• Saturday 18 February 2012 The Wiltshire Area Ramblers' AGM at Holt Village Hall. The Wiltshire & Swindon Area Annual Report for 2010-2011 is now available. This contains the Area officers and group reports, together with the Agenda for the forthcoming AGM.
• Details of Walks for the next programme are due by the 7th April 2012.
• Friday 27th April - Skittles and Supper at the Silver Plough, Pitton. Contact Jilly for further details.

Please let the membership secretary, Roger Walker, know directly by telephone (01747 871105) or by email, if you change your address, or if you are interested in joining our group.

If you have an email address and would like us to send you information via email then please let Roger know.

If you have any material, comments or suggestions regarding the South Wilts web site, please contact Mike Hayter

• Get Walking Keep Walking routes, walks and resources for people new to walking
• Monthly Round Up News
  
• Walk Magazine
• Group Walks Finder
• Groups Finder
• Advice on Animals and Rights of Way
  

• Salisbury Plain Training Area - Newsletter - Jan 2012
• Salisbury Plain Training Area - Newsletter - Feb 2012
• Countryside Access
• Open Access Land, Salisbury and South Wiltshire
• Wiltshire Open access land
• Public Transport Salisbury and Wiltshire
• Public Transport Salisbury, New Forest, and Dorset

Modern hydration systems are really convenient, but drying the tubes out, and preventing the growth of mould in them can be a problem. Try flushing them through with water and put the tubes and bags in the freezer. This will reduce the frequency needed to clean them with sterilising fluid.

Before buying a new OS Map make sure the one you are getting is the latest, as published by Ordnance Survey!

Some stores may hold old copies. You can check publication dates on the OS Website. For instance the latest Salisbury Map is available online at "Salisbury OS Map".

New Leaders are always welcome. If you are interested in leading walks, please contact Donald Mackay on 01722 416167 for weekend walks or Peter mee on 01722 742828 for walks on other days, Final details for the next programme are due by 7th April 2012.

Please send the details to Donald using the Weekend Walks Template or Peter using the Mid-Week Walks Template

If you would like to lead a walk, but need some ideas on where to go, we have a large database of walks available via our Walk Leaders Page.

• An updated list of over 100 walks with brief descriptions for walk leaders can be found at the following link. Walk Descriptions Many thanks to Ron Moore for providing the information.
• The MOD newsletter for February 2012 is now available. This provides details of planned restrictions to footpaths across the ranges. This may help if you are planning to walk in those areas, but you should always check for the latest details by phoning 01980 674763.
• Heavy Gang Install Gates in Tisbury
• The Heavy Gang install a Set of 35 steps in Allington
• The Light Gang clear a footpath in Semley
• During August, the Heavy Gang installed two kissing gates and a bridle gate on Woodford FP2
  

Sometimes it is hard to see how we can make a difference being a member of the Ramblers, but a recent project taken on by the Heavy Gang and a couple of before and after photographs pretty much sum up the impact we can have. 

Have you ever come across a bridge to nowhere - or should we say a bridge in trouble?  Here is a perfect example!  This is the old bridge which crosses the River Loddon between the Sedgehill FP1 and Mere FP41 paths.

With a little bit of effort we now have a slightly improved situation and no Muddy Boots!!!  If you want to include this bridge on one of your walks you can find it at SU 851 294 on the Explorer 118 Shaftesbury and Cranborne Chase map.

With the stringent cuts that will take place in the highway department of Wiltshire Council, volunteer work of this type by The Ramblers will become more important and probably essential if we wish our footpath network not to deteriorate. More able volunteers would be much appreciated, so that we could perhaps run an additional heavy gang day per month 

If you fancy joining in, and have a few hours to spare then please feel free to give us a hand by contacting Graham Read by Email or telephone on 01722 710796.

Have you ever thought about why you enjoy walking in the countryside? How pleasant it is to get away from traffic and walk along paths clear of obstructions such as brambles and overhanging branches? The responsibility for looking after our public rights of way lies with the Highway Authority, ie Wiltshire Council. Unfortunately, whilst they have a duty to maintain them, their ability to do this is severely limited by financial and workforce restrictions.

This is where we can help. Our footpath group liaises with the Right of Way Team at Wiltshire Council and assists them with clearing footpaths (Light Gang), and replacing stiles and bridges (Heavy Gang). The work benefits all walkers and contributes to the charitable aims of the Ramblers.

Over the year the Light Gang has cleared paths in the parishes of Woodford, Ansty, Tisbury, Bowerchalke, Berwick St John, Sedgehill and Semley, Grimstead, and Downton. I wonder if any of you have noticed?

The work is not too taxing. We use light-weight tools, - secateurs, loppers, shears, and the occasional saw, and we finish by lunchtime. Looking back on a well-finished job gives one a tremendous sense of achievement. But because it is the nature of plants to keep growing, rather like painting the Forth railway bridge, our work is never finished! That is why the Light Gang needs more volunteers. Why not come along and give it a try?

The Light Gang meet on the second Wednesday of each month. We supply all tools and gloves, and, where possible, transport to the various locations.

Please contact Patricia Dashwood on 01722 710869, or via email

The Sunday meeting point, unless otherwise stated is at Salt Lane Car Park, Salisbury.

Week day walks are normally on Tuesday and Thursday and there are occasional walks on a Saturday. These walks normally meet at the starting point.

In order to reduce the number of cars travelling and the pressure on parking at walk start points, please arrange to share cars whenever possible. If you do get a lift to the walk start point, we suggest a donation to the driver of £2 for journeys taking up to ½ hour; £3 for journeys taking between ½ and 1 hour; £4 for journeys taking over 1 hour.

On very rare occasions alterations to the starting point of a walk shown in the programme prove necessary. If you are driving direct to the start, you should phone the leader beforehand to establish whether any such alterations have been made.