Join Our Lively Walking Community
About Us
The walks are on the calendar and each has a designated start point. Please ensure you arrive in good time to start the walk. Car shares may be available and a nominal amount is payable to the driver.
On every walk we have experienced Walk Leaders and ‘Backmarkers’ who are volunteers from the membership group. Each walk is checked by the Walk Leader and details are usually available two weeks before the event so please check the walk details to make sure it is suitable for you. Walks are normally around 7 miles and graded accordingly although we occasionally do a longer 10 + mile walk and try to included a shorter walk too. We don't walk at an over brisk rate and leaders adapt the pace according to the group needs.
We occasionally hold “Away Days” where we take a coach to somewhere further afield, generally finishing the day off with a meal before returning home. We also have a few optional social events to get involved with if you're interested. These will also be listed on our events. You don't have to get involved in our social events, but you will be made very welcome if you do!
New members are encouraged to join and can walk with us on three occasions before becoming a member. The membership fee is currently £10.00 per year, renewing annually every November thereafter. We have a formal membership structure and have associated membership with The Ramblers Association which includes appropriate insurance for our activities. Please contact our Membership Secretary here for more information, or just speak to them at your first walk.
For your safety please wear stout boots and weatherproof clothing. Most of us walk with optional extras such as walking poles or a rucksack or daysack with additional waterproof/warm clothing, essential drinks and sandwiches/snacks. (We always break for coffee and lunch).
Our History
June 4th 1996
A poster display advised that this was the date of the inaugural walk for the Glossop Happy Ramblers, then advertised as "50+ Ramblers Club". The start and finish to be at the Glossop Leisure Centre, every Tuesday, 10.00am start. With a cost of 50p. High Peak Leisure and Lisa Jowitt were the architects of the idea. It was to encourage the over 50's to begin to participate in exercise and activities, with a view to improve health and fitness. Earlier in March 1996, a group of around 8 people was meeting at the leisure centre to play carpet bowls. It wasn't proving to be a satisfactory experience for the group so they arranged a meeting with the centre staff with a view to having some other activity. At this time Lisa was the “over 50's coordinator” and she would try to form a group with a new objective, 3 ladies from her exercise class were invited along. Badminton, keep-fit, table tennis, and boules were considered. There was also some consultation with the Medlock Community Centre, with a view to start a “ time of your life club“. This was to be a talk followed by an activity. Eddie Holmes from Longendale Walking Group was co-opted onto a steering committee along with Peter Fish and Lisa. It was then decided that a walking group would be the best idea, starting from G.L.C. and return for a coffee, hence the 50p donation.
It was decided that the walks would be around 7 miles in length, possibly calling at a pub for refreshments. Advertising via the local press and posters in the centre, plus word of mouth from the participants, plus the possibility of hiring a community bus to take the walkers further afield, (car-share was to follow at a later date). The early days were centered on the leisure centre and local walks, using public transport. As the group expanded it was decided that car-share was the way forward, local walks were becoming more difficult to organize and a larger membership meant buses were not really an option anymore.
And so Peter Fish was chosen to lead this first walk. Because time and memory are fading there is some discrepancy as to where the first walk actually went! The route remembered by Peter was....G.L.C... Manor Park... Old Glossop... Castle Hill... Swineshaw Reservoir... Little Padfield farm....Cemetery Road... North Road... G.L.C. Another version is the group went up to the Shooting Cabin near Wormstones. Yes the passage of time certainly makes precise details hazy.
The early walking instructions to new members are remarkably similar to the present day ones. (see home page). They stated that “walks will be around 7 miles, with a longer 10 mile included occasionally. There are experienced leaders and include a back-marker”. New members were encouraged to join and bring “stout boots, weatherproof clothing and an extra jumper to put on if it turns cold”. There was an extra point made that “we do NOT walk at a over-brisk pace and leaders are instructed to watch out for people climbing hills, and to give them time to recover their breath at the top”. It was also pointed out that the group carried a first-aid kit.
(Report by Alan Yates -aka "YOMPER")
Committee Members
President:
David White
Chair:
Peter Raczynski
Secretary:
Steve B
Treasurer:
Val Wood
Walks Coordinator:
Shaun Priestley
Membership Secretary:
Bev Morten
Social Secretary:
Ellen G
Website Editor:
April Bunting
Committee member:
Sue Walton
Interested in becoming a member?
Please use this form to become a member of Glossop Happy Ramblers. Remember you can join us on up to three walks before you do. When you are ready to join, fill in the form and we will get back to you soon!