Dedham Footpath Group
Formed in 1975, initially as a pressure group to
counter fears that certain of the less used footpaths in the Parish might be
lost, the Dedham Footpath Group has now become established as a valuable outlet
for those from the village and beyond who enjoy country walks in the company of
like-minded people. The village of Dedham itself has almost fifty accessible
rights of way and with the neighbouring parishes of Langham, Ardleigh,
Stoke-by-Nayland, Higham, Lawford and East Bergholt provides a rich and
enticing flavour of the local countryside, much of which has become immortalised
in the paintings of John Constable.
Members of the group organise between twelve and fifteen separate outings each year mostly on Sundays either in the morning or afternoon or, during the early summer, on Friday evenings. An all-day walk during September has also been a popular event for many years. The average length of a group walk is six miles and most leaders, through popular demand, include a pub lunch or some other refreshments at the conclusion of their jaunt. Approximately half of the chosen outings are in the Dedham parish itself and the rest could be anywhere up to thirty miles distant. The attendance is usually between fifteen and thirty and this is sometimes boosted if members bring along friends and family members. This is encouraged, as is the presence of well-behaved pet dogs. To view the 2008 programme click here.
The present committee is chaired by John Osborn (johnfosborn@btinternet.com), with Jean Appleby,Tel: (01206) 323047 E-mail: appleby451@btinternet.com as Secretary and Robert Cort (Robert.Cort@tesco.net) as Treasurer. The other members of the committee are Sheila Beeton, Pauline Broom and Eve Jones (evacarl@onetel.com).
The membership fee for 2009 is £3. This includes a sum towards the cost of third party insurance cover which is now in place for all organised walks.
To view the 2009 programme of walks click here
To view a footpath guide for the parish of Dedham, click here.