Christine Harrison
For the last 15 years or so I have been the Pendle Footpath Secretary for the Group. It is only my lack of
mobility causing me to relinquish the post.
Half the parishes of Pendle have been surveyed and faults reported to Pendle Borough Council, most of which
have been resolved. Members and the general public have reported obstructions that I have subsequently
investigated and I have spoken at four or five Public Enquiries. It has brought me into contact with many
interesting people, only one has made me feel uncomfortable and only one dog bite-
officer will get as much pleasure out of it as I Have.
There are two outstanding problems:
1) Barden Marina has obstructed a path.
2) Upgrading the paths from Carry Lane, Laneshawbridge to Wycoller to bridleway ( Financial restraints
will probably delay this indefinitely)
Members have helped me with local knowledge and companionship when walking and I thank you, and feel
sure, that when the new officer is in post the same courtesy will be offered to him. I also thank Mark Chung
who has been acting for me recently.
Burnley Footpath Report from Terry Letch
I have to say that it has been a fairly quiet year for Burnley footpaths. The bad weather at the beginning
of the year curtailed my efforts somewhat, but even so, there has been little major activity. I admit, as I have said
before, that I rarely go out looking for trouble, I tend to wait for people to contact me. None of the problems have
caused anyone a real difficulty although some of the more recent ones have yet to be cleared. There have been no
path diversions or closures. I believe that the present economic situation has probably put paid to a number of
plans. There has been no movement on the scheme to upgrade Coal Clough wind farm which I imagine will have
a substantial impact on the Cliviger valley should it ever materialize. There are plans to install windmills on a
couple of local sites but no footpaths should be affected. Of course, it may well be that in Burnley and Pendle we
are doing such a good footpath job that most of our paths are in excellent condition!
Another aspect of the financial cut backs is the reduction and re-
yet had cause to give them any great problem.
Let us see what 2012 brings.
Membership Report from Margaret Fletcher
Burnley and Pendle Group membership has declined again over the year. We now have 281 paid up
members with a further 4 whose renewal payment is pending. This reflects a net loss of 45 from last year’s total.
We recruited 11 new members, 5 lapsed members resumed their membership and 1 member moved in from
Blackburn Group. The renewal rate for the group was 83%. We lost 62 members over the year but 11 of these
were removed as a result of administrative errors by head office, which showed them as paid up last year when in
fact their memberships had lapsed. Hopefully now the figures I am reporting show the true picture.
Social Secretarys’ Report from John Lofthouse & Ian Fletcher
All our events continue to be well supported with something for everyone.
This year we had a change and decided to have just one, extended, trip away. This was five days in Weymouth in
September. I’m sure that all the people who have attended the events will, no doubt, tell you how enjoyable they
have been. We would like to thank all those who have supported the social events and especially those who have
organized & helped in any way.
If you could recommend an interesting venue, then please contact either of us and we can perhaps include it for
the future.
The social side of the association is continuing to help create, and maintain, friendships that are necessary for the
group to remain strong and able to continue the true work of protecting footpaths. Please help us to continue.
Last year’s events were:
October 22nd
Weekend away to Rushyford, Durham
Saturday – Walks taking in High Force and Middleton in Teesdale
Sunday – Walks on Durham Coast Path to Seaham
December 10th
Christmas Buffet Dance @ St Cuthbert’s church hall, Burnley
Christmas Walk with Meal @ MayPole Inn, Long Preston
This was cancelled due to heavy snowfall
Quiz Night @ Burnley Cricket Club
Social Trip to Bowes Museum
‘Christmas’ Walk with meal @ Maypole Long Preston
Rearranged from last December
May 15th
Social Trip to Chatsworth
th
August 14
Social Trip to Ellesmere Port Boat Museum & Chester
September 19th
Weymouth 5 day holiday – staying at the Royal Hotel
Tuesday – Walk following Portland Coastal Path
Wednesday – Walk alongside The Fleet & Chesil Beach to Abbotsbury
Thursday – Walk on S.W. Coast Path past Durdle Door to Lulworth Cove
Based on a questionnaire completed by those on the Weymouth trip, we will continue next year with only one,
extended, holiday.
Next year’s itinerary has already been planned -
Webmasters Report from Stuart Thorn
When I was asked if I could use my web and computer knowledge to manage and update the groups
website. I readily agreed to undertake the task as this is my thing, and with my Photoshop experience for photo
adjustment I felt I was up to the task. The only thing left was for my position to be agreed by the membership at
the 2010 AGM, being underwhelmed with other candidates I was duly voted in to the task.
I set about the task with a new web authoring programme, and within a short space of time had produced
a new web site Mk1 this I uploaded and was a fair first try with the programme. However it did have several
problems that needed to be addressed. I decided to try another version Mk2. I was still not happy with the result
so a few days later Mk3 was born then followed Mk4 and finally Mk5 as can be seen today. A Mk6 may be
needed later but at the moment Mk5 seems to fit the bill.
I decided that the inclusion of the Flickr photo stream for week to week pictures would be easier to
manage than on the main site and would give us greater range and flexibility for uploading and text inclusion
with each picture. The photo stream seems to be popular with members, as to date we have had over 2000 views
on 180 photos. Any of you can become a member of Flickr and be able to comment on our pictures, if you don’t
wish to upload your own photos onto your web space allocated by Flickr. You do not have to. Please speak to me
if you are interested in this and I will explain how to join……………….
.I have recently added the Panoramio photo stream. This is significantly different from the Flickr
photos in that these are pictures of places we pass though on our walks (as apposed to people shots), many of
them can be viewed in Google Earth by clicking on them showing you where we have been walking. Also they
can be seen by people using Google Earth anywhere in the world! I am happy to receive any photos taken on our
walks for possible inclusion on these sites (only geo tagged photos will appear on Google Earth sorry) but they
can still be included on the photo stream if suitable.
Walks Reports from Raymond Jenkins and Tom Ainsworth
Tuesday Walks:
The Tuesday Walks continue to be very popular with our members, so far this year we have had an average of
19 people on each walk, and in addition to this we have gained more members coming forward to lead, bringing
with them new walks for us to enjoy.
A big thank you to them, and also, many thanks to the members who join us, making the walks successful.
Anyone wishing to join us on the walks will be made very welcome so why don’t you give us a try?
The last walk for 2011 will be on Tuesday 6th December, recommencing on Tuesday 3rd January.
Wednesday Evening Walks:
330 walkers of all ages enjoyed this summer’s 23 evening walks from April to September. The final walk on 7th
September was part of the Pendle Walking Festival when 22 walkers walked in the dark and rain; the Four All’s
was very welcome sight for us to dry off!
Acknowledgements and appreciation to all the leaders who helped this season and, most importantly, to all the
walkers who turned up, making it a successful 2011. The changeable weather this summer certainly did nothing
to dampen people’s spirits.
If you like walking in the countryside, meeting new people and visiting country pubs, try an evening walk in
2012. See you then!