Why not join us?
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The Friends of the Flitch Way and Associated Woodlands help to conserve the Flitch Way and countryside for the community.
The Friends group began in August 2004 when a small group of volunteers were invited by one of the Rangers to help with the maintenance of the Flitch Way Country Park. As numbers grew we formed a committee, wrote our own constitution and became a registered charity in September 2005. We set out to bring together local like-minded people keen to keep active and with an interest in the outdoors and conservation who wanted to maintain and improve the environment for the benefit of the community. Those aims continue to apply today. |
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Fundraising and Sponsorship
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If you would like to raise funds or sponsorship we have an account at MyDonate under the name of Friends of the Flitch Way and Associated Woodlands. This makes it easy for you to set up your own fundraising page and the benefit to us is that we receive all the money you raise, as well as the full 25 per cent Gift Aid, with no fees beyond those charged by a donor’s debit or credit card company.
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Applying for Membership and/or Volunteering
Members pay an annual membership fee of £12 which is used to provide training and safety equipment for volunteers. It also helps with the cost of sending out information to members and the general public.
We have more than 70 members and around 60 regular volunteers. On average 11 to 12 volunteers attend each of our conservation work parties. Some members just want to receive information about what we are doing or hear about events that are taking place. Others help in whatever way they can such as delivering leaflets, welcoming visitors to the carriage or merely pay their membership fee to support the work that we do.
Remember you do not have to attend work parties or volunteer to become a member and you do not have to pay membership to volunteer!
We have more than 70 members and around 60 regular volunteers. On average 11 to 12 volunteers attend each of our conservation work parties. Some members just want to receive information about what we are doing or hear about events that are taking place. Others help in whatever way they can such as delivering leaflets, welcoming visitors to the carriage or merely pay their membership fee to support the work that we do.
Remember you do not have to attend work parties or volunteer to become a member and you do not have to pay membership to volunteer!
Benefits - Your membership brings you:
- Regular up to date information including events, work party news, minutes of meetings, history and wildlife
- The option to purchase our Friends of the Flitch Way branded clothing. The price is reduced to 50% for volunteers who attend more than 25 work parties or carriage sessions.
- The opportunity to attend training courses to increase your knowledge and allow you to carry out species recording and surveys for the Friends.
- A 20% discount at the Booking Hall café in Rayne on tea, coffee and meals on production of your membership card.
- The satisfaction of joining us as we try to make a difference!
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Membership & Volunteering application forms (new applicants):
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Gift Aid form (existing members only):
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Volunteer and visitor information
Our volunteers are one of the largest conservation groups in Essex, regularly recording over 5,000 volunteer hours a year.
Volunteering hours
2017-18 5,741 hours. 62 active volunteers. Flitch Way group 3,120 hours. Carriage Stewards 857 hours. Footpath work group (P3) 1,764 hours.
2016-17 5,873 hours. Flitch Way group 3,440 hours. Carriage Stewards 855 hours. Footpath work group (P3) 1,578 hours.
2015-16 5,428 hours. Flitch Way group 3,125 hours. Carriage Stewards 1,223 hours. Footpath work group (P3) 1,080 hours.
2014-15 6,559 hours. Flitch Way group 3,386 hours. Carriage Stewards 1,808 hours. Footpath work group (P3) 1,365 hours.
Carriage Museum visitor numbers
2017-18. 4,766 visitors.
2016-17. 4,433 visitors.
2015-16. 5,807 visitors.
2014-15. over 4,000 visitors.
Examples of our volunteering activities are shown below and regular updates can be found using the News link or like Facebook page.
Volunteering hours
2017-18 5,741 hours. 62 active volunteers. Flitch Way group 3,120 hours. Carriage Stewards 857 hours. Footpath work group (P3) 1,764 hours.
2016-17 5,873 hours. Flitch Way group 3,440 hours. Carriage Stewards 855 hours. Footpath work group (P3) 1,578 hours.
2015-16 5,428 hours. Flitch Way group 3,125 hours. Carriage Stewards 1,223 hours. Footpath work group (P3) 1,080 hours.
