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The Summer Pub Ramble has for a long time been one of the
most popular events organised by the Bramcote Hills Community Association.
It takes place on the Wednesday evening nearest to Midsummer's
Day. We leave Bramcote by coach in the early evening, travel for about 40 minutes
before being put down to start the walk. The put down point is a 'closely-guarded
secret', but everyone has the chance to guess where it might be and the person
guessing most closely to the spot receives a bottle of wine on the coach.
The Pub Ramble is a social event, so the route chosen attempts
to combine some pleasant scenery with fairly easy walking over not too long
a distance and, where possible, along fairly wide paths, so that people are
able to walk side by side and have a chat along the way.
The East Midlands is not the first area that comes to mind
when considering pleasant scenery, but within a ten mile radius of Nottingham
there is some very attractive countryside, as we have discovered over the years.
The walk is usually about three miles in length and finishes at a pub, the location
of which is known only to the organiser, where we have a meal before returning
to Bramcote by 11.30pm.
When choosing the pub, the organiser is looking for somewhere
that: (a) is large enough to accommodate a large party relatively separately
from other users, (b) is able to provide a wide choice of menus at a fair price
and (c) is able to serve a large party in a short time.
All ramblers choose their food beforehand and the choices
are relayed to the pub, so that it knows exactly what our requirements are.
Not only does this help the pub, it ensures that we get served exactly what
we ordered quickly and also makes the organiser's job a lot easier!
The choice of June usually ensures reasonable weather, though
inevitably this cannot be guaranteed. Only twice in the last ten years or so
have we had to walk through heavy rain. Even this does not appear to diminish
our enjoyment too much!
A headache for the organiser, and indeed the ramblers, is
the likelihood of a clash with a major sporting event, especially one where
there is English involvement. The problem was highlighted most vividly in 1996
when the ramble clashed with the semi-final of football's European Championships
when England met Germany. Many people were faced with an agonising decision
- to watch or to ramble? Fortunately, the pub had a television in the bar, so
that it was possible to both watch the penalty shoot-out and enjoy the meal!
The Pub Ramble is as popular as ever - in 1999 the number
of participants exceeded 60 and for the first time we had to use a double-decker
bus!
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