Image not found WELCOME to Waymark

I have pleasure in forwarding your latest Waymark. Waymark is a newsletter that will be published via email four times a year - helping fill that long gap between Signpost - and will also appear on pnfs.org.uk/waymark. One of its aims is to encourage members to volunteer or get more involved in helping the PNFS.

If you would like to contribute to or have any suggestions or comments about Waymark, please contact me on editor@pnfs.org.uk

Shirley M Addy, BA, PNFS Editor

Wash your hands!

Extra precautions on Hulland Ward FP22 in July 2021. Photograph by Ken Brockway.

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Half Yearly Meeting

The Society's Half Yearly Meeting will be held by Zoom. PNFS members are invited to join us for an update on the work of the Society at 11.00am on Saturday 6th November.

The programme will include an overview from the Chair, Kathy McLean, a report from the Treasurer, Paul Easthope, on our finances and investments, an inspectors' report from David Gosling and a discussion on our membership introduced by the Membership Secretary, Mel Bale. The meeting is also an opportunity for members to raise any other matters about the Society's activities.

The link to join the meeting is:

Click the following link to join the Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85362093323?pwd=Y2xPQTN6WXVpcXFuWVh0QU1xak92UT09

Revised volunteer handbook is now available on our website

The Courts and Inquiries Officers have completed the revision of the volunteer handbook so that it is now up to date. Revising these documents has been a complex piece of work. The process began in November 2020 with a review by the original authors (John Harker/Terry Norris and Rhoda Barnett). They were then reviewed by all C&IO. Assessors and Area officers (who are not also C&IO) were given the opportunity to comment. My role was to collate all comments and manage the process. After signing off at the C&IC in June, they were proofread and had a sense check. Any errors arising from that have been corrected and they are now ready for you to use.

So, what has changed?

We have a new section 2 - Guide to dealing with Pre-order Consultations and Statutory Orders on behalf of the Society for Assessors, Area Officers and Courts & Inquiries Officers. This provides guidance for all in those roles in respect of assessing consultations and orders. It includes a public path checklist that is helpful to use when checking orders made by highway authorities.

A new section 3 - Guide to assessing changes to the network for Inspectors. This is an invaluable resource for all inspectors when they are asked to assess a change to the network.

A new section 5 - Legislative Guide for all Volunteers this is an updated version of the legislative guide and replaces section 6.

There is also a new C&IO Handbook that contains the process for C&IO to follow when serving s56 and s130A enforcement notices. This is for C&IO use only and is available for C&IO in the password protected Volunteers' Area on our website.

I would like to thank Rhoda Barnett, Terry Norris, John Harker, Martin Hamper, Jan Howe, Andy Leader and Udo Pope for all their hard work and patience in undertaking this review.

Jenny Allen, C&IO and Trustee

PNFS Zoom talks

Each month a speaker will be giving an illustrated talk about a topic which is relevant to the work and objectives of the Society. These will be led by a PNFS member or someone from another organisation which has interests close to our own. Using Zoom, they will start at 7.00 pm and last for approximately one hour.

The next talk is on Thursday, 21 October when Andy Leader, PNFS Courts and Inquiries Officer for Kirklees and a professional photographer, will be giving us an insight into how to take successful photographs of landscapes. Andy will take us to some of the places where he has taken his wonderful photogtraphs.

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The November online talk will be an Inspectors' Forum, introduced by David Gosling Footpath Inspections Coordinator.

The date for this meeting is Tuesday 23rd November 7.00pm. There will be an opportunity for inspectors to ask questions and talk about problems they may face.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84125585300?pwd=YVVuWHVQM0pSLzY0Y1IzVFVxcXBKdz09 Zoom link to all the online talks

Meeting ID: 841 2558 5300
Passcode: 623813

PNFS YouTube - Online talks

PNFS has a YouTube Channel and the video of David Morton's talk is now live on YouTube. Here's the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GeD6K7j27I. In this talk David Morton, PNFS's current signpost officer, talks about the history of the Society and its signposts. He talks about his predecessors, like Harold Wild and Fred Ogden, who have all contributed to the wonderful collection of signposts for which PNFS is famous.

