Why not enjoy a lovely walk in one of Shropshire’s loveliest areas . . . and help to educate refugee children in Africa.
The walks are being laid on around Cardington on Sunday 17th July, with homemade refreshments at the start or finish. Each walk begins at Cardington Village Hall with a warm welcome from members of the Friends of Conakry Refugee School charity.
Friends of Conakry Refugee School (FCRS; www.fcrs.org.uk) is a Shropshire based charity run entirely by a small team of volunteers who support a school for refugee children in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, West Africa. FCRS Director Jackie Watkins recently visited the school for the first time since the Covid pandemic and was delighted to see pupils studying in a new school building. The pupils were very happy to see that Jackie had brought 24 reconditioned laptops!
Jackie says that attendance at the 500-pupil school is high, exam results are good and students are ambitious and hardworking. The charity is constantly seeking to maintain a good standard of education and fundraisers go a long way to provide much needed funds and to raise awareness of the work they do.
Jackie adds, “We are £4,000 short of our funding target for this year. Please do come and support us at this special Cardington Walking Day. We have some wonderful themed walks on offer, and all tickets include either breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea. Tickets for each walk are £20. Places are strictly limited so do book early to avoid disappointment.”
Walks to choose from.
6.30am Photography Walk with local photographer Terry MdC
An amazing opportunity to spend two hours with your camera in the company of chef turned photographer Terry MdC, followed by a home made breakfast at the Village Hall.
9am Three Hills Walk
Relax and be guided on the longest walk (about 15km) over the Lawley, Caradoc and Wilstone Hill. This is the most challenging walk with around 550m of ascent and descent. You will be helped on your way with some good refreshments!
10am Hill Fort Walk with Jo Jukes
A walk to Caer Caradoc with artist and author Jo Jukes whose book Finding Home focused on the emotional pull of these amazing sites. She will guide the walk while sharing her knowledge, thoughts and feelings about our relationship with hill forts in general and Caer Caradoc in particular.
11am Creative Writing Walk with Andy Jukes
This will be more of a stroll around the fields and lanes of Cardington with frequent stops to explore our response to the landscape through words.
11am Sketching Walk with local artist Sandy Densem
A fun journey in mark making, looking at the textures and shapes in the landscape; listening to the sounds around us, and making pictorial notes about what we’re seeing. This is not about doing a full landscape drawing, but rather about capturing the essence of the environment and how we respond to it.
1pm Wildflowers and Watermill Walk
Mentioned in the Doomsday Book, Gretton Mill is no longer a working mill but the workings of the mill are largely intact and traces of its long history can be found in the surrounding landscape and the substance of the building itself. The meadow adjacent to Heath Brook should be full of insects, butterflies and wildflowers and you will be invited to explore it before we walk back to the village.
2pm Village History Walk
Geoff Milner has been researching Cardington history during lockdown. The walk will begin at the Village Hall and your ticket includes lunch before or tea after, whichever suits your plans.
This will be a relatively short walk with many stops to examine the architectural history of this amazing Domesday village.
Or simply plan your own walk and join the organisers for breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea for £5.
To book your tickets go to
https://fcrs.org.uk/product-category/tickets/
or phone: 01939 261632
