Manx Footpaths Conservation Group

Port Grenaugh

Game on! Who’s the best ‘skimmer’?

NEWS AND EVENTS

News

Dear Member,

On 22 August I wrote to you outlining the current issue faced by MFCG in relation to our Insurance Indemnity Policy.

The purpose of this further note is to outline:

The progress made to date and
The further work needed to ensure full compliance in time for the Winter Programme.

You will recall that there were four areas where policy conditions had not been followed.

Appointment of Safety Officer.
Provision of first aid, including training.
Implementation of risk assessments.
Incident procedures

David Leiserach has now been appointed as Acting Safety Officer, supported by Pat Mudie.

On 5 September, 28 of our members participated in two separate First Aid training sessions with St John Ambulance. All participants were successful in their assessment and now have a Certificate which is valid for three years. I would like to make this an annual event so that all members have the opportunity to acquire first aid awareness.

We have now taken delivery of the First Aid kits for use on our walks. These were selected by Fiona and Jackie and are both lightweight and waterproof. I would like to thank them both for their help in selecting these.
The high vis jackets are also to hand and are for use by leaders / back markers on public roads and in poor visibility. The intention is that both the first aid kit and jackets are passed from one leader to the next. It is the responsibility of the leader who finishes a walk to ensure that the kit and jackets get into the hands of the next walk leader.

These safety measures will ensure compliance with two of the four insurance conditions. We are getting there!

To complete the compliance process we will be holding a presentation on 3 October to explain how the remaining conditions of Risk Assessment and Incident procedures will work. It will include a review of the Risk Assessment process from ‘recce’ to walk completion and also how Assessments held in the database can be accessed as an aid to help with new Assessments. This evening is open to all members but will be of special interest to Walk Leaders preparing for the Winter Walk Programme. The venue is Mylchreest Court, Peel and the entrance is opposite Peel Football Field and next to QE 2 School. The presentation will begin at 7.30pm.and should finish around 9pm. Teas and coffee will be available. I hope that you are able to come along to this important meet and look forward to seeing you there.

If you are able to come along to the Presentation can you please confirm to David on David@manxfootpaths.org

Regards,
Kevin

Chair MFCG

My! My! How the months are flying by…may be time to start thinking about walks you might like to lead for the winter schedule?

A word from Kevin
‘Thank you to all those members who have expressed an interest in joining the First Aid course. There has been a good response. The courses will be held in September to avoid any problems arising from holiday absence. Further details will be issued shortly’.

A tip 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

“Walk the Isle of Man" – 2019 Walking Event
The scheduled dates for the walks will be Monday 30th September – Friday 4th October 2019.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, it has now been decided that ‘Walk the Isle of Man’ will stage its first event in 2019 rather than 2018. Isle of Man Event Services and Go-Mann Adventures intend that the revised dates will allow time for a fuller and more widely advertised programme of walking activities on the Isle of Man, for those both visiting and those living on the Island. They are very grateful for the support to date that has been given on the Isle of Man for this venture and to those who have offered help with leading the walks. They will be in touch with further details once they are confirmed.

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.

The following MAJOR footpaths have been temporarily closed

RoW 329 Majestic Coastal path(Onchan) from King Edward Road to Majestic Apts will be closed DAILY from 07.30am to 5.30pm from 25th April to 24th October.

Temporary closures are currently in place for each of the following three tracks/paths. However, a more prolonged 6 month closure has been applied for on each of them. This is due to the extensive amount of damage that they have suffered. There is currently no date set for when works will be carried out. The closures will be published on Roadwatch.
The byway known as 'The Dowse' (map ref: 304828 to 285824)
PRoW405 - Lynague, German
PRoW632 - Riverbank Road, Ramsey

The Heritage Trail from Glen Darragh Road towards Union Mills is now OPEN – Hooray!

The ‘Tony Wright’ Bridge on the Spaldrick footpath to Bradda Glen is now OPEN!

For further details the contact number for DoI is 850000.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions are due 1st January each year payable to the Manx Footpaths Conservation Group and will remain at £6 for this year. Please post cheques to Maree Harper at 14, Derby Square, Douglas IM1 3LS. You can click on the following bold links to download the Membership Application Form & Standing Order Form.

Isle of Man Hills Walks Book - Important Addendum

Walk No 9 - Pages 24 and 25

Please note that this walk crosses private land. If you would like to walk this route, please contact the landowner, Mr Corlett (Tel No: 812160 / Mobile: 480338) for permission beforehand.

Footpaths

Should any member/visitor to the Isle of Man encounter problems with any public footpath, ie overgrown, broken gate/stile etc, please could you e-mail David Leiserach, Foothpaths Officer at David@manxfootpaths.org. It would be most helpful if you could also include a photograph and any details that will help identify the public footpath and/or position of the gate/stile etc.

Photographs

We would like to update the website photographs on a regular basis and would be pleased to receive photographs from members. If you are happy for your photograph to be used by MFCG on our website, please email it to Lesley@manxfootpaths.org (Tel:437978), including the place and date of the photograph. Thanks go to members for providing photographs from our walks. They are always greatly appreciated.

MFCG Badge

MFCG has created its own badge which is free to current MFCG Members.
Badges are also available to buy for £1.00 each.
Please contact a Committee Member for further information.

Newsletters are distributed in Spring and Autumn each year to all fully paid up members, together with the Walks Programmes for Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with the addition of Wednesday evenings in the summer period. Subscriptions are £6 per annum, payable before 1st January each year. Membership Application forms can be downloaded by clicking the following: Membership Application form & Standing Order form or contact our membership secretary Maree@manxfootpaths.org or tel: 671740.

Walks Programmes

Hopefully all paid up members have now received their Summer Walks Programmes and are looking forward to some fabulous summer walks. Our sincere thanks go to Bob Garret, Gill Percival, Peter Gunn, Peter Hulley and Brian Beattie for all their hard work in compiling the walks lists and to all the walks leaders without whose knowledge and experience the walks could not happen. Thanks also to those who send in photographs, please keep them coming they are much appreciated.

All walks are open to all walkers but please choose walks that will suit you. Please bring Bus or Railway Passes, Travel Cards or Cash for walks which start with a train, tram or bus journey. Also please bring a packed lunch and a drink for all day walks. Leaders who are unavailable please arrange a replacement.

EVENTS

Dates for your Diary

‘Winter Talks Programme – a series of three special interest talks beginning 7 November with Stephen Carter’s ‘Nautical Musings’. This will be followed 5 December with Andy Foxon ‘Prehistoric Mann’ and conclude 6 February with Andrew Johnson’s ‘The Old Ways are the Best’.
Further information on booking and venue etc will be circulated to members in early October.

Triskelion Way

There was no Triskelion Way walk in August due to the Manx Grand Prix but we can now look forward to the next leg of our journey on 25th September from Sulby reservoir to Gardeners Lane (see walks programme for details)

HERITAGE OPEN DAYS

We are not able to participate this year in the Heritage Open Day events held in conjunction with Manx National Heritage. However, the walks WILL go ahead as scheduled walks for MFCG members. Sorry for any disappointment.