The channel has also got a link to Ken Brockway's talk given on 24 August - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f90YQKgrLY

Finally, the most recent talk was given Genni Butler about Cheshire East Rights of Way is also now available on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqKEFMh8nvY Her talk provides a fascinating insight into the work by a Highway Authority PROW Team and their collaboration with PNFS.

Taylor House Refurbishment

PNFS HQ, Taylor House, has been closed throughout the pandemic but over recent months our Office Manager, David Brown and his wife, Judy have transformed its rather tired decor and have given it a much needed new lease of life. Click HERE to take a guided tour

Don't Lose Your Way

If you attended Ken Brockway's online talk on Lost Ways on 25 August 2021, or if you are concerned that existing public rights of way will be lost in 2026, you may be interested in the Ramblers' campaign, Don't Lose Your Way. Thanks go to Rhoda Barnett for this item, supplied by the Ramblers.

“Last year thousands of you identified over 49,000 miles of potential lost paths across England and Wales: unrecorded paths which could be lost forever if they are not researched and applied to be legally recognised before 1 January 2026. With so many miles of paths having been identified we now need your help in prioritising those which bring the most benefit to the walking network. Through this process, we will build up a picture of which paths are the most important so volunteers can explore the historical evidence to see if they can be saved. You can now suggest a priority for any paths on the Don’t Lose Your Way map. Before you start suggesting priorities please do read our guidance (pdf). If you have any questions please first check our FAQs and then email DLYW@ramblers.org.uk. Over the coming months, the Ramblers will be introducing the opportunity for anyone to sign up as a Don’t Lose Your Way Researcher. Researchers will collect and interpret historical records, which they will use to claim lost rights of way. We are producing dedicated resources and introducing training for researchers in the coming months. We will let you know as soon as it is possible to sign up for this role. Thank you for your ongoing support with this important process to save vital paths across England and Wales.”

If you want to find out more about The Ramblers campaign check out the following link https://www.ramblers.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/dont-lose-your-way-2026.aspx

Trustees Wanted

Make a difference - become a trustee. Trustees help to set the direction for the charity, ensuring that it is meeting its charitable objectives and helping its beneficiaries. They are responsible for overseeing and monitoring the charity's activities.

What will you be doing?

We are looking for new trustees who can contribute knowledge and experience to the team. Whilst not exclusive we would particularly value someone with the following skills and experience:

The Management meetings take place on the last Friday of each month (no meeting in December), normally at Taylor House, Offerton, Stockport but currently via video conference. Papers for the meeting, including reports from our officers who attend the meetings, are distributed ahead of the meeting. Trustees are expected to have read the papers and noted questions which they wish to raise at the meeting, to gain a clear picture of issues or problems that may have arisen. Trustees need to have adequate information to make responsible decisions about the future of the organisation and the way it is run. They are required to plan strategically for that future. Trustees are responsible for approving the policies which govern the charity's activities, ensuring that they are reviewed regularly, and monitoring their implementation.

Trustees are expected to take advantage of any online training which is available.

The minimum time commitment for this role is 4-5 hours per month. You may be invited to join a subcommittee. The time commitment for these varies.

What’s in it for you?

This important and rewarding role provides a unique opportunity to be part of the continual evolution and development of the Society, ensuring that it continues to meet the needs of walkers and other users and fulfil its stated aims in a positive and innovative way. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to make a real difference.

What are we looking for?

We particularly welcome applicants with experience of marketing and communications (media and PR), digital and IT. Some experience of a leadership role would be useful, as would legal knowledge.

