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WELCOME TO WEST RIDING AREA
Welcome to the website of the West Riding Area of the Ramblers’ Association. The West
Riding Area takes its name from the days when Yorkshire was divided into three “ridings” a West Riding, North Riding and East Riding. The
territory which the West Riding Area looks after on behalf of its members and the walking community is centred on Leeds and Bradford, and
extends from Ingleton to Pontefract, and from Holmfirth to Wensleydale.
The landscape of the West Riding Area is attractive and varied. There are the high Pennine
hills and moors, and these are incised by attractive steep-sided and well-wooded valleys. On lower ground there is a well-cultivated
undulating landscape, much of which is surprisingly enjoyable when explored on foot. A great bonus of being in West Yorkshire is that there
is attractive scenery on the doorstep of all the large towns, so there is no need to travel far for a good country walk. There are also many
major scenic attractions, and these include The Three Peaks, Malham Cove, Fountains Abbey (a world heritage site), the Bronte Moors, and
Hardcastle Crags near Hebden Bridge.
There is an extensive programme of walks exploring this attractive countryside, with
distances to suit all capabilities. On Saturdays and Sundays several walks are organised, and there are also walks on weekdays. Monthly coach
rambles often visit places further afield. The popular Take A Hike Group organises walks and social events for members in their 20s and
30s.
The West Riding Area of the Ramblers’Association does a vital job for the walking
community in protecting the footpaths and countryside in its territory. The footpath work it undertakes does much to ensure that the network
of rights of way is kept unobstructed and easy to use, and it liaises with other organisations to protect green lanes from illegal use by
motorised vehicles. It is campaigning for a much-needed bridge over the River Wharfe at Burley-in-Wharfedale, and for the long overdue
replacement of the bridge across the River Nidd at Skewkirk near Tockwith. The West Riding Area was at the forefront of the successful
national campaign for access to the open countryside, and now walkers for most of the year can roam freely on the extensive moors of the
South Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales. The West Riding Area also works for an attractive countryside for walkers, monitors planning proposals
and is currently opposing the proposed opencast coal mine at Ledston east of Leeds. |
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ADAMSON BRIDGE SWEPT AWAY BY FLASH FLOODIn a cloudburst on 22nd June, the Adamson Bridge in the Washburn Valley was
washed away. There is a bit of stonework a few yards down stream, but the rest
(including the plaque) has gone without trace.
The Adamson Bridge is at the bottom of Timble Gill Beck close to its junction
with the River Washburn. The crossing, however, is fairly easily fordable, so
there is no reason for walkers not to continue to use the path along the valley.
At least three more bridges have been washed away. One is on the path from
Washburn Farm to Timble via Redding Hill. This too has disappeared without
trace, though the abutments survive. This path can still be used, albeit with a
bit of scrambling up the banks. The second bridge that has been washed away is
at GR 179523 on the path which leaves the unmaintained county road from Low Hall
Farm to Timble. This path is certainly not usable and a scene of devastation
meets the walker with massive erosion and trees uprooted. Another footbridge
(nearer to Timble) on this path has also been washed away. The delightful
unmaintained county road can still be used, but the ford is two or three feet
lower than it was prior to the flood (a valuable deterrent to motor cycles). On
the path from Askwith to Clifton, a footbridge across Mill Dam Beck has been
dislodged, but is still usable with a bit of care.
The flood was very local. There was flooding at Askwith and damage to Snowden
Carr Road. Nearby Ilkley and Harrogate had scarcely a spot of rain whilst the
storm was raging.
The Adamson Bridge was erected by the RA in memory of Arthur Adamson who was
Secretary of West Riding Area and an important contributor to the work of our
association. Arthur was also a Leeds alderman, and Chairman of Leeds Waterworks
Committee. Ironically, North Yorkshire CC had just repaired the bridge, and
replaced its rusting handrail with two shiny new ones. The local authority has
put up local notices showing where the bridges have been lost, but fortunately
does not appear to be closing the paths. We do not know when the bridges are
likely to be replaced, but more information is likely in the near future.
