| 1. AGM Cliveden Ramble | Thursday, 29th March | |
| This ramble is the day after our Annual General Meeting and is at the famous Cliveden Estate high above the River Thames. | ||
| Nearest town: Maidenhead, Berkshire | Approximately 6 miles | Category 2+ |
| 2. Surrey Bluebell Ramble | Wednesday, 9th May | |
| A ramble which starts at the National Trust’s Hatchlands Estate at the foot of the North Downs and follows along footpaths through woods, hopefully carpeted with bluebells, and the beautiful Surrey countryside. | ||
| Nearest town: Dorking, Surrey | Approximately 6 miles | Category 3 |
| 3. Polesden Ramble | Thursday, 10th May | |
| A ramble starting at the National Trust’s Polesden Lacey Estate and exploring Ranmore Common. We return for lunch at Polesden Lacey and in the afternoon ramble through the extensive parkland. | ||
| Nearest town: Dorking, Surrey | Approximately 6 miles | Category 3 |
| 4. Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail | Wednesday 32rd May | |
| This Sculpture Trail was one of the first to open in the UK with artists interpreting the forest environment and this very unusual landscape. A unique opportunity to ramble through the woodlands and discover art on the way. | ||
| Nearest town: Monmouth, Gwent | Approximately 5 miles | Category 2+ |
| 5. Forest of Dean Ramble | Thursday 24th May | |
| A well-made circular trail rich in wildlife and birds as well as the remains of the industrial past. Starting from New Fancy View to the Arboretum and to Speech House Lake. | ||
| Nearest town: Monmouth, Gwent | Approximately 6 miles | Category 2+ |
| 6. Wirral Coastal Ramble | Monday 11th June | |
| A linear walk along the Wirral Country Park which follows the route of a former railway along the Dee Estuary as far as Neston, a colliery town whose colliery closed way back in 1928 | ||
| Nearest town: West Kirby, Merseyside | Approximately 6 miles | Category 2 |
| 7. Bidstone Discovery Ramble | Tuesday 12th June | |
| A ramble staring in the parkland of Bidstone Hall, a 17th century house and observatory set on a prominent yellow freestone ridge dominating the Wirral Peninsular. Great views but some short steep hills. | ||
| Nearest town: West Kirby, Merseyside | Approximately 5 miles | Category 3 |
| 8. Moel Famau Ramble | Thursday 14th June | |
| A circular ramble in North Wales on the Clwydian Range in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at the north end of Offa’s Dyke. Steep climb up to 1.818ft to enjoy fantastic views. | ||
| Nearest town: Chester of Mold, Cheshire | Approximately 8 miles | Category 3 |
| 9. Delamere Forest Ramble | Friday 15th June | |
| Delamere Forest is Cheshire’s largest woodland area and a wildlife haven. Look for the beautiful tortoiseshell butterfly, the greater spotted woodpecker and the white-faced darter dragonfly, green woodpecker, siskin and southern hawker dragonfly. | ||
| Nearest town: Chester, Cheshire | Approximately 6 miles | Category 3 |
| 10. Burwarton Park Ramble | Sunday 17th June | |
| A circular ramble over open and wooded parkland climbing up to Boyne Water for lunch before descending by a different route. Open views across the estate and on into the Midlands. Sheep farm. No dogs except Assistance dogs kept on a lead. | ||
| Nearest town: Bridgenorth or Ludlow, Shrops | Approximately 6 miles | Category 3 |
| 11. Brown Clee Ramble | Monday 18th June | |
| A ramble to the top of Brown Clee Hill, Shropshire’s highest point at 1,772ft. We pass through woodlands and moorland to the abandoned Dolerite quarries and on to the Air Traffic Control masts for wonderful views over Wales and the Midlands, weather permitting. Steep climbs.
Sheep farm. No dogs except Assistance Dogs kept on a lead. |
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| Nearest town: Bridgenorth or Ludlow, Shrops | Approximately 5 miles | Category 3 |
| 12. Hamsterley Forest Ramble | Tuesday 10th July | |
| Our first visit to Durham for many years, with a ramble meandering through the Forestry Commission’s 5,000 acre mixed woodlands. Hamsterely Forest was only created in the 1930’s as a massive work project for the unemployed from mining communities and shipyards on the north east of England. | ||
| Nearest town: Barnard Castle, Co Durham | Approximately 7 miles | Category 3 |
| 13. Baldersdale Ramble | Wednesday 11th July | |
| A ramble along part of the former packhorse routes and mainly over Hunderthwaite Moor, following stony forest tracks and unsurfaced moorland stretches. Some steep descents and loose stone tracks. | ||
| Nearest town: Barnard Castle, Co Durham | Approximately 8 miles | Category 3 |
| 14. Malham Tarn Ramble | Saturday 14th July | |
| A ramble around Malham Tarn in the Yorkshire Dales. At 1,237ft this is England’s highest lake and one of only eight alkaline lakes in Europe. The site was the inspiration for Charles Kingsley’s 1863 novel, The Water Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby. | ||
| Nearest town: Settle, Yorkshire Dales | Approximately 6 miles | Category 3 |
| 15. Cow Close Fell Ramble | Sunday 15th July | |
| A relatively short and level ramble starting from Dawsons Close and following along an ancient track high up over grazing moorland to above Littondale. We stop for lunch with beautiful views north over the River Skirfare and beyond to the tiny village of Helton Gill. Just a couple of rough stretches and a small ford. | ||