Interested? Then Act Now. Please send a brief outline of your relevant experience with a covering letter to trustees@pnfs.org.uk

List of PNFS signposts available for memorials or dedications

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There are still some signposts - listed below - available for individual walkers or walking groups who would like to have a commemorative plaque to one in return for a donation of £375. As can be seen from Signpost Officer, David Morton's reports in Signpost, all signposts receive periodic inspections and maintenance as required. Click on the links below to see the details of each signpost.

If you are interested, contact David on 0161 283 7824 or email him on davidcmorton@ntlworld.com.

S514 at Oxenhope, Keighley; S517 on Midshires Way at Bredbury

S531 & S533 at Wicken Walls, Flash; S534 at Hr. Hud Lee Farm, Hurst Green, Lancs.

S540 & S541 at Onecote Grange, Leek; S542 at Hassop, Calver

S553, S565, S566, S567 & S574 at Goldsytch Farm, The Roaches

S575 at Gradbach Wood; S577 at Elkstone, Warslow, Leek

S580 at Norden, Rochdale; S585, S587 & S588 at Mountain Farm, Blacko, Colne

S589, S591, S592 & S593 at Hr. Gills Farm, Rimington, Clitheroe; S594 at Ribchester, Ribble Valley

S598 & S599 at Copster Green, Ribble Valley;

S603 at Slaidburn, Bowland; S604 at Lt.Snodworth, Langho, Ribble Valley; S617 at Dinckley, nr Langho, Ribble Valley;

PNFS walks

All members are welcome to join any of PNFS's walks. There are three walks organised by a PNFS member each month. The shorter one is usually about 6-7 miles long, the longer one about 9-10 miles long and the East Side Walks which are a mixture of both! All walks start from a railway or bus station. Details can be found in Signpost magazine or on http://peakandnorthern.org.uk/walks-programme/dates-for-guided-walks.htm. Ensure you check the train times and our website closer to the date of the walk in case there have been any changes.

PNFS signpost quiz

Can you identify the signposts from the following clues? Hint: See pnfs.org.uk. Answers in next issue of Waymark.

  1. Inspiration for Emily Bronte's novel.
  2. Jump for the first patriarch.
  3. A great hill for a seasonal one.
  4. It's at altitude of 491 feet.
  5. Where nuts cross a ford.
  6. Near hotel associated with The Compleat Angler.
  7. Grid reference of this one is SJ 99827 93192.
  8. This one points the way from the toilets.
  9. Shows the way to Tinseltown.
  10. Points to a windy hotel where ships moor.

Deer Proof Stiles

Here are two very high stiles. The bottom half is a conventional stile and there is a hinged and clickable gate at the top. Both stiles are placed in a high wire fence in an area where deer roam. They are to be found on Salesbury, Ribble Valley, FP19 at SD 67009 34810 and SD 66942 34868.

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Shirley M Addy, Editor and Footpath Inspector

In case you've missed ...

Thanks go to John Harker for nearly all of these links.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/jun/09/peak-district-walking-the-limestone-way-trail-ancient-tracks Hugh Thomson's Guardian piece on the Limestone Way

https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/19461512.risks-highlighted-following-deaths-people-uk-farmland/ Risks highlighted following deaths of people on UK farmland

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/19459021.public-footpaths-hackfall-woods-dismissed/ North Yorkshire CC trying to determine a DMMO application from 1984!

https://sheffnews.com/news/greenground-map-of-sheffield-launched-to-kick-off-love-parks-week/ Greenground Map of Sheffield Love Parks Week

269609_37e6a086979243bfb962707048fcf027.pdf (filesusr.com) Lake District Green Lanes Alliance July newsletter

https://tinyurl.com/2xevap7e Right to roam campaign

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58021450 Walking and biking prioritised in new Highway Code

https://tinyurl.com/3nsrv57r Cheshire East gets a grant from PNFS

History & development of municipal parks in Manchester and Salford Tickets, Wed 20 Oct 2021 at 14:00 | Eventbrite