KW
IT’S AGM TIMEWEST RIDING AREA AGM Saturday 30th January, 2010, 2 p.m. Clarke Foley Centre, Ilkley Provisional Agenda: apologies, minutes of previous meeting, matters
arising, visiting speaker’s address, correspondence and announcements, annual
report and accounts, motions, revised constitution, election of officers, any
other business. Speaker not yet confirmed. All members of West riding Area are
welcome.
BRIDGES SWEPT AWAY IN THE WASHBURN VALLEY
A cloudburst on 22nd June caused footbridges
including the Adamson Bridge to be washed away in
the valley of the Timble Gill Beck which joins with
the River Washburn. Warning notices have been put
up, but paths not closed. The path to the west end
of Timble village which goes off the unmaintained
county road (green dots) from Low Hall Farm to
Timble is completely impassable, the other paths
usable with varying degrees of difficulty, including
scrambling up abutments. Full article in next West
Riding Rambler.
THREE BOOKS FOR £5
The following West Riding Area books are available
for £2 each, plus £1 postage, or for £5 (plus £1.50
postage) for all three:
• Ramblers Bradford: 20 walks in the Bradford
Metropolitan District
• The Wakefield Way: a 75 mile walking route around
the Wakefield Metropolitan District linked to 24
enjoyable circular walks
• Ramblers Leeds Volume 2 West of Leeds: excellent
for walks to Fulneck, Cragg Wood, Caley Crags and
many other delightful paces close to Leeds
To take advantage of this offer, contact John Lieberg, 11 Woodroyd Avenue, Honley, Holmfirth,
Huddersfield, HD9 6LG
Miss the postage charge by visiting the Ramblers’
stall at Otley Show on Saturday 16th May. Both the
new Harrogate books (Country Walks Around Harrogate
Volume 1 East and Volume 2 West) are close to
selling out! Extra coppies of Volume 1 East are
being printed. Another Area publication that has
been very successful recently is “Kiddiwalks” which
has sold consistently
MEMBERSHIP SURVEY DISPELS WORST FEARS
West Riding Area has been in gentle membership
decline for several years. In September 2005, the
Area membership was 4673, a year later it was 4543,
and by September 2007 it had gone down to 4498. By
the end of September 2008 the figure was down to
4427. At the end of January 2009, it was 4391. This
trend has led to fears that with an ageing
membership the Area’s numbers might soon go into
meltdown. The good news is that evidence from the
Membership Survey and other sources indicates that
meltdown is unlikely to happen in the near future.
But there are demanding challenges ahead, if
membership numbers are to be sustained.
Many thanks to the 210 people who responded to the
Survey in January’s West Riding Rambler. The
questionnaire was completed by over 4.7% of the
membership, a good return considering respondents
were required to donate stamp and envelope (nearly
all postal surveys enclose an s.a.e.). I do not know
with what confidence the returns can be regarded as
an accurate random sample, but I have no reason to
think that it isn’t fairly reliable. This age
profile was particularly interesting. Less than 10%
of the Area’s membership is under age 55 (compare
this to the RA’s national figure of 22% of members
under 50), and 17% is between age 55 and 59, and 23%
between 60 and 64. Nearly 30% of the Area’s
membership is between 65 and 74, and over 20% is age
75 or more. The average (mean) age is just under 66.
This age profile may at first glance appear a cause
for serious concern, but there are some factors that
should allay worst fears to some extent. A
particularly interesting trend revealed by the
survey (which admittedly might be cited with greater
confidence if there had been a higher response rate)
is that almost a third of members aged 55 to 59 and
60 to 64 had been in the RA for 5 years or less. Our
fairly elderly age profile seems to be partly as a
result of recruiting a substantial number of new
members in their 50s and 60s! This is welcome news.
Members in these older age categories are very
important; they are experienced people who
frequently take on RA responsibilities as officers
and walk leaders, and most of them are strong
walkers too. There is a powerful hint from this Area
membership survey that we should be focusing our
recruitment policy at least much on the over 50s as
on the under 40s.
Members in their 50s, 60s and 70s are also likely to
remain with us for many years. I used the Actuarial
Life Table for 2004 (the latest available on the
internet) to attempt to calculate what the present
membership might look like in another 10 years time
(if it was increased by no new members at all). This
calculation involved a few assumptions and guesses.