2014-15 6,559 hours. Flitch Way group 3,386 hours. Carriage Stewards 1,808 hours. Footpath work group (P3) 1,365 hours.
Carriage Museum visitor numbers
2017-18. 4,766 visitors.
2016-17. 4,433 visitors.
2015-16. 5,807 visitors.
2014-15. over 4,000 visitors.
Examples of our volunteering activities are shown below and regular updates can be found using the News link or like Facebook page.
Volunteering
We are a friendly group and welcome and support new members whether they come for one day or become regular volunteers. Members of our group have acted as recorders for wildlife species such as bats, great crested newts, butterflies and dormice.
Being a registered charity has allowed us to apply for a variety of grants which has enabled the purchase of machinery and equipment such as a wood processor, chipper, hedge trimmer and the railway carriage. Noticeboards and interpretation panels for which we obtained funding can be found at various places along the Flitch Way. Volunteers have also funded and rebuilt train Halts at Bannister Green and Stane Street. The current Flitch Way information leaflet was designed by one of our volunteers and printed following a successful application for funding.
Our volunteer work parties we use a trailer or ECC vehicles to carry all the tools and materials very close to site. Larger items like bridges are normally delivered to site by the ECC contractors. We always manage to bring along a stove and tea/coffee provisions for our well earned breaks.
Volunteers that turn up for the work parties can choose what they want to do and how much. There is no pressure put on any volunteer, we just want you to enjoy the experience whatever your age. Car sharing is used to minimise costs for work parties and to reduce the number of car journeys and we currently pay a mileage rate to anybody asked to use their car.
Being a registered charity has allowed us to apply for a variety of grants which has enabled the purchase of machinery and equipment such as a wood processor, chipper, hedge trimmer and the railway carriage. Noticeboards and interpretation panels for which we obtained funding can be found at various places along the Flitch Way. Volunteers have also funded and rebuilt train Halts at Bannister Green and Stane Street. The current Flitch Way information leaflet was designed by one of our volunteers and printed following a successful application for funding.
Our volunteer work parties we use a trailer or ECC vehicles to carry all the tools and materials very close to site. Larger items like bridges are normally delivered to site by the ECC contractors. We always manage to bring along a stove and tea/coffee provisions for our well earned breaks.
Volunteers that turn up for the work parties can choose what they want to do and how much. There is no pressure put on any volunteer, we just want you to enjoy the experience whatever your age. Car sharing is used to minimise costs for work parties and to reduce the number of car journeys and we currently pay a mileage rate to anybody asked to use their car.
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Flitch Way Work Parties
Tuesday and Thursday 
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Volunteers work alongside the Country Park Rangers to conserve the Flitch Way and other woodlands and country parks. We tackle a wide range of tasks including coppicing, pond regeneration, scrub and ditch clearance, collecting litter and other rubbish, hedge planting, installing benches and cutting back overgrown sections of the trail to keep the footpath clear and to regenerate areas for plants and other wildlife.
We meet at Rayne Village Hall at 9.15 for a 9.30 departure to wherever the day's work party is taking place and usually return to the station between 3.30 and 4.00pm. Volunteers living near to the days workplace can choose to meet us on site. Everybody intending to take part in a work party should contact the Volunteer Co-ordinator the day before the event to ensure there is sufficient work for the numbers wishing to attend. We welcome volunteers under the age of 18 if they are accompanied by a responsible adult. Autumn and Winter are probably our busiest periods and work parties usually take place each Tuesday and Thursday during those times. Work parties may be reduced to one per week at other times of the year depending on the tasks required to be done. Contact Wendy Moss 01376 329 245. |
Data for 2016-17
Volunteers have completed a variety of work on the Flitch way and other locations, in particular the special project completed this year at Langford Halt funded by “Tesco bags of help”. There were 74 work parties averaging 9.3 volunteers on each. This equates to 688 volunteer days or 3,440 total hours worked.