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/mountain-rescuers-come-aid-podgy-5760387 Mountain rescuers come to aid of podgy pooch stranded in Peak District

https://friendsoftheloxleyvalley.com/2021/08/11/friends-of-the-loxley-valley-welcome-planning-inquiry-decision/ Great news about the Loxley Valley Planning Inquiry

https://www.nls.uk/player/scotways-talk/ National Library of Scotland - 175 years of Scotways

https://nowthenmagazine.com/articles/new-pilot-hopes-to-transform-travel-in-the-hope-valley New pilot hopes to transform travel in the Hope Valley

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/aug/18/beach-of-dreams-trail-left-me-dazzled-by-essex-i-never-expected The Beach of Dreams trail in Essex!

https://www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/the-latest/recent-news/other-news-articles/interactive-map-illustrates-17-years-of-moorland-restoration

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/jun/29/skylarks-sunshine-solidarity-winter-hill-lancashire-mass-trespass-west-pennines Skylarks, sunshine and solidarity on Winter Hill, Lancashire

Experience Community | Experience Something This organisation provides information to anyone with a disability to enable them to access the countryside.

Shine A Light Visit the Peak District

Derbyshire Woodland Festival 2021 (facebook.com) Derbyshire Woodland Festival 2021

https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/leisure/countryside/access/rights-of-way/scheduled-maintenance-programme/scheduled-maintenance-programme.aspx Derbyshire Scheduled Maintainance Programme

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-58439407 Game of Thrones prequel

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-57528980Why does Alfred Wainwright still loom large over the Lake District?

https://youtu.be/_67vZmHEPxY Stockport Walk: Town Centre

https://www.visitbradford.com/visitor-information.aspx Self guided walking trails in the Bradford and wider Bradford MDC area that members might be interested in.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/woman-attacked-herd-cows-who-24995480 Woman attacked by a herd of cows.

https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/council/news-events/news-updates/news/five-more-statues-added-to-miners-memorial.aspxFive more statues added to miner's memorial.

https://tinyurl.com/49vsfkcz Major success for local voice campaigners as planning changes are paused

https://tinyurl.com/ynj6tm8m Stepping Stones Anniversary

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-10008661/Newly-tarmacked-Peak-District-lane-Bamford-Clough-named-steepest-climb-Britain.html Britain's Steepest Lane

https://tinyurl.com/29yvph3w An interesting film about the Winter Hill mass trespasses of the 1890s. 

https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/beds-bucks-herts/news/high-wycombe-footpath-agreed/ New Footpath in High Wycombe

https://youtu.be/GjxrPOlrGbk Winter Hill protest. One of our signposts featured at the end

https://www.bolsover.gov.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=197 Walking and Cycling in Bolsover

https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2021/09/network-rail-airlifts-materials-by-helicopter-into-position-during-essential-repairs-to-cowburn-tunnel.html Essential repairs to Peak District tunnel

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/incredible-images-show-lost-village-21677403 A 'Lost Village' reappears.

https://tinyurl.com/5e56hsuj Lake District Green Lanes Alliance Newsletter

Historic England - Aerial Archaelogy Mapping

Ken Smith's walking videos

PNFS CHELFORD CIRCULAR WALK - https://youtu.be/j8w0XWPSLZ0 - This is my 2nd Cheshire POSH WALK. (How the other half live) Walked with Tony Littler PNFS Walk Leader and 10 other PNFS members on Wednesday 13/02/2019. Thanks Tony for keeping these great walks alive and all your very interesting local knowledge. I just loved this walk. Walk started and finished at Chelford Railway Station at 10:40am - 3:00pm 12.9km 8mi approximate walking time 3 hrs 30 mins Total ascent 120 m 394 ft, highest 79 m 259 ft, lowest 49 m 161 ft.

