Save the date! Our post Christmas Party lunch will take place at the Royal Oak, Welshpool on the 25th January 2020. Full details will be posted here shortly.
BBC Shropshire presenters Eric and Clare promoted a Summer of Walks on their morning show. We invited them to join us on a walk in Church Stretton and we were delighted when they accepted. They chatted to a number of walkers, both before and during the ramble. In case you missed the interviews here are links to the show, and you may recognise a few voices.
We were featured over four days, and the first two excerpts were recorded at Shrewsbury station, complete with steam train, whilst the rest were on the walk itself.
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30th Anniversary
After walking on the 27th July, we celebrated in style with an afternoon buffet at the King’s Arms in Church Stretton. Despite the weather trying to dampen our spirits, over 60 people turned up to either walk with us or to meet with us at the pub afterwards which made it a very sociable occasion. We need to say a big thank you to the organisers of the buffet, Bob and Liz, as well as to the walk leaders Peter, Mick, Mike, Dennis and Pam. Also, not forgetting Peter, who arranged for this fabulous cake!
It was an occasion for paying tribute to Alan Howard’s vision, and it was great that at least three of the original ramblers who started with him 30 years are still walking with us. Their boots have surely clocked up a serious number of miles! In honour of this special summer, we have produced an anniversary newsletter. This also acknowledges the contribution of our wonderful team of volunteers, without whom the walks would not take place. Take a look here and you will see many photographs which have not been featured on this website before. (See if you can spot Michael Portillo!)
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The very successful launch of the final section of the Heart of Wales Line Trail took place on the 28th March 2019, with a choice of three walks on offer. The weather was kind, as you can see from the photos below, and there was a great turnout. You will also find a selection of pictures on their page on Facebook.
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Good news! Rail Rambles is now affiliated to the Ramblers, which makes official the longstanding relationship between the two organisations. We share values with the Ramblers and support the work they do, and they in turn have given us a lot of support over the years.
Just to be clear, though, affiliation is a link, not a merger. We remain independent, offering an open walking programme, so you don’t need to be a member of any organisation to come walking with us!
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The former Wales and Borders rail services are now operated under the banner of Transport for Wales. We have been in touch with the new management who have agreed to continue the support that we previously had from Arriva Trains Wales. The new management are keen to develop partnership working and we are looking forward to discussing how this might affect how Rail Rambles goes forward whilst still offering free, open-to-all walking opportunities in mid- and north-Wales and the Marches.
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