Highlights include:
Volunteers have completed a variety of work on the Flitch way and other locations, in particular the special project completed this year at Langford Halt funded by “Tesco bags of help”. There were 74 work parties averaging 9.3 volunteers on each. This equates to 688 volunteer days or 3,440 total hours worked.
Highlights include:
- Rayne Station - Sanding and Painting roof of carriage and painting the ends. Tidy up platform,wildflower bed, painting benches and mending gatepost. Fixed dips in the track on A120 bridge and Warners Close.
- Stane Street to Pods Brook - Installing four large information maps of the Flitch way.
- Little Canfield - Refurbishing bridge and installing steps and new Country Park sign.
- Stebbing Road Bridge - Light cutting back and overhead pruning.
- Rayne village hall - Created new safe path from Flitch Way leading into the park.
- Start Hill - Cleared the path around the bridge and access ramp.
- Great Notley Country Park- Improving the fishing platforms.
- Langford Halt on Blackwater Rail Trail - Survey of work and photos for interpretation boards, cleared vegetation, installed benches and information boards, renovated the platform, patched the path and cut back overgrown vegetation.
- Rayne station to Pods Brook - tidy up litter pick.
- Felsted and Little Dunmow - Cutting back overgrown path and clearing rubbish.
- Dunmow Cutting - Annual conservation, cutting banks and raking.
- Rayne station to Bannister Green - litter pick.
- High Cross Lane - Clear car park and picnic area also cut back track on other side of the road.
- Takeley section - Heavy clearance and cut back along the length of Takeley.
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Footpath Work Group
Wednesday 
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The Footpath Work Group, signed up to the Parish Paths Partnership (P3) with Essex County Council (ECC) in 2005. Initially we concentrated on improving all the Public Rights of Way (PROW) accessing the Flitch Way.
The Footpath Work Group has moved on over the years to now become one of the ECC roving P3 groups. A great deal of our work involves heavy clearance along footpaths that have become so overgrown that they cannot be used. Sometimes we install bridges, kissing gates, steps and install way marker posts to indicate where footpaths go. The group is made up of a team of up to 10 volunteers. We have all been trained for the tasks we are asked to carry out. Health and Safety is, as always, a very important part of our role. We never know where we are going from one week to the next, and that makes the work so much more interesting. We visit many places that we didn't know existed. Contact Peter Lane 01376 343 567 |
Data for 2016-17
The group worked all over Essex including The Hennys, Ashen, Sheering, Battlesbridge, Radwinter, Bambers Green and the Colnes.
They installed 17 bridges from 3m to 5.5m length, 4 gates, 2 sets of steps, 39 way marker posts, 1 finger post and repaired a board walk damaged by a vehicle. This equated to 1,578 volunteer hours.
The group worked all over Essex including The Hennys, Ashen, Sheering, Battlesbridge, Radwinter, Bambers Green and the Colnes.
They installed 17 bridges from 3m to 5.5m length, 4 gates, 2 sets of steps, 39 way marker posts, 1 finger post and repaired a board walk damaged by a vehicle. This equated to 1,578 volunteer hours.
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Railway Carriage Museum Stewards
Weekends & school holidays 
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Volunteer stewards open the railway carriage at Rayne Station to welcome visitors and answer questions about our work for a few hours at a time. We try and open the carriage at weekends and in the school holidays but this totally depends on having enough volunteer stewards on rota.
Full training will be given and in return volunteers are asked to commit to at least 6 volunteering sessions as a steward with each session typically lasting 2 hours. Carriage steward volunteers must have a minimum age of 16 and all volunteers under 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Contact Pam Maskell 01376 329 939. |
Data for 2016-17
There were 4,433 visitors to the Railway Carriage Museum throughout the year spread over 180 days.
Carriage stewards completed 342 sessions which equates to 171 volunteer days and 855 hours.
There were 4,433 visitors to the Railway Carriage Museum throughout the year spread over 180 days.
Carriage stewards completed 342 sessions which equates to 171 volunteer days and 855 hours.