PNFS KIDSGROVE TO CONGLETON WALK - https://youtu.be/XQNljPQ1130 - 16.8km 10.45mi 4 hrs 10 mins Total ascent 589m 1932ft Highest 329m 1079ft Lowest 104m 342ft Thanks Tony for leading this walk on such a fantastic Sunny Blue Sky Day. The hottest February day since records began. This is a two counties walk and starts at Kidsgrove (Staffordshire) Railway Station and finishes at The Queens Head just off Macclesfield canal next to Congleton (East Cheshire) Railway Station. Walked with Tony Littler PNFS Walk Leader and 15 other PNFS members on Wednesday 27/02/2019. Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, Kidsgrove once coal mining town. This walk passes Mow Cop folly 335m above sea level, offers fantastic views all around Staffordshire and Cheshire.

PNFS HINDLEY & WESTHOUGHTON WALK - https://youtu.be/1_Xk5SsYtic - 10.76km 6.7mi 3 hrs 50 mins Total ascent 144m 472ft Highest 132m 433ft Lowest 59m 194ft Walked Wednesday 14th March 2019 with PNFS. Walk Leader Peter Burns and 5 other PNFS Walkers. Many thanks to Peter. Walk starts at Hindley Railway Station and finishes at Hindley Railway Station.

PNFS CONGLETON CIRCULAR WALK - https://youtu.be/BT59dhyf-Qo - Walked with Bill Minshall PNFS Walk Leader and 11 other PNFS members on Wednesday 24/04/2019. 16.5km 10.2mi 4 hrs 30 mins including a break and lunch break. Total ascent 624m 2049ft Highest 340m 1117ft Lowest 107m 350ft Thanks Bill for keeping this great walk alive and all your very interesting local knowledge. I just loved THE CLOUD on this walk (The Bosley Cloud). Walk started at 10:25 from Congleton Railway Station. Walk passes... Hightown Mossley Castle Farm Nick i’ th’ Hill Congleton Edge Higher Whitemoor Mossley Hall Dane in Shaw Overedge Pool Bank Timbersbrook THE CLOUD Pool Bank Brook House Farm Hightown Queen’s Head Pub Walk ended after 2 pints of Absolution in The Queen’s Head Pub just off the canal and right beside Congleton Railway Station.

Book reviews: The Red Atlas – How the Soviet Union Secretly Mapped the World by John Davies and Alexander J Kent, University of Chicago Press; Manchester's Lost District – Life before the Arndale by Keith Warrender, Willow Publishing

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Here we have two very different books with seemingly nothing in common and nothing to do with walking. But I think there is a common thread between them and a relevance to walking. The Red Atlas tells the story of how the Soviet Union secretly compiled worldwide maps. These were sometimes more detailed than a country's own official maps. While there have been occasional newspaper articles over the years, this is the first time the story has been told in full. Following the end of Communism in Eastern Europe details of the mapping programme gradually became known and copies began to circulate in the West. The ones of Britain are clearly based on OS maps. For a while OS tried to prevent their publication on the grounds that they breached copyright.

Using official maps as a starting point the Soviets made use of sources such as street atlases, tourist guidebooks, railway timetables, trade directories, and aerial imagery (from planes and satellites) to build up a highly detailed picture of each country of interest. In some cases this was supplemented by numerical information (such as bridge-loading capacities) that was not shown on national mapping or published elsewhere at the time (or obtainable from aerial imagery), so may have been derived from actual “boots on the ground” visits. Was there an army of Soviet agents roaming the world furtively noting down information for the cartographers back home? Or were there “reds under the bed” secretly providing the Soviets with the information they required? Military establishments were obviously a key area of interest for the Soviets. Often these were shown in greater detail than on a country's own official maps (some countries excluded them entirely).

