A WALKING group has been powering on through the Covid pandemic.

The Brampton Walkers are Welcome Club has most recently enjoyed a walk through Bewcastle.

Led by walk leader Judy Cherrie, the journey took walkers to and from the Bewcastle Church.

A spokesperson from the Brampton Walkers are Welcome walking group said of the group: "Recently, we have had to change the way we get walkers to come, we used to post about it on Facebook and just see how many people came, but we are a victim of our own popularity so it became hard to manage.

"We have now changed to a membership system where you need to be a member in order to come; this was partly because of Covid, in that we can more easily manage who is coming, but also because it's easier to manage a smaller group."

Membership is £12 per year, which covers the public liability insurance for the walkers.

They continued: "It made sense to get people who are known to us.

"We did this a year ago, but we may loosen up on this after Covid.

John Payne, who manages the walks, said: "It went very well. There were around 20 people who turned up on the walk.

"It is quite remote country out there.

"We went out in a southern direction and then we have lunch at the Bewcastle Church and museum, and then we did a walk along the North loop from Bewcastle.

"The weather was okay, slightly wet towards the end however."

On the new membership system which they are now using, John said: "It is a bit more complicated now.

"It is more confusing to organise the walks, and we have imposed now a restriction of 20 people per walk."

This, John explained, was also due partly to Covid being a threat, and also for more organisational ease.

John said that their next walk, which they do every month, is still being planned, but it is going to be in the area of Wetherall.