Category: Thursday Walkers
Thursday 21st April
Thursday 17 February Walk
December Walk
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THURSDAY WALKERS
Walkers meet at the front of Wenvoe Village Hall. If you are interested in a walk, just turn up.
Thurs 9th December, 10.00am. Meet for a morning walk. We plan to visit city parks and to include coffee and cake to celebrate the walkers’ Christmas. We are hoping this will be at Insole Court around midday. This will enable anyone who is unable to walk on the day to join with us at the café. Many thanks, Bert.
This is not a formal club, but only an opportunity to walk in company: all are welcome, but you come at your own risk.
Stress Buster Strollers Nov Walk
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STRESS BUSTER STROLLERS
Autumn colours in the leaves in Romilly Park, were followed by grey, moody skies as the walkers made their way along the Knap promenade and through the parade gardens. Oggie, another Valeways walk leader, joined the group and shared interesting information as local landmarks were passed. History, chat, coffee, good company and cake…what more could you want on a chilly October day?
Thursday Nov 11th Walk
Valeways Stroller’s Autumn
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VALEWAYS STROLLERS
Autumn has arrived but the Valeways strollers have been bathed in sunshine. The Living with Cancer Strollers welcomed a new walker at Cosmeston, and she found herself immersed in conversations with other walkers, as they enjoyed the lakes, trees and fields. Leaves were on the ground, but luckily dry paths were underfoot.
The Carers group enjoyed an exhilarating walk between Friars Point and Nell’s Point, along an empty Whitmore bay: the day before all the dogs were allowed to descend on the beach for the winter season. The rain stayed away which made chatting and catching up easier.
The Stress Buster strollers certainly had any cobwebs blown away as they walked through the Parade gardens to the Old Harbour, along the Cold Knap promenade and around the harp shaped lake.
Sunshine and cloudless skies cannot be promised, but a relaxing stroll in good company can be guaranteed! Join us!
Why Walk?
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WHY WALK?
As the nights draw in, as the clocks go back, as the blue skies are replaced by grey clouds, as the drizzle is replaced by rain, as the shorts are replaced by waterproof trousers…….it is easy to think that your walking days are over for this year! Since COVID restrictions were lifted earlier in the year, the Living with Cancer Strollers at Cosmeston, Carers walk at Barry Island and Stress Buster stroll at the Knap have welcomed new members and everyone has been enjoying the benefits of being outdoors.
Anita Sethi, who wrote a book about walking along the Pennine Way, Britain’s oldest long distance footpath, has written: “Walking does wonders for well being and I walked until I could feel my limbs, the bones in my body, my heart beating, telling me I’m alive. When walking, I feel the emotions of anxiety and depression shift and lift…”
The walking groups do not tackle the 431kms of the Pennine Way, but there is no need to walk huge distances to feel the benefits of walking….in all weathers. So grab those walking shoes, a waterproof coat and bobble hat and join these strollers. ALL are welcome…come rain or shine!
A School Group Up Mount Kenya
A School Group Up Mount Kenya
As a Valeways walk leader, I have had the privilege and pleasure of leading coastal and countryside walks for the past 2 years. As there are no Living with Cancer Strollers or Carers Walk this month, due to the coronavirus, I thought I would share some of my adventures as a walk leader further afield….
As a young teacher in Kenya, I decided to take a school group up Mount Kenya. This is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. There are 3 peaks on Mount Kenya and walkers head for the less technical trek to Point Lenana (4985m).
My school party consisted of 25 pupils and 10 teachers. We had guides to take us through the breath-taking scenery: tarns, glaciers, dense forest, a vertical bog and to point out the wildlife: including mongoose, hyrax (evolved from the elephant) and duiker. Fortunately, we didn’t spot the rarely seen giant forest hog or bongo!
There are various routes up the mountain and the climb takes 3 days. After acclimatising at Naro Moru, we spent the first night on the mountain at the met station. All was well. The next day we set off through forest and high-altitude equatorial vegetation to reach Mackinders Camp with the dramatic peaks of Batian and Nelion looking down on us. Tents were set up for us and the head of the school cooked a high energy pasta dish, which very few people ate. Altitude sickness had struck…not something that my walkers around Cosmeston or Barry Island have ever experienced!
Headaches and sickness took over a large number of the party so only a few emerged from their tents at 2am to head to the summit. Heading off at 2am meant the scree and the glacier at the peak were frozen and more easily walked on. After a long trek we reached the top and watched the sunrise.
On the descent, one pupil, slipped on the ice and started to head towards the tarn….luckily a guide stopped him. Not a sight that is easily forgotten. On reaching Mackinders Camp, where we had left a large group of sick individuals, we were greeted by happier and healthier pupils and teachers; the British army had arrived for a training session and had provided lots of hot tea and biscuits.
So …… at Cosmeston and over at Barry Island, if you join us when the social distancing finishes, you can feel confident that you are in safe hands….as long as there are no frozen tarms to fall into or great heights to be scaled….
Lynne Frugniet
Enjoy A Sociable Chat And Stroll
Caring relatives provide an extremely valuable service and the responsibility of care giving often falls on one person’s shoulders. The strain that carers are under and their invaluable contribution to care is often not acknowledged. Most carers cope with little or no support and caring can become a socially isolating experience. If you are a carer and would like some social contact and light physical exercise, then join our Carers walk at Barry Island.
On the first walk of 2020, there seemed to be a colourful theme as the walkers wore bright coloured coats, hats, scarfs..and…shorts in one case! Bright colours are not compulsory, just a desire to take a break from caring duties and enjoy a sociable chat and stroll. If you would like to join us, it’s the last Thursday of every month, 10 30am, Barry Island station.