There are errors on the Soviet maps. Some are understandable, such as mis-identifying (probably from an aerial photo) the excavation for a pipeline as a new road under construction. Other mistakes reveal the Soviet's lack of historical and cultural nderstanding. For example, they labelled a small obscure building in the Pennine village of Sowood Green as an “Institute of Technology”. Lacking any historical knowledge they simply assumed the 19th century Mechanics Institute was a high-tech establishment worthy of their attention. Bizarrely they identified the London entertainment venue Her Majesty's Theatre as the “Residence of the Queen and Prime Minister”.

While much of the extra detail on the maps had a military dimension, the authors suggest that the maps were primarily administrative documents that would allow the Soviets to rule their newly-acquired territories with maximum efficiency once they had taken over. They seem to have genuinely believed that huge areas of the world were going to fall to Communism and they wanted to make sure everything was going to run well once it had happened. This also suggests that they thought the takeover would be achieved without the devastation of a nuclear war.

Footpaths and walking are not mentioned in the book. None of the maps of Britain (as far as I can see) explicitly identify Rights of Way despite being based on OS maps. Was that because the Soviets didn’t understand what they are and so ignored them, or because they would no longer have existed? Soviet-bloc countries were infamous for restricting how much and where their citizens could travel. Having people wandering all over the place would probably not have been popular with our new Commie overlords if an invasion had ever happened. So while the land-owning classes would have lost control (and be carted off to the gulags?), I suspect the freedom to go out for a walk would not have survived for the rest of us. There is a website accompanying the book (https://redatlasbook.com/) and you can buy reprints of selected maps.

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We now move from the global to the local. Manchester's Lost District examines the changes imposed on the city centre by the development of the Arndale Centre. Among the premises lost were huge warehouses from Manchester's textile heyday, historic pubs and clubs, places of worship, a graveyard, a pioneering cinema, a myriad assortment of shops and commercial properties, and much more. A public inquiry in 1968 recognised that there was much history associated with the area but decided that it should all be swept away. There was not even an opportunity to carry out any archaeological investigation before construction began.

he book divides the area of the present-day Arndale into five sections and describes the older road network and a selection of the premises within each one. The lives of some of the local movers and shakers of the pre-Arndale world are described in varying levels of detail, though I felt the thirteen pages given over to Harry Liston (“Manchester's greatest entertainer” - I had never heard of him) was a bit excessive.

The book is copiously illustrated with maps, photographs and prints. Some of the maps are lacking in detail, but the ability to access historic maps on-line means that this is not a major problem. This is a well-researched book that contains a wealth of detail about an area that has been totally transformed, and should be of interest to anyone with a passing curiosity in how Manchester has evolved.

What I would have liked to see was a more in-depth consideration of the erosion of the public realm that developments such as the Arndale introduce. A network of publicly accessible streets has been replaced by a sterile, heavily regulated, privatised, indoor environment. This is the common thread between the two books - the loss of places to freely walk and meet (for recreation or otherwise). It is a constant threat that can come from any source - whether from an invading foreign power seeking to impose its own political ideology, or from developers giving us the dubious pleasure of spending our money in a characterless shopping centre.

Andrew Harter, Footpath Inspector and Taylor House Volunteer

Facebook for Members

The society has a Facebook Group - PNFS MEMBERS. This is a forum for discussion of all matters relating to the preservation and improvement of the rights of way network across our region, our signposts, bridges and research into unrecorded ways. We hope it will also be a good place to share images of walks that can also be posted on our Instagram account, #LOVEOURFOOTPATHS.


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Deadline for Signpost

Please be reminded that the deadlines for copy for Signpost magazine are 15 February, 15 May, 15 August and 15 November. Please forward your articles to editor@pnfs.org.uk in good time. Remember I can only accept them in an editable format, such as Word, and photographs in jpg format; including your job or role title would be helpful.

Disclaimer

Copyright of the original material belongs to individual contributors, unless stated otherwise. No part of Waymark may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the Society. The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the Society.

Produced by Shirley M Addy, Editor and published by Mel Bale, Webmaster

Contact for Waymark is editor@pnfs.org.uk