I've missed a number of group walks in recent months, so I was mightily impressed by the turnout on our last Sunday walk, over the Marlborough Downs. In excess of 30 walkers representing 10 LDWA groups found their way to the start in a remote car park. So a very big thank you to members of Bristol & West, Cornwall & Devon, Dorset, Heart of England, South Manchester, South Wales, Staffordshire, Thames Valley, Wessex and Wiltshire for joining us and we look forward to seeing you all again.

In this month's newsletter:

• Data Protection;
• Dorset Giant;
• Pewsey Downsaround (PDA);
• Hadrian Hundred;
• Mid-Wilts Way;
• LDWA Annual General Meeting (AGM);
• Saving Our Lost Footpaths;
• Wiltshiire LDWA-branded Clothing;
• Helping the Homeless; and
• Forthcoming Walks

Data Protection

From: Christopher Hedley, LDWA Data Manager

"The need for the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), which came into force in May 2018, has been amply demonstrated in any reading of the national press over the past few months. You will find the following documents dealing with data protection on the LDWA website (go to the main bar at the top and you will see "Data protection" on the very right hand side):

• Data Protection and Privacy (DPP) Policy;
• DPP User Guide; and
• DPP Briefing Notes for Officers

These editions have been amended slightly since April 2018 to reflect your concerns and the need now to collect information on social walks for insurance purposes (see below). The policy as it stands reflects a common sense approach that is practical for a volunteer organisation whilst defending the rights of individuals to have their privacy protected.

Photographs

Almost all participants at LDWA events have a camera (in a smartphone) ready to hand. Most people are keen to have their photo taken and to participate in group shots. However, your photo is personal data and we have to have rules on how these are taken and stored.

Photos on Challenge Walks are dealt with through the terms and conditions of entry. Photographs of participating individuals taking part in LDWA events may be used in Strider, in Group Newsletters, on the website and on social media channels. The LDWA will make all reasonable efforts to remove such photos from the website or social media channels under its control, if requested to do so by anybody featured in such a photograph against their will. Please contact the Challenge Event organiser if this is the case. If this is not done within a reasonable time frame, please contact datamanager@ldwa.org.uk.

When you are on one of our Social Walks and you don't want your mugshot taken, please withdraw well away from the camera. Walk leaders are asked to give you a chance to do so whenever a group photo is being taken. If you see someone take a photo of you without your permission, please ask them to delete that photo. We will take down any photo loaded on our websites (including Group websites) as soon as possible, if you ask us to do so. Please contact your Group Walks Coordinator or the Challenge Walk organiser to ask them to do this. If this is not done within a reasonable time frame, please contact datamanager@ldwa.org.uk. The Information Commissioner's Office has said that this approach is a proportionate approach to the privacy issue.

Please remember that you should never take photos of children and young people [up to age 18] without explicit parental consent .This should also extend to those adults who may not be in a position to give their informed consent but we acknowledge this is difficult to judge sometimes.

Social Walks Register

As you probably know, our public liability insurer now requires us to collect participant information for Social Walks, Trips Away and Other Group Events. (The need to collect the information is nothing to do with data protection. But having collected the data, there is then an obligation to manage it responsibly to comply with the GDPR.) Groups are asked to collect the name and membership number for all members and the name and either postal address or email address or mobile number for prospective members. If they have a need to do so, they may collect extra information (e.g. next of kin details for a challenging mountain walk). After the event, your name will be scanned and retained. To enhance security, we hope that by the summer, these documents will be uploaded to a LDWA website page.

There may be some members who are unhappy with providing this data. This would be unfortunate as the LDWA needs to be insured against third party claims. Although a claim is very unlikely, the possible damages, if we are uninsured, would be unacceptably high. Our insurance covers liabilities to farmers and others if someone leaves a gate open, for example, or the group causes damages, deliberately or accidentally. But it also covers the LDWA against claims made by one of the walkers for negligence by the walk leader. As a walk leader, I want to have this level of protection.

Other Issues

Data protection and privacy has not been an easy topic for the NEC to push forward in trying to balance practicalities and the avoidance of bureaucracy on the one hand with the very real need to comply with an emerging area of law. Please remember the GDPR is in place to protect your valuable data and also to allow the LDWA to function as an organisation.

If you have any concerns about how the LDWA manages your data, please contact datamanager@ldwa.org.uk. If your concern is with information collected by a local group (social walks, events, Challenge Events), please contact the nominated data officer in the first instance.

I am now stepping down as Data Manager and NEC member for the Environment. Many thanks for your understanding over the past five years. The excellent Stuart Bain will be taking over. I'm off to do some long distance walking!"

Dorset Giant

From Lesley Bellis

"Our checkpoint is situated in the car park at 3 Rodden Row, Abbotsbury, DT3 4JL. We will have to pay to park there, however, the Dorset group will reimburse us, so make sure you let me have your tickets or let me know how much you have paid.