| Nearest town: Settle, Yorkshire Dales | Approximately 5 miles | Category 3 |
| 16. Settle Loop Challenge | Monday 16th July | |
| A ramble proposed by the late Steve Higgins and held in his memory. The Settle Loop climbs to 1,700ft and follows rough trails around Kirby Fell. Beautiful but very exposed moorland with steep climbs and several very difficult rocky stretches. This is a Category 4 ramble and only for the very experienced! | ||
| Nearest town: Settle, Yorkshire Dales | Approximately 8 miles | Category 4 |
| 17. Gisburn Forest Ramble | Wednesday 18th July | |
| A mixture of woodland and moorland, Gisburn is Lancashire’s largest forest and is in the north east corner of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This ramble is in partnership with Lancashire Countryside Services. | ||
| Nearest town: Settle of Clitheroe, Lancs. | Approximately 6 miles | Category 3 |
| 18. Whitewell Ramble | Thursday 19th July | |
| A ramble in the Hodder Valey through upland sheep and cattle farms with species rich limestone grassland and historic features such as limekilns, ancient settlements and outstanding views of the Hodder Valley. Includes some rough terrain. In partnership with Lancashire Countryside Services. | ||
| Nearest town: Clitheroe, Lancs. Or Settle | Approximately 5 miles | Category 3 |
| 19. Surry Downs Ramble | Sunday 4th August | |
| Nearest town: Guilford, Surrey | Approximately 6 miles | Category 3 |
| 20. Totternhoe Knowls Ramble | Saturday 18th August | |
| A ramble set in the northern part of the Chiltern Hills near Dunstable and belonging to the National Trust. We follow ancient tracks including around a Maiden Bower and other historic remains. | ||
| Nearest town: Dunstable, Bedfordshire | Approximately 6 miles | Category 3 |
| 21. Cadman’s Pool Ramble | Sunday 16th September | |
| A lovely circular walk from Bolderwood through Slufters Inclosure with very varied terrain and lovely views across the New Forest. There is deciduous woodland and open heathland with lunch at picturesque Cadman’s Pool, an area that attracts many birds including finches and ducks. Arthur Cadman, deputy surveyor of the New Forest, dug the pool in the 1960’s just to perfect the ambience of the place! | ||
| Nearest town: Lyndhurst, Hants | Approximately 7 miles | Category 2 |
| 22. Hengistbury Head Ramble | Monday 17th September | |
| A ramble through Hengistbury Head Nature Reserve and along Mudeford Spit – known for the most expensive beach huts in England! Views of boats and across Christchurch Harbour to Mudeford. On through coastal and cliff-top nature reserve to Hengistbury Head, a most unusual geological feature – and a surprisingly high coastal viewpoint overlooking Bournemouth, with spectacular views of the Isle of Wight, Hampshire and Dorset. | ||
| Nearest town: Lyndhurst or Mudeford, Hants | Approximately 5 miles | Category 2 |
| 23. Pepperbox Hill Ramble | Tuesday 18th September | |
| A very scenic ramble with distant views, along an old lane through deciduous woodland to old heathland and rare ungrazed old grassland. On and up to the National Trust’s Pepperbox Hill nature reserve, a fabulous viewpoint overlooking Salisbury Cathedral. The Pepperbox is a brick folly built by Giles Eyre in 1606 so he could look down on his neighbours! | ||
| Nearest town: Salisbury, Wilts | Approximately 7 miles | Category 3 |
| 24. Devil’s Punchbowl Ramble | Thursday 20th September | |
| The moving of the A3 into the new Hindhead Tunnel at last allows a traffic-free ramble over Hindhead Common. We can marvel at the Devil’s Punchbowl, a massive natural amphitheatre supposedly created by the Devil scooping out the earth in a rage. One of the seven natural wonders on southern England and a wildlife reserve now owned by the National Trust. | ||
| Nearest town: Haslemere, Surrey | Approximately 7 miles | Category 3 |
| 25.Black Down Ramble | Friday 21st September | |
| Black Down, at 919 feet, is the highest point in the South Downs National Park. Once the home of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the pine and heather covered slopes are now owned by the National Trust. From the Temple of the Winds there are superb views over the Weald and South Downs | ||
| Nearest town: Haslermere, Surrey | Approximately 6 miles | Category 3 |
| 26. Autumn Colours Ramble | Tuesday 16th October | |
| A ramble to see the magnificent autumn colours in the New Forest . Ramble through Churchplace Inclosure at Ashurst, leading through Matley Wood onto a forest track leading to Bolton’s Bench and Lyndhurst. Lovely views of Lyndhurst from Mately Ridge and varied forest scenery – open heathland as well as woodland. May be boggy if the weather has been wet. | ||
| Nearest town: Lyndhurst, Hants | Approximately 6 miles | Category 2 |
| 27. Steamer Point Ramble | Wednesday 17th October | |
| A coastal ramble of 3 halves! Ramble along the esplanade to Mudeford Quay overlooking Christchurch Harbour and Christchurch. Then through the cliff-top Steamer Point Nature Resurve to Highcliffe Castle and then along the undercliff grasslands and up to Chewton Bunny for stunning views (on a clear day!) of the Solent, Hurst Castle, Poole Harbour and Old Harry Rocks. Return along the beach. | ||
| Nearest town: Lyndhurst, Hants | Approximately 6 miles | Category 2 |
