From the Chairman

The society continues to go from strength to strength as this summer's walks programme shows - sixty walks in six months and at least two each month accessible by public transport. We are certainly fulfilling the aims of the Society to ensure footpaths in the county remain open and walked.

After a cold and unusually snowy winter the spring flowers seemed more abundant than previous years so we enjoyed walks that were visually stunning. The warm and wet summer has produced verdant paths, in some places almost impassable, such that a pair of secateurs in the backpack is as essential as a bottle of water and a banana.

Ensuring the paths, stiles and gates remain in good order is essential and problems are reported to the County Council, which has an ever increasing list to deal with. The Committee is considering ways in which we might make a contribution to assist in the improvement of stiles, therefore making the countryside more accessible to Society members and the general public, and are in preliminary negotiations with the County Council to upgrade stiles with kissing gates. The charitable status that the Society enjoys requires us to provide benefit to the public as a whole and not just the membership, we do this by publicising the walks in the local press, and this new project will be a further example. We would like to hear from members of other projects which we could be involved with, as without new ideas and projects the Society will stagnate.

I am very aware that the Society continues to flourish because of the contributions of all members, so on behalf of the Committee, thank you.

Thanks to all those who have submitted articles and pictures. If you would like to submit an article for the next issue of the Newsletter, then write it up as soon after the event as possible, while the memories are fresh. You will see that three of the events in this newsletter occurred in the last month. These can be handed in to any member of the Committee or sent electronically by email via our website at www.ofs.org.uk.