Chairman's Welcome
Welcome to the website of the NI Civil Service Ramblers, which is affiliated to the NI Civil Service Sports Association. The rambling club is designed to provide a varied range of walks to suit the tastes and fitness levels of all our members. Details of the current walking programme can be found on the Walks page. The club was formed over 10 years ago and has gone from strength to strength, both in terms of membership (circa100 members) and the greater diversity of walks being offered. For example, as well as the normal day walks in the Mournes, Sperrins or elsewhere in NI, we have undertaken a large number of weekend trips in NI, GB and the ROI. We also continue to develop additional week long trips in GB and, increasingly, mainland Europe. With the greater flexibility of budget airline travel, the scope for developing foreign walking holidays is immense.
The club is much more than purely hiking - the social side of the club is also very important, especially on the weekend trips when members have more time to relax over a meal and a few drinks, rather than having to drive home after a day's walking. This may be the reason why so many of our members "sign up" to these experiences. In addition, we organise several summer BBQs, evenings out and celebrate New Year over the space of several days. Even our AGM is seen as a social event with the mundane business element taking up a very small percentage of the evening.
We have a dedicated committee which meets regularly to look after the organisation of the club, but their main objective is to make the NI Civil Service Ramblers a successful and interesting club for the benefit of all the members. Their commitment is very much appreciated and makes my role much easier.
I hope you find the content of our website interesting and, if you feel that you would like to join us, you can download the membership form online. Alternatively, you are very welcome to join us on one of the forthcoming walks as a "dry run" to see if it is for you. The walks are led by trained and competent leaders and I can guarantee that you will be made welcome and, remember, we walk together as a group, at the pace of the slowest member - no pressure (and no excuse).
I look forward to hearing from you and happy rambling
Ken Bradley
Chair