Cycling grant scheme launched at the 3rd Annual Catha’s Seat Picnic

On 30^th April 2016 over 80 cyclists, walkers and runners met for the third annual Catha’s Seat Picnic on National Cycle Route 18 near Chilham. Whilst eating their lunches at this peaceful, rural spot the gathered were treated to music from fantastic local 9-piece band Ashford Folk Community and witnessed the launch of the Catha’s Seat Cycling Awards; a grant scheme with fund of £500 open to local groups, schools and individuals to support projects that encourage safety and increased use of Route 18 between Ashford and Canterbury.

Cyclists set off from Wye to the 3rd Annual Catha's Seat Picnic

Ashford Folk Community entertain the picnickers

Patrick Keegan, Awards Officer for the Catha’s Seat Group, launched the awards scheme, encouraging local community groups, schools and individuals to register their interest and submit ideas via the website www.cathas-seat.org/awards by 31st May 2016. During his address, he recognised the huge contribution - over many years - of the numerous local campaigners and organisations (including Spokes and Sustrans) that have pushed to make, so far, nearly half of this 17-mile section of route 18 ‘traffic free’, at the same time extending gratitude to the landowners and local authorities. He restated national cycling charity Sustrans’ original goal that these routes should offer the safety levels needed to allow school children and their parents, also commuters, to feel comfortable using it daily for sustainable and healthy transport.

Patrick Keegan launches the Catha's Seat Cycling Awards

With the back roads in the area becoming busier and more dangerous Patrick set out the vision that everyone should continue pushing to make route 18 between Ashford and Canterbury 100% ‘traffic free’. He was keen to receive ideas towards these safety goals but also highlighted other examples for the awards to encourage use, such as parent / child cycle events or organisations that provide specialist equipment and training for the disabled to use the route.

Earlier in the day, Patrick and fellow Catha’s Seat Group member Jane Blatt started the Group’s own safety campaign on the roads out of Wye by alerting motorists to the fact they were on a national cycle route, and thanking them for driving carefully. Of the 20 cars that stopped to chat, very few were aware they were on a cycle route, and agreed that a ‘traffic free’ alternative should be sought, but in the meantime better signage and awareness raising was imperative.

Awards winners will be announced in September this year and mark your calendars for next year’s picnic on 29^th April 2017 where their achievements will be showcased. www.cathas-seat.org will have all the details and you can register on the website to receive updates directly to your email inbox.

If you can’t wait that long then why not plan a picnic of your own – just type “Catha’s Seat” into Google Maps to find a route.

Patrick Keegan and Jane Blatt alert motorists in Wye that they are driving on National Cycle Route 18

About Catha’s Seat:

Catha’s Seat is named after Catharine 'Catha' Keegan, a dedicated cycling campaigner who lived in Wye and who was involved in planning the Ashford to Canterbury section of National Cycle Route 18 before sadly passing away in 1998. Her mission was to create safer cycling routes and encourage their use, so Catha's Seat and the annual picnic provide opportunities for everyone to discover or re-discover this route as well as the joys of cycling and walking in the glorious Kentish countryside.

Catha’s Seat was developed by her son Nick and husband Patrick, and has been supported by Kent County Council, Ashford Borough Council, Godmersham Parish Council, Chilham Parish Council, Councillor Andrew Wickham and over 70 private donors. Catha’s Seat was built by ARC Creative Design.

Catha's Seat Launch Picnic Film by Funder Films

I am delighted to be able to share a wonderful film from the Catha's Seat Launch Picnic back in May that will hopefully warm the laurels as the longer nights draw in. For those that were there on the day you will have noticed Jasper Bouverie of Funder Films manning some serious camera equipment. 

He has managed to curate some lovely moments that capture the spirit of the day and Catha's Seat. Many thanks to Jasper for this. Note - music on the film by Arlet, who performed live at the launch.

I hope you have been enjoying Catha's Seat over the summer and make sure you secure Saturday 2nd May 2015 in your diary for the 2nd annual Catha's Seat picnic.

