Maps

Our thanks to Gordon Bluck of Berkhamsted Citizens Association for this news item.

Members may remember that the Association has been producing a Fieldpath map since the 1937 edition was published by Edward Stanford Ltd of Long Acre in sections mounted on linen. All this for a princely 3/-; that’s three shillings to you and me. Now equivalent to £7.60, it makes our current 90th Anniversary edition footpath map a real bargain at £2.95.

The latest series of maps have been produced by Bill Willett our own map maker and have been reprinted and revised twice with some 11,000 sold. The original funding some 20 years ago came from the BCA involvement in the Parish Paths Partnership with a grant of £1,000, and I managed to get a further £2,000 grant from Dacorum Borough Council. This enabled virtually the whole cost of map to be covered. Having just been made redundant in the great Bank Manager cull of 2000 I could get on my bike and organise the marketing.

All ticked along till interest waned over a number of years but, following the 2015 reprint for our 90th celebrations and some sales, we had some 4,000 left. In March this year I put it to the main Committee that I was happy to get this going again. Maps were dragged out of people’s garages and nooks and crannies and with some new business cards I went on a sales route again.

Our new member of Townscape, Anne Foster, has been highly successful in selling 210 maps and, with the support of our Treasurer, Christopher, who’s even sold some maps to the Way Inn, we are off to a flying start with over 640 sold. The map is now stocked in National Trust Ashridge and Dunstable Downs visitors centres, Hill Farm Cafe, Waterstone’s Berkhamsted, Complete Outdoors, Wigginton Community shop, College Lake and others. The whole idea is to fulfil the pledge not to make profit for the BCA but to encourage walking and enable charities like the NT to raise funds. This being said; the map fund is in surplus and we have already paid for the 3 trees near the Station advertising hoardings and trees in Lime Walk (off Castle Hill Avenue). Over £2,000 was spent on our information notice board near Swing Gate Lane and I am sure there will be other things to be done in future. I would like to thank everyone including the ever supportive Paul Crosland and Susan Johnson for all their help.