This year Careline will be joining the Rotary Club of Uttoxeter’s Walk for Charity at 10am on Sunday 18^th May in the beautiful grounds of the Wootton Lodge Estate, near Ellastone. This is a fantastic opportunity to walk in parkland that is usually closed to the public.

It promises to be a fun event for all the family (including well behaved dogs on leads) and you would be helping a local charity to raise some important funds.

There are 2 walks – 2.5 miles on tarmac roads and 5 miles on tarmac and stoned forest roads. Either come along to join us on the walk or sponsor the Careline Team on our Virgin Money Giving Page http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving/ & we’ll do the walk for you!

If you would like to join us, you will need to pre-register on http://www.uttoxeter-rotary.org.uk/walk/  – this will cost £5 per person (under 12s free) if you register before 3^rd May. You can register after 3^rd or on the day of the walk but the cost will rise to  £10 per person. Please note also that the Rotary Club do reserve the right to close the walk to new registrations after the 3^rd of May, so register early to avoid disappointment.

Wootton Lodge is thought to have been built in the early 17^th century by Robert Smythson for Sir Richard Fleetwood. It is a very impressive building (grade 1 listed); with three storeys plus a basement and is topped by a balustraded parapet. The Lodge was damaged during the Civil War, but was restored around 1700 when the imposing entrance steps were added.

During the 19^th and 20^th centuries the house was occupied by several well known tenants including Sir Oswald Mosley who wanted the seclusion of Wootton Lodge after his secret marriage to Diana Mitford.

Joseph Bamford, the founder of JCB, bought Wootton Lodge in the late 20^th century and lived there before moving to Switzerland as a tax exile. The lodge is now owned by JCB and the grounds are well maintained by the JCB Estates Department. The grounds are beautiful, with a lake, rivers, mature trees and plenty of wildlife, including a herd of red deer. They are not normally open to the public, so this sponsored walk will give participants the rare privilege of enjoying these magnificent private grounds.

Please call Marianne, Mary or Jo in the Careline office if you need any additional information. Otherwise we look forward to seeing you there!

We’d like to say a big thank you to our members and  volunteers for your continued support. 2013 was an important year for Careline as we saw our service grow to include Uttoxeter and the surrounding villages. We’re all now looking forward to another successful year, when we hope to reach even more people with our befriending calls.