Saving our Rural Phone Boxes - Council Vetos BT Plans to Scrap "Icons of England"

Saving our Rural Phone Boxes - Council Vetos BT Plans to Scrap "Icons of England"

BT may be on a mission to scrap all their uneconomic public phone boxes but thankfully local councils have a right of veto and are using it.

So I say well done to Winchester City Council which, according to this week's Hampshire Chroncicle, has just used its veto to preserve 37 of the 44 boxes threatened by BT. The reasons are mainly the poor level of mobile phone covereage or that they are in a key location for emergency calls.

This also follows a previous campaign in 2008 when residents convinced Winchester City Council to save 41 out of 43 blacklisted boxes.

Many of these boxes are our beloved red kiosks that are a part of our national heritage and promoted by Bill Bryon in the Campaign to Protect Rural England's fantastic and heart-warming book Icons of England ... so I have to say the romantic in me wants these to be preserved for posterity even if they are uneconomic.

BT does allow council's to "Adopt a Kiosk" (for £1 I think) with the wordings removed if they still want to save a kiosk for aesthetic or historic reasons butcannot justify the veto. Hopefully this will save even more and keep this dramatic element of our rural landscapes.

The Pub Walker
MyFavouritePubWalks.com
Follow us at twitter.com/PubWalker for live updates
Register for The Pub Walker Bulletin for email alerts

Bluebell Pub Walk to the Kings Arms, Fernhurst, Surrey

This Week's Pub Walk... to The Kings Arms, Fernhurst, Surrey

The Bluebell Walk from The Kings Arms in Fernhurst has now been published and is reading for downloading at a moment's notice for anyone else who would like to try this. It is a circular walk with a stream and a meadow, a pub and a pinewood, buzzards and of course bluebells!

The Kings Arms is a friendly 17th Century pub full of character and a relaxed charm. It prides itself in providing locally sourced food, which is cooked fresh daily, and quality cask ales.

The download is available by clicking on Kings Arms Pub Walk.


The Pub Walker
MyFavouritePubWalks.com
Follow us at twitter.com/PubWalker for live updates
Register for The Pub Walker Bulletin for email alerts

Saturday 25th April - Join the Bluebell Walk to the Kings Arms, Fernhurst, Surrey

If you fancy a pub walk in the Surrey countryside this Saturday, why not join the Bluebell Walk being led by well-known rambler Richard Williamson which starts and finishes at The Kings Arms in Fernhurst.

Although this is a fund raising walk, as this is only a few days away now I have been asked to say all walkers are welcome even without sponsorship as they will be collecting on the day and giving £2 to the charity Canine Partners from each ploughman's sold. So you can count me in and the more the merrier!

The walk is part of the Canine Partners National Bluebell Walk Campaign. It starts from The Kings Arms car park at 10:30am on Saturday 25th April and a map will be provided on the day. Canine Partners enables people with disabilities to enjoy greater independence and a better quality of life through the help of specially trained dogs.

For further information about the walk, please call the Kings Arms on 01428 652005. Visit the www.caninepartners.co.uk or call Malcolm Wells 01730 716011 for further information on the Bluebell Walk Campaign 2009 or Canine Partners.


The Pub Walker
MyFavouritePubWalks.com
Follow us at twitter.com/PubWalker for live updates
Register for The Pub Walker Bulletin for email alerts

Proud of Pubs Week

Are you Proud of Pubs?

The first ever Proud of Pubs Week is underway, running from 8-15 July2007. To mark the occasion there will be a host of special events being run by pubs across the country so it is worth checking out what your locals have up their sleeves.

Some of the events are known to include local cheese evenings, beer tastings, even a "champagne and chocolate" evening for the ladies (why only them?) so it could be a fun week

It is all about promoting our pubs and our pub heritage. Of course another way to support them is to submit a favourite pub walk and get some hungry and thirsty customers through their doors! However you choose to support them, enjoy Proud of Pubs Week!

Today's pub walk: The Fox Inn in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk.

The Pub Walker
MyFavouritePubWalks.com
Free 2-monthly newsletter (NO spamming)