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Sue climbing the rigging

The Picton Castle

NEWS AND EVENTS

News

Please note that all Walking Group forms are now accessible from the "Forms" link at the bottom of each page.

PRIVACY POLICY
Our privacy policy can be viewed by clicking on the link at the bottom of each page.

Risk Assessments
The committee would like to extend a big ‘thank you’ to all those who have completed risk assessments prior to leading walks. In order to comply with our insurance, members who have agreed to lead walks must submit a risk assessment prior to the walk and email it to pat@manxfoothpaths.org. Alternatively, it can be completed by hand and posted to Pat (address available on request). The committee are in the process of simplifying  the forms in order to make the process easier and quicker whilst at the same time still obtaining the relevant information required for insurance purposes however until the new forms are available please continue with the current forms.

We would also very much appreciate it if all leaders of the Tuesday and Saturday ‘pop-up’ walks would complete and submit a risk assessment so that these walks can also be posted on the website for everyone to enjoy.

If anyone has any questions about this procedure or is unsure how to complete a risk assessment please do not hesitate to contact one of the committee members.

A Round the World Voyage
One of our walkers, Sue Harvey recently completed a world voyage on a square rigged barque called the Picton Castle (more details about the ship can be found on its website: picton-castle.com). When sailing Sue followed a tough four-hourly watch system and duties included painting the ship and removing rust, maintaining and repairing sails, helming and sail navigation (day and night). Sue describes many highlights – sadly too many to mention here – but they include the following; swimming with a singing humpback whale in Tonga, sightings of whales such as a huge pod of Sei and dolphins, visiting a particularly remote village in Vanuata, Pitcairn Island (whose population is descended from the mutineers of the British ship HMS Bounty), Palmerson Attol, where the population is 40, Fiji (for snorkelling on the reef), Panama (where Sue saw a Sloth), Bermuda, the Turks & Cacos, the Galapagos, Rodrigues (for the tortoise sanctuary), Reunion (“incredible scenery and mountain walking), Luderitz in Namibia (“total desert”), the North Atlantic (“crossing the Gulf Stream with an incredible plummet of temperature”), and finally Nova Scotia – the ship’s home port and final destination. For more awe-inspiring memories please have a chat with Sue…..

Triskellion Way
A reminder that Sue Furner has kindly obtained souvenir medals for all those who recently completed the Triskelion way. If you would like one please contact her (her email address was recently circulated by Bob Garrett).

A special Thank You to all those members who help maintain our footpaths throughout year and report defects. Some members have ‘adopted’ a particular path, maybe near to home, and regularly take their secateurs with them to tackle the brambles etc. and Ian (Sunday/Thursday group) carries roundel way markers and his trusty screwdriver with him to replace lost or damaged ones. Many thanks guys, your efforts are very much appreciated.

The following MAJOR footpaths have been temporarily closed

PRoW 632 Riverbank Road Ramsey is closed until at least 31 October due to a landslide

PRoW 423 Ballasalla to Grenaby through Scout Glen, north of the Athol Bridge, remains closed (currently no date for reopening)

Heritage Trail temporary closure. This PRoW (the former railway line) will be closed from Old Church Road to Peel Power Station on a rolling closure basis (as indicated by signage) from 6am on 30th April 2019 to 6pm on 30th November 2019 or until the work is completed, whichever is the earlier. For up to date details please contact DoI.  

For further details the contact number for DoI is 850000.

Ramblers Association Holidays
Did you know?...That the MFCG is affiliated to the Ramblers Association. When you book a walking holiday through the Ramblers Association and you say that you belong to an affiliated walking club they will pass on a small sum of money to the club. It costs you nothing extra and it benefits YOUR club.

A couple of tips for members:
We have found a couple of very useful free apps for your smart phone. Firstly, OS Locate will give you map co-ordinates which will help the emergency services to find you should you find yourself in trouble. It also has a compass. The second one is Maps.me which can help you find your way home in the event of you becoming lost (or maybe in thick mist). It shows you where you are on the map and has already proved itself useful to us a couple of times. Neither require mobile data to work away from home. Of course, there are many more apps. of this type on the market, I’m sure you’ll find one to suit you. Lesley