We would like to find some new volunteers to lead walks! We rely on the enthusiasm and commitment of members to lead walks. We'd be delighted if you could become a walk leader, if you aren't one already! Assistance and support by experienced walk leaders is always available, and you can of course choose a modest walk to start with. If you are a member of Sevenoaks Ramblers and would like to consider leading a walk, please contact Anna Fischel, our Walks Coordinator, for further details.
The role of Parish Footpath Observer (PFO) is to walk all the footpaths in a defined area within the Sevenoaks District at least once a year to identify and report any problems. This is not an onerous or difficult job! The commonest problems we encounter are broken stiles, inadequate waymarks, and obstructions (especially after strong winds). Problems are reported to Kent County Council via their website. With a mobile phone you can take a picture of the problem which will have the location (latitude and longitude) recorded on your photo.
The area that each PFO covers is a parish council as identified on an Ordnance Survey map, although the role has no connection with any activity undertaken by the local parish council. Sevenoaks Ramblers aim to monitor Rights of Way in 28 of the 31 Sevenoaks parishes (the remaining three are looked after by other groups). For a pop-up overview of the parishes, click here, but for the offical boundaries drawn on an OS map, please see under the Mapping menu. We currently have PFOs in place for all our parishes except Horton Kirby and South Darenth.
A very practical 7-page guide from West Kent Ramblers, covering legal and customary requirements for Rights of Way, can be found here. If you'd like a single-page synopsis of the essentials, click here.
If you would like to help us by becoming a Parish Footpath Observer please contact Terry Coen, who coordinates the PFOs and can give you more information.
The Local Footpath Officers (LFOs) are our main contacts regarding major issues with Public Rights of Way. Kent Ramblers receive notification, like other affected parties, regarding any proposals involving changes such as closures or diversions to Rights of Way. These are distributed to the LFOs who express a view on the proposals on behalf of Ramblers i.e. accepting the proposed change, objecting to it, or suggesting a possible change to the proposal. They are occasionally (but rarely) called on to attend meetings representing Ramblers. The LFOs are organised on a Kent Ramblers basis, and are responsible to Kent Area rather than individual Groups such as Sevenoaks, but we do have contact with them from time to time. Many of the LFOs are responsible for multiple parishes; currently, two of the three responsible for Sevenoaks parishes are Sevenoaks members.
Originally migrated from https://sevenoaksramblers.org.uk/volunteer.html.