One of the hazards of being chairman is being approached by really nice enthusiastic people who are so grateful for any help you offer to give. WMWG is now committed to re-waymarking a huge stretch of one of our local long distance footpaths, the Centenary Way.

Being the mug who volunteered us, I have of course been out to do a bit of way-marking myself. Happily, I have been joined on a couple of occasions by fellow credit crunch victim, Derek Smith. These sessions have tended to be pleasant enough. We start late, then after banging up a dozen or so signs, we both decide it is time for a nice pub lunch, and then find it is getting a bit too dark and late in the day to carry on afterwards. It's a good job we don't have a time limit.

So what is this Centenary Way and what is all this way-marking about? The route was created by Warwickshire County Council in 1991, which coincided with the council being 100 years old, hence the name. It starts at Kingsbury Water Park, and then sensibly keeps a safe distance from Coventry before heading down through Leamington to reach popular walking places such as the Burton Dassett Hills and Edge Hill. It finishes on the edge of the Cotswolds at Lower Quinton. After 19 years the original way-marking is looking a bit tatty and tired. But after receiving the Andy & Derek glam makeover treatment it will be looking good for another few years yet!

You wouldn't believe how much design goes into a way-mark. Prototype way-marks have been left in freezers overnight, been bent and twisted, and even had shotguns fired at them to see what happens to them! The old ones faded badly through weathering and apparently, because cows like licking them. These new ones however have the printing on the back of transparent plastic to avoid thrill seeking Frisians. The latest way-markers are now compliant with new disability regulations.

Old signs are yellow on green, unless you are colour blind, in which case they are grey on grey, and not much use. The black lines around the arrows, white backgrounds and simple fonts make the new signs usable for those with a variety of eyesight problems (including Premier League referees). One curious member of the public asked us if we were going to put up any Braille way-marks. All very good but, errm, how would they find the waymark to put their fingers on?

This work is another example of how our group is a lot more than a social walking group. The Ramblers Association is a walking charity, working to promote walking and to improve conditions for everyone who walks. This also includes protecting rights of way, campaigning for access to open country and defending the countryside. A revamped Centenary Way will help encourage non-intrusive tourism in our area and help our local economy too. So, if you find yourself with some spare time on you hand; please do drop Derek or me a line and we would love to have more help. There are some lovely pubs coming up in our next section!

By Andy P