...also, in other news - I've been asked to do a talk next week on my cycle tour to Istanbul in Canterbury next Thursday 23rd October - see the flier below. The "Around the World with..." events are being run by Hattie Oliver (Hattieoliver.WordPress.com), who's raising funds to go on a month long expedition to Ecuador and the Galapagos with her school. She's been very entrepreneurial setting up events, bake sales and jobs as she's got to raise £4,420 - quite a feat for anyone let alone someone with full time school / exams to deal with - and a cause I was keen to get behind in the name of adventure!

It would be great to see you there if you can make it. Thursday 23rd October at 7pm. Eastbridge Hospital, 25 High Street, Canterbury.

Catha's Seat and SusTrans @ Wye Farmers Market - 7th June!

Catha's Seat Launch Picnic hits the headlines

The Catha's Seat Launch Picnic hit the headlines last Thursday in the Kentish Express. If you are in the Kent area, pick up a souvenir copy and you'll find the article on page 14. 

For those further afield see the article below. Wyeweb have also covered the event and there's some great footage on Youtube from 1066 cyclist Dale Wheeler, which really captures the spirt of the day. 

<<BREAKING NEWS>> Suz from the Kentish Express just routed me to the article now on Kent Online as well, with more pictures! http://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/this-is-more-than-just-a-family-memorial-17071/

Thanks again to everyone who has supported the project and the event. We look forward to seeing you next year same place, same time, where we will be announcing the first winners of the Catha's Seat award. 

Kentish Express - 8th May 2014 p.14. Many thanks to Suz Elvey for a fantastic article.

  Footage on YouTube, thanks to Dale Wheeler

Catha's Seat Launch Picnic - First View Photos

What a day! Catha's Seat was launched in style. Thank you to everyone who participated, helped and donated. See below for some of the photos I've collected so far. If you have any of your own please do get in touch and / or use social media - post on Instagram #cathasseat , post on twitter @cathasseat #cathasseat , or post on facebook #cathasseat .......

Walk from Wye leaves the Farmers Market at 10.30am, led by Daniel Wood

Cycle from Wye leaves Wye at 11.45am, led by Louise Laker. Thanks also to Paul Rees who led the SPOKES cycle from Canterbury and Pat White who led the very popular walk from Chilham Station

Locally sourced foods and drinks awaited. Produce from Ripple Farm Organics, Wye Butchers and Delicatessen, The Wooden Spoon, Wye Bakery and Perry Court Farm was put together by Alex Gow and his team of helpers, along with Catha's own Lemon Drizzle cake made by Patrick Keegan (Dad) and further cakes from Caroline Spencer. 

Merry go round! Punters took it in turns to have a nice sit down!

Site Manager Caroline Spencer and her team of ushers (Kit, Dani, Eliza, Yean, Phin and Hilary) prepared a fantastic festive site complete with bunting and the all important ribbon!

Paul, the photographer from the Kentish Messenger Group sets up a couple of shots to hit the press. Hopefully seeing this in the paper will inspire people out on their bikes or hikes for a visit.

Musical chairs. Local band Arlet serenade the masses, and are let out to roam free range in the woods!

Speeches aplenty. Councillor Andrew Wickham talks about the success of Route 18 and how his ride up to Catha's Seat has inspired him to do more cycling. Sheila Webb gives a moving version of the words she used at Catha's funeral service. And I say a lot of thank yous!

....and the ribbon is cut, Catha's Seat is officially open. The hard work doesn't stop here though - we need you to help us spread the word about this fantastic place and cycle route. Tell your friends, take them there for a sit down or picnic, share your photos and experiences on social media. We will be continuing too by raising money for our first annual Catha's Seat award, which will be announced at the 2015 event to be held as this year on Mayday bank holiday Saturday.

Catha's Seat Launch Picnic - one day to go and things are hotting up

Catha's Seat now complete with arms and plaque

.and more greenery in the view!