The organisers will deliver the provisions, including water, at 1030hrs so we all need to be there before with the tables ready, on which we will serve cold drinks and snacks. It will be busy from when we open at 1115hrs until closing time at 1245hrs."

Pewsey Downsaround (PDA)

From Lesley Bellis

"The PDA is fast approaching and at the weekend I have been informed that we only have around 50 places left. All the volunteers involved in the PDA will shortly receive their instructions. If you don't receive them in the next few days, please let one of the committee know.

To all you wonderful bakers, please let me know what you can make,and remember to keep your receipts so we can reimburse you. If anyone who hasn't volunteered finds they can spare a couple of hours to assist, especially in the Scout Hut for registration, please let me know.

Hadrian Hundred

From Lesley Bellis:

"We have been given permission to replicate the Hadrian Hundred logo on our special edition polo shirts which will be given free to our entrants and volunteers. Our green badge will be on the left side with the red and yellow event logo on the right side. There are not many base colours that you can get away with having to support these badges, so the committee has chosen black. Entrants and volunteers are requested to let Andy Todd what size they require.

To the volunteers, there is space at the farm for 4 cars, so I suggest we rendezvous at The Forresters in Middleton-in-Teesdale, at a time to be arranged, and car share and drive in convoy to the venue. Our checkpoint opens at 0100hrs on Sunday morning. At 0900hrs the Kent group are rostered to take over from us."

Here's a photograph to help volunteers recognise the checkpoint upon arrival ... assuming someone remembers to leave a light on!

Here's what it may look like by the time you leave.

Mid-Wilts Way

From John Walker:

"There are still some seats available on the coach for this linear walk through the heart of Wiltshire, with many putting their names down to walk all 3 sections:

• Sunday 9th June 2019 - Ham to Knap Hill (22 miles)
• Sunday 7th July 2019 - Knap Hill to Steeple Ashton (22 miles)
• Sunday 28th July 2019 - Steeple Ashton to Mere (24 miles)

Details of each walk can be found on the Future Events section of the Wiltshire LDWA website. Walkers will park their cars at the day's destination and take a coach to the start. In view of the good response so far, a coach, rather than a minibus, will be used.

Please contact me at johnwalkerhafod@gmail.com if you want to join us on this walk through our home county."

LDWA Annual General Meeting (AGM)

From Lesley Bellis:

"The LDWA's national AGM was held on Sunday 10th March and the meeting moved along at quite a pace. The main points are listed below:

1. Various workshops had been held prior to the meeting and one of the thorny problems debated was the need for a new logo and what it should describe. Apparently there were many versions of which 10 of the most popular were attached to the wall of the meeting room. These will be published in Strider for the membership to vote on. The current logo won't be voted on;
   
   
2. The National Secretary spent time explaining why we now have to record names and numbers of personnel who take part in our walks. It is the Insurance Broker who is insisting on this information. If I am present at our social walks I will take this info, if not it will be down to the walk leader to record the information and forward it to me. I am storing this information for 3 years in a password protected file. If non-members attend, their name and an email or phone number is to be taken. Anyone who refuses this information will not be covered by our insurers and if they cause an accident to either people, property or animals will be liable.
   
   
3. The NEC stated that in 5 years time we will need a new operating system which could cost as much as 250K It hosts all 43 groups and approx 20,000 pages. Dave Morgan suggested several ways of how we can raise this huge sum of money and one suggestion was to charge non-members who take part in challenges a surcharge of approximately £5 which will be sent to the national treasurer specifically for the new operating system. Anyone who knows of small firms that could undertake this work or has any suggestions of how to raise this money are invited to contact the NEC.
   
   
4. Adverts for LDWA will start to appear in various walking and similar magazines."

Wiltshire LDWA-branded Clothing

From Andy Todd:

"I will soon be ordering the polo shirts for the group for this year's 100. If anyone would like me to order polo shirts, or fleece jackets with the Wiltshire LDWA logo, please contact me at andy@andytodd.org.uk and I can sort out costs. This is for a delivery to me at the end of May."

Forthcoming Walks

Finally, here's the usual look ahead to all the group walks and challenge events that are taking place this month within a 50-mile radius of the geographical centre of Wiltshire.

This e-mail has been sent to 450+ Primary and Associate group members. If you wish to opt out of receiving e-mails from us, you will need to change your e-mail preferences by logging onto the LDWA website. The newsletter is also shared with the 6,500+ members of the LDWA Facebook group.

That's it for another newsletter. All our newsletters are available via the Wiltshire LDWA website. If you have anything to contribute to future editions, please can you get it to me by the 20th of each month. I look forward to seeing you out on our group walks this month.

Warmest regards

Clive

Secretary of the Wiltshire LDWA
WiltshireLDWA@outlook.com