Mendip Ramblers have enjoyed walking in what has been a fine and mainly dry, late summer and autumn.
All the usual walks have attracted good numbers. The Cheddar Walking Festival was successful, the group who went to France tried hard to match the elegance of the French Ramblers (we failed), and the area holiday in Newquay was excellent – it has to be said that the enjoyment is not confined to nice walks. Ramblers eat and drink well, are skilful at cards, and some dance! (Others tried to go racing).
The new Winter programme has the usual range of walks on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays, with the addition of two Saturday city walks in Bristol in February. The Festival of Winter Walks from 18th December to 8th January gives the opportunity to escape the shops and to offset the excess calories. Just as the Queen has two birthdays, Mendip Ramblers have two Christmas meals!
So, Mendip walkers and the Mendip Ramblers Working Party are doing their bit to use and look after the Rights of Way but what are the Rights of Way? Well, a brief look at any Ordnance Survey map will show a network of footpaths, bridleways, and alleys: you are entitled to walk (or ride in some cases) on them, it is your ‘right’. But it is a right that had to be won.
The early years of the ‘rambling’ movement encouraged people to walk in the countryside and in doing that, in using those paths, they could be registered as Rights of Way.
The legal principle, ‘once a highway, always a highway’ has served us well. However, those paths need to be mapped. In January 2026, the official maps will be ‘closed’ – pre-1949 Rights of Way cannot be added, even if there is historical evidence of their use. Ramblers, Natural England, the Open Spaces Society, the British Horse Society, the RSPB and other organisations are all working hard to claim those old paths. So, if you don’t want to lose your way, it’s time to act!
All details of walks and other events can be found at: www.mendipramblers.co.uk
Elaine Dadley