Scott models a "I cycled to Catha's Seat" sticker - pick one up at the Launch Picnic for your bike!

Write up in today's Kentish Express (p.14) - many thanks to Suz Elvey 

....and also on Jasper Bouverie's blog 

Don't forget to check the google map (see right hand side >>>>) and start times and locations for the organised walks & rides on the ePoster

See you tomorrow!

The story of how the Catha's Seat community came together to secure £1,000 grant from Ashford Borough Council's Single Grants Gateway

During the launch event for the new section of Route 18 back on 31st May 2013 I briefly met Ashford Borough Council's (ABC) Deputy Leader Michael Claughton, and left him with a copy of our flyer. As he arrived for the event on a bike I felt compelled to write him a letter to ask if the ABC could support Catha's Seat. Mum had put a considerable amount of effort into ABC consultations including the Ashford Local Plan and so it seemed like there was something there.

I set to work on writing a letter that explained background to Mum's work and what we were looking to do to celebrate it and promote cycling. To get the facts I enlisted help from Sue Powell (one of Mum's closest friends in Wye and a colleague on many of the Wye planning groups), Catherine Hughes (previously a planner at ABC when Mum was on the scene) and Sheila.

Upon reading my letter Cllr Claughton responded promptly and guided me to the Single Grants Gateway and the Council's funding officer Michelle Byrne.

Michelle was very helpful and explained the hoops through which we would have to jump. There were quite a lot of criteria and I thought it was a long shot at the time but considering Michelle's positivity for the project I thought it was worth a punt. So then we embarked on a journey....... 

1. We weren't going to get anywhere without becoming a bona fide community group with a constitution and a community bank account so Alex Gow, Dad and I agreed the paperwork and rocked into Ashford to set up an account - it took Dad over 10 attempts to get his arty signature in the box!
2. An initial expression of interest form got us through the front door with the Grant scheme, which unlocked a more comprehensive application document. I was glad for the practice I had in my professional life completing submissions for public sector tenders!
3. You need support from the local Borough Councillor so I finally built up courage to speak with Cllr Doug Marriott. I had been nervous about approaching figures in positions like these - you only have one shot, what if they don't like it? Doug turned out to be a fantastic person, very easy to talk to and already a supporter of Route 18. He also is a mover and shaker in my preferred professional circle of energy efficiency so we had plenty to chat about. He promptly gave his seal of approval to the project and I ploughed on refuelled with confidence.
4. Written letters of support are also needed from the local Parish Councils (PCs) - after explaining the project, Chilham and Godmersham PCs kindly gave their backing. I was even able to join Godmersham's meeting to give a short talk.
5. After submitting Michelle came back to me very promptly to say that we had been successful in applying for a £1,000 grant towards the costs of Catha's Seat and that the funds would be transferred on receipt of the final invoice. As I wanted to tell the full story when publicising I am ashamed to say that, with starting my new job at the same time, I have sat on this golden news since 1st October - sorry readers!

I feel that this was one of the most valuable processes in the whole campaign. Not only is the money vital but the support and reach we have been able to achieve has taken it to another dimension. All these groups have now invested in Catha's Seat so it is really a community owned and approved project. Even though it has been challenging and took time to get through I couldn't be happier with this outcome.

The Board of the Catha's Seat Group agree its constitution

I would like to thank Cllr Michael Claughton, Michelle Byrne, Cllr Doug Marriott, Caroline Spencer and the members of Godmersham PC, Geoff Dear and the members of Chilham PC, as well as Sue Powell, Catherine Hughes and Sheila Webb for their support with the content and Alex Gow and Dad for forming the first Board of the Catha's Seat Group. 

Thanks also goes out to all of you that are supporting the project - your involvement, donors and readers alike, was recognised in the submission to show what we are made of. This is a community project, made to benefit the community and recognise the work of the members of our community that have facilitated our fantastic cycle routes.

What a team effort. Thank you.