November and December 2010

In case you blinked, this a photo of some Christmas Lights during our Recent snowfall.
It was taken in Caddington.

Again another snowy picture. It always looks pretty, and rarely stops us walking. If necessary we sometimes change it from that advertised so that we don't have to risk driving too far and getting caught up anywhere. Provided you are wrapped up well and have decent footwear most people find they soon warm up once they get moving (and there is often a nice pub somewhere along the way to help thaw out if necessary).
Here are 17 of us enjoying a break on a recent Saturday December walk. This seems to be a fairly average number, sometimes it is in the 20s and other times (usually on the longer mid-week walks) it can be down to a handful.


These are the same weekend on the slightly longer Sunday Walk, again with 16 people, after our morning coffee stop in a convenient local childrens' recreational area near Kimpton, and then getting ready to go into a nice real ale pub in Gustard wood for lunch.

We have been pretty busy over the last few weeks, unfortunately we seem to have few photographs to show for it! As we now have nearly 90 members we are putting on more walks. We started putting on more 5 miles shortish walks as they were proving very popular (and they still are), but we also started putting on more longer walks by popular request which range up to about 15 miles. There also seems to be a good demand for something in between for those members who have discovered that 5 miles isn't as onerous as they anticipated and are graduating on to our longer ones. We hope to see some of you out in the summer doing a walk you would have never imagined possible! If in doubt consult with the walk leader and they should be able to tell you the difficulty of the walk and if there is the option of shortening it or jumping on a bus if necessary! We usually do at least one weekend away most months. There are some planned for Cumbria, Stow in the Wold, Sheen in Derbyshire and a week away in Bulgaria. If interested, look at the programme, and get your place booked and deposit paid as they need to be organised well in advance.

Back to the subject, we have done 2 walks every weekend, usually one longer than the other, some on Wednesdays and several longer ones on Thursdays, and this will continue in the new programme. This month we also had what is probably our shortest ever walk; a two mile guided walk round College Lake Nature Reserve near Tring, which we hope to repeat in the warmer weather when it is not quite so misty or icy. A view of the College Lake, which will be full of bird and insect life in the Spring.

We have also had a social evening to the Ruchi Indian restaurant in Woodside where 16 of us throroughly enjoyed their excellent fare at a reasonable price and then the following week 18 also partook of the Xmas Dinner in the Gary Cooper (Wetherspoons) in Dunstable. Once again it was a tasty meal, served hot and promptly, and included a free drink which was excellent value for money. There was also a very sucessful quiz evening where we raised money towards the Wildlife Trust Totternhoe Quarry appeal to extend their nature reserve. We do socials at the Gary Cooper (and other local pubs) on a regular basis as the value is hard to beat and anyone can just turn up to eat or just for a drink without the need to book. We also have a post Christmas Meal organised for January, but you will have to book for that. Look out for them and other activities on our programmes. If you have queries about social events email us on www.social@dunstablebogtrotters.co.uk.