ARE THERE ANY BENEFITS TO JOINING THE RAMBLERS?

Yes, lots, so lets have a look!

Health and fitness. Probably the most important benefit is the improvement in your health and fitness.

There is no doubt that walking is one of the best ways of keeping healthy and it is virtually free. It encourages you to get out into the fresh air of the country, your muscles are exercised and your lungs, heart and other internal organs get a good workout too. It’s great all-round.

It is obviously important to find your own level and for that reason the Ramblers in Bridgend (which includes Porthcawl and the surrounding areas) offer three walks over different distances every Sunday with additional walks on two Tuesdays each month and a short walk on one Friday each month.

Socialising. We are a friendly bunch. Some ramblers from other Groups came out with us recently and commented on this – something to the effect that we were happy to take the mickey out of each other so we must get along alright! Depending on the weather and the time of year it is not unusual on the shorter walks to stop at a local hostelry to partake of a drop or two of the falling over water!

Twice each year we organise days out to walk and to see different places, recent trips included Bristol, Brecon and Laycock Abbey. We hold our annual Dinner in December and we also go off for weekends to places like North Wales, Exmoor and Pembrokeshire to walk.

A number of us have been abroad to Madera and Iceland, for example and three of us went climbing in Italy during 2009. Everest. Machu Picchu in

Peru, Nepal and Mount Kilimanjaro have all been visited by Ramblers from this area and the Welsh flag has occasionally been raised!

You will go to places and see things that you have not seen before, you will learn things about your area that you can bore your friends and family with later! When I came to Bridgend a few years ago I really didn’t know anything about the South Wales area but there are people who do, and they are happy to share this with you.

Magazine.

In your joining pack (and quarterly whilst you are a member) you will get the Ramblers magazine [Walk] .

Articles in the magazine include details about areas to walk, revues of clothing and equipment, letters, tutorials about mapping or using a GPS, trials of boots, waterproofs, etc, and many other things.

Holidays. Ramblers Holidays offer a great choice in walking holidays all over the world, both guided and not, whether you are single or accompanied. Your destination could be South America or China but wherever you go you can rely on meeting others with similar interests and outlooks. Quite a few of our members have been on these and they come highly recommended.

Have a look at www.ramblersholidays.co.uk for more information.

Discounts. A number of retailers in the area offer discounts to members on production of their membership card; Millets, Blacks and Cotswold

Outdoors to name a few, so if you need new boots then you could save a few bob, or even your membership fee if you spend enough!

Most retailers will give Ramblers members 10% discount, but Cotswold Outdoors give between 15% and 25% on production of membership card.

Join and you’ll get one!

Weekends away. Our members arrange walking breaks in different parts of the UK, for example the Snowdonia area around Betws-y-Coed or Beddgelert or around the Pembrokeshire coast.

Accommodation is frequently in youth hostels but if you are not keen on these then you could book a first class hotel if you wished and still come walking with us.

These are arranged at least twice each year from Friday to Sunday with an occasional 4-day stay.

The usual arrangement is to provide our own breakfasts and packed lunches and to eat in a local pub or hotel in the evening.

Confidence. You will become more confident when you are out on the hills or mountains and you will be able to understand when conditions are unsafe, recognise when your companions are unwell or that they are unable to complete the walk. You will learn what to do about these to guarantee your, and your parties, safety.

Connected with these are the skills of navigation – using a map and compass, knowing where you are and how to plan a route to safety quickly and accurately if the need arises. Taking bearings off distant landmarks to pinpoint your location.

Being able to read a map and recognise the lie of the land, the hills and valleys, the rivers and the forests, all the details that the map provides in 2 dimensions to allow you to navigate in the 3 dimensional world.

Working groups. You can join working groups in different parts of the country to clear footpaths, build stiles or construct bridges over brooks and rivers helping to keep our many footpaths clear and available for us all, whether in the Ramblers or not.

If you become interested then more details can be made available.