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NEWS AND EVENTS News Please note that all Walking Group forms are now accessible from the "Forms" link at the bottom of each page. The courses are free to members following a successful application to the Manx Lottery Trust and are open to all members of MFCG, however a £20 registration fee is required to be paid by each individual. The two day course will be run by Dr Andrew Foxon of Go-Mann Adventures and consist of three different dates with 5 participants on each course. One of the courses will be run over a weekend to accommodate our working members and the other two courses will take place during the week. The Hill Skills course is run in conjunction with guidelines by Mountain-Training and is aimed at improving and enhancing the enjoyment of walking in the hills and countryside, understanding equipment and basic navigation skills. Details of the course can be found here - https://www.mountain-training.org/personal-skills/hill-and-mountain-skills/hill-skills The course is designed for all abilities and we would like to encourage any of our walkers who enjoy both short or longer distances to consider undertaking the course. The course dates next year:
If you would like to participate in one of these excellent courses, please reply to Ken at manxfootpathschair@gmail.com expressing an interest and a preferred course date. Should the courses be over-subscribed, the participants will be selected following the Manx Lottery Trust grant guidelines. Dot’s adventures in Nepal “I have recently returned from a wonderland five week visit to Nepal. I travelled with my son, his partner and two of his friends. Our trip included a thirteen night trek in the beautiful Annapurna Conservation Area of the Himalayas (with a soak in natural hot springs on day six), a three day rafting/two nights camping trip, a stay in the Chitwan National Park area (no sighting of a Bengal tiger, unfortunately, but we saw other wildlife and there was a lovely cultural evening of traditional dance) and stays in Kathmandu (with its World Heritage sites but also so much dust and traffic) and lovely Pokhara (the touristy part of the city by Lake Phewa). Our trek covered part of the Annapurna Sanctuary Trek and part of the Mardi Himal Trek. We had a guide for the first six days and our two porters for the whole trek. Countless steps and boulders were encountered on route with hardly anything flat. I especially found the first four days a true test of stamina. The reward, of course, was the amazing scenery. The mountain scenery is stunning with magnificent views of the beautiful snow-capped mountains. We passed tiny villages and tea houses and walked through rhododendron forests. We crossed rivers via long suspension bridges and saw so many beautiful waterfalls. The terraced fields of the farmland were another beautiful sight. The sunrise at Poon Hill (3,200m) on the third morning provided incredible views of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges and of Mustang, Pokhara and many more tall mountain peaks! Our accommodation was a mix of hotels and tea houses and varied in standard but all provided magnificent views. Food was generally delicious but far better in the tea houses when it was cooked just for us. Dal Bhat (white rice (bhat) and lentils (dal) plus a vegetable curry, a mixture of pickled vegetables, cooked greens, cucumber and a papadum all served on a large metal tray) was never the same twice. Homemade alcoholic raksi (made from rice or millet) was always very good! The Nepali people were very friendly. Children everywhere were keen to say “Hello” or “Namaste” and frequently asked your name and where you were from. There were many special moments. One favourite stay was at the Gurung (one of the many indigenous nationalities in Nepal – Gurung Bread is so good) village of Lwang Ghalel (1,460m - famous for organic Himalayan tea farming and canyoning). Here the family were especially welcoming. Danny and his partner got to try carrying a full bamboo Doko basket, much to the delight of screaming school children passing by on a bus. Dhampus (1,650m, twinned with Brecon, Wales) is memorable as we arrived just in time to see the winner of the 42km Golden Trail World Series event come in. There was a great atmosphere with Nepalese and Tibetan musicians, ladies in local costume, local school children present and, of course, plenty of supporters. The sunrise was spectacular too. Happy memories. I was sad when my stay in Nepal came to an end.”
ROY CASTLE LUNG CANCER FOUNDATION – IOM branch The following paragraph written by the charity gives a little information about the aims of the Foundation, specifically within the Island. Once again, thank you all for your generous donations. “Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation was originally set up as the Lung Cancer Fund on the island in 1991 by our founder and thoracic surgeon, Professor Ray Donnelly. Prof. Donnelly operated on many Manx residents over the years, including Barry Cooper, husband of Mildred, who served as the president of the Isle of Man Lung Cancer Fund committee for nearly 20 years. We are hoping to recruit staff and volunteers as we grow to enable the office and small shop to be accessible as many days as possible so if you feel that you may be able to help with either office cover or fundraising, please contact Jane on 672971”. We have a new risk assessment form! A message from our Chairman, Ken Harding The new form contains all the vital information required and is easily completed by typing into boxes where necessary; selecting drop down menus and tick boxes. On completing the required information on the form just click the submit the button and the form is automatically attached to the new risk assessment email address. Then simply send the email with the risk assessment as an attachment. This new user friendly version can be completed in 5 minutes on any device and can be found under the forms section at the bottom of each page of the website or just click here. A risk assessment is a necessary requirement to be completed by the walk leader for all walks with MFCG. A paper copy of the walk is also available from your walking groups coordinator or any committee member and can be completed then posted to the address on the form. The best practice guidelines for walk leaders and supporters are also available under the forms section of the website. Any problems or questions regarding the new risk assessment form or other questions on health and safety please contact mfcgriskassessment@gmail.com PRIVACY POLICY The following MAJOR footpaths have been temporarily closed PRoW 329 Section of the Raad Ny Foillan at Onchan Head. Closed 7am – 4:30pm every day until 25 April 2020 but may be extended. PRoW 632 Riverbank Road Ramsey is closed until at least 30 April 2020. PRoW 423 Ballasalla to Grenaby through Scout Glen, north of the Athol Bridge, closed in sections until 19 March 2020 but likely to be extended beyond this date.
Ramblers Association Holidays
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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. PLEASE NOTE: We would prefer payment to be made by Standing Order or Bank Transfer as it would reduce the Membership Secretary’s workload at this busy time of year. If you require any assistance with this, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Committee.
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, i.e. 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 like to update the website photographs on a regular basis and are delighted to receive photographs from members. If you are happy for your photograph to be used by MFCG on our website, please email it to Fiona@manxfootpaths.org including the place and date of the photograph. Thanks go to members for providing photographs from our walks. They are always greatly appreciated but please make sure you have permission from everyone in the photo to put it on the website.
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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 from the Forms page or contact our membership secretary Maree@manxfootpaths.org or tel: 671740. Walks Programmes 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 40 of our members were treated to a very entertaining talk by Dessie Robinson on Wednesday 6th November. Dessie reminisced about his experiences as warden on the Calf of Man and told many humorous anecdotes to the delight of his audience. We extend our thanks to Dessie for a very enjoyable evening. Please put a date in your diary for the next talk. Dates for your diary All talks are followed by tea & biscuits and all members are most welcome. Parking is available at the QE11 School and Peel Football Ground. Christmas is Fast Approaching….. Thursday 5th December – Thursday group Christmas Lunch Tuesday 17th December – Tuesday group Christmas Tea Party Christmas Carol Service – St Luke’s Church, West Baldwin
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