Newsletter > Newsletter archive > June 2020
June 2020
Pubs, cafes and restaurants need us
Going for a drink or a meal before, after or during a walk is, for many of us, a quintessential part of enjoying the outdoors. It's no great surprise that our most downloaded walks are between five and eight miles with at least one pub en route or to finish at. It's even better if it's a sunny summer's day and it's possible to relax for a while in a beer or cafe garden.
Our son and daughter in law have a brew pub in Brighton (the 'Hand in Hand') and are just opening a larger brewery with their talented head brewer Jack. So we know the investment that goes into hospitality businesses, not just in money but in time and love too. We are also very aware of the challenges pubs, restaurants and cafes now face, especially if they are compact and convivial like the 'Hand in Hand'.
Up north we are renovating a beautiful old building, the 'Old Forge', in Kirkby Stephen to turn it into another cosy establishment (and a meeting point for Walkingworld members in the 'real world'). Such places can be vital social hubs both for local people and for visitors. But for many premises it may be difficult going in the coming year or so.
Of course everyone needs to feel comfortable and safe, but we expect pubs, cafes and restaurants to do their utmost to make that possible. Please support them if you can. Richard Clayton, one of our contributors in the south of England, has been through all his walks updating the information on the pubs so you can check them out in advance. If you find a great establishment while you are out walking and it isn't in our Additional Information for the walk, please let us know.
Canal and river clean up
The Canal & River Trust is calling on people across England and Wales to help stop half a million pieces of plastic reaching the ocean. The charity, which usually relies heavily on an army of volunteers to help clear the waterways of plastic and litter, has had to put normal volunteering activity on hold. Recently there has been an increase in numbers using river banks and towpaths, which overall is a good thing. But sadly not all have been taking their litter and plastic home.
It's possible to help clear up the mess by taking part in what the Trust calls their Plastics Challenge. The Trust asks visitors to carry out a short litter pick while enjoying their local canal or river. It's clearly vital that this is done safely, so there's a handy guide which can be downloaded from the Canal & River Trust website. You'll need to wear gloves or use a litter picker if you have one, take home what you collect and recycle what you can.
King's College London Covid-19 research
We are finding it helpful to check the estimated numbers of people reporting Covid-19 symptoms locally. The King's College research relies on large numbers of people reporting every day to give reasonably accurate estimates of those who may have Covid-19 and also to learn more about how the disease can spread. The data is used by university researchers and shared with the NHS. It takes about a minute every day to give a simple report through an app and there are now nearly 4 million people doing so, a huge and valuable public effort.
Meanwhile Chris, along with a whole band of merry sewers, has continued to make free face masks for our local community. The project has now delivered well over 1000 masks, including some 200 for the town's hairdressing salons to help them open safely.
We are proud to have been able to support this initiative by doing the 'admin' and paying for the packaging and some of the material and elastic. There's more information, including about the 'Olson' mask design, on the Maskots website.