Respondents to the survey were not asked whether
they were male or female, so I had to average the
respective life expectancy rates (whatever the age,
the female life expectancy is always higher - even
at 65 by over 3 years!). As I had asked people’s age
within a five year age band, I took the midway
figure (e.g. age 52, 57 etc.). Using this method,
and making a few well informed guesses, I reckon
that no more than about a third of present members
will have been lost to natural wastage by year 2019.
This of course assumes that all our members will
continue to renew their subscriptions. Some light is
shed on this assumption by responses to a further
question in the Membership Survey: “Do you intend to
continue your Ramblers’ Association membership for
the next few years?” The astonishing evidence is
that over 95% were intending to continue their
membership – a tremendous testimony of support!
However, it isn’t all good news, because there is
also a big leakage of new members. I understand that
this is a general trend throughout the RA.
Information supplied from Central Office shows that
West Riding Area has lost virtually 60% of the
members who joined between 1st Jan 2006 and 31st
December 2006 (415 joined, 169 remained). The
pattern seems to be that a large number of new
members leave in their first year or two, but the
longer they stay as members, the longer they
continue to stay. So, despite the massive leakage of
new members, provided we recruit about 400 new
members every year, and keep about 40% of them,
recruitment should be in sufficient numbers to
offset natural wastage.
This, however, is a recipe for complacency. To
attract new members (which isn’t easy), and then to
lose one third of them not long after they have
joined may be regarded as a misfortune, but to lose
nearly two thirds of them really does smack of
carelessness. One thing that we might consider is
that we try to attract new members on the grounds
that we are a “campaigning organisation” and not
just a walking club, yet, having said this, we
perhaps do not readily involve new members in
footpath and access work.
KW
JUST PUBLISHED BY WEST RIDING AREA OF THE RAMBLERS' ASSOCIATION!
COUNTRY WALKS AROUND HARROGATE VOLUME 2 WEST by
Douglas Cossar 2008 ISBN 978-1-906494-03-2
"COUNTRY WALKS AROUND HARROGATE VOLUME 2 WEST"
24 WALKS IN THE ATTRACTIVE COUNTRYSIDE OF NIDDEDALE, WASHBURN VALLEY AND SURROUNDINGS OF HARROGATE
AVAILABLE FROM BOOKSHOPS AT £5.50 (ISBN 978-1-906494-03-2)
NEW BOOK OF WALKS PUBLISHED
Yet another splendid book of walks was published by west riding area recently when “country walks around harrogate volume 2 west” by douglas cossar went on sale this summer.
Most of the walks are in Nidderdale and the Washburn Valley. And what better way of exploring this beautiful and easily accessible part of the Yorkshire Dales than by using Douglas’s excellent book!
The book contains 24 enjoyable walks, all with clear descriptions and sketch maps. In addition, there are many attractive photographs of places of interest en route. The area is full of interest – whether it be stunning natural features such as Brimham Rocks and Guise Cliff, or a host of historical attractions which include packhorse bridges, ancient churches, village stocks, former industrial sites, and John o’ Gaunt’s Castle in Haverah Park. And of course one of the walks goes over the Adamson Memorial Bridge, erected in the Washburn Valley by the Ramblers’ Association in 1967.
Not all the walks are in Nidderdale or the Washburn Valley - there are several right on Harrogate’s doorstep. One sets out from the Valley Gardens in the middle of Harrogate and takes walkers to Harlow Carr Gardens and the less well-known Birk Crag. Among other enjoyable local walks is one that explores the Upper Crimple Valley (it’s hard to believe a large town is a mere three miles away), and another that provides a linear route with fine views to local landmark, Almscliff Crag.
Nearly all of the walks are of four, five, or six miles, ideal for a half day, but a small number of them are of seven or eight miles, good for a whole day walk at a leisurely pace. The book retails at £5.50 (twenty four walks for £5.50 – that’s brilliant value!). Available from local bookshops and outdoor shops, or from John Lieberg, our Area Publications Officer. Thinking of a Christmas present for a valued friend or relative?
The book is a companion volume to “Country Walks Around Harrogate Volume 1 East” by Douglas Cossar, published at the end of last year and selling well.
Douglas Cossar has now written or co-authored ten excellent walks books for West Riding Area. They have been a boon to walkers, and have done much to popularise our local paths. West Riding Area owes Douglas a considerable debt and many thanks.
KW
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