Protestors at Sherwood Forest dressed in Robin Hood-themed costumes at a demonstration coordinated by former MP and Ramblers vice-president Paddy Tipping; while students and members of Keep Our Forests Public joined Ramblers campaigners at a 100-strong protest in Friston Forest, East Sussex. And a four-mile march at Rendlesham Woods, in Suffolk, saw a united front between walkers, horse riders, cyclists and dog walkers against restricted public access for all users of woodland in the county.

At every event, people were encouraged to write personal messages on leaf-shaped paper, which were then attached to beech saplings and presented to each member of the Forestry Panel. Among them was the poignant plea: ‘My wife’s ashes were scattered in local woods, and I would like myself and my children and grandchildren to still visit this spot.’

Ramblers campaign officer Anastasia French says: “The public have an affinity with our forests and woods, which comes from a deep sense of cultural identity. We’re urging the panel to listen carefully to these messages and let these saplings mark the beginning of a forestry future we can all enjoy. Access to woods matters and should be extended to all woodland.”

Click here for walk‘s complete coverage of the ongoing forestry debate

The new charity responsible for Britain’s network of canals and rivers will have public access at the heart of its role, the Government has confirmed. Defra’s announcement after a consultation on the new third-sector future of British Waterways has delighted walkers, ensuring access to more than 2,000 miles of towpaths and riverbanks – which is currently permissive – will be protected for future generations.

“We welcome the Government’s commitment to improving public access to our canals and rivers, and will continue working to open up access for walkers to all of Britain’s waterways, ” says Justin Cooke, the Ramblers’ senior policy officer. Read Defra’s full response, A New Era for the Waterways, at bit.ly/r2y11A

Where’s it been spotted? A recent invasion of nine or ten foot-sized blobs was widely reported across the fells of Patterdale, Cumbria. The only previous UK sighting was in 2009 on some Scottish hills, but it’s a worldwide phenomenon with the earliest recorded descriptions dating back to the 14th century. Police reports of a six-foot wide disc of quivering jelly in Pennsylvania in 1950 inspired the Steve McQueen classic horror movie, The Blob.

Where does it come from? Old folklore suggests it’s the earthly leftovers of a meteor shower, but more recent scientific explanations include the decomposed remains of frogs or toads, animal or bird vomit, bacterial byproducts, or some kind of slime mould.

Nice! Any ideas what it’s made of? The only scientific tests were commissioned by the National Geographic Society in the US, which discovered the substance had no DNA. The Society is now asking British walkers to help them locate further samples to investigate (email details to wildcasefiles@tigressproductions.co.uk).

walk’s verdict: If this snot-like substance is the extent of extraterrestrial life on earth, then we’re frankly disappointed. We hope they remain relatively infrequent squelchy occurrences.

rallying… for England’s woods
To coincide with October’s A Walk in the Woods Week, the Ramblers is organising a series of rallies over protecting public access to England’s woodland. Protests have so far been confirmed in the forests of Sandlings, Sherwood and Friston, with MPs speaking and a range of concerned forest users expected to attend. Join them! Find your nearest rally at www.ramblers.org.uk/walkinthewoods

downloading… the walk magazine app
Read your favourite quarterly on your smartphone or tablet with our walk app. As well as the regular content, there‘ll be podcasts, videos and much more. It‘s £2.39 from iTunes, Android
appstore and www.pocketmags.com.

fundraising… for the Ramblers
It’s not quite a walk but I’ll be running a half-marathon in September in aid of the Ramblers. And a new sponsorship site for the charity makes donating easy. Set up an event, or sponsor mine, at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/ramblers.

Image by Kevstan.

Proposals for two major developments in Scottish countryside further threaten the country’s reputation as a place of great natural beauty, warns Ramblers Scotland. The UK Government recently announced plans for a new military training area in southern Scotland, and more than 200 turbines are proposed in three new windfarms on the hills around Loch Ness, adding to the controversy about the scale of Scottish onshore windfarm development.

“There will come a point when people will say, ‘Don’t bother going to the Loch Ness area because it has been industrialised’,” says Ramblers Scotland’s director, Dave Morris. He called for a change in the financial incentives so that only small-scale developments are encouraged on land, with giant turbines restricted to offshore locations. He also wants a meeting with the UK Government to get a clearer idea of their plans for a military training area, as well as assurances about the future of the RAF Mountain Rescue service.
For more on Ramblers Scotland’s wild land campaign, visit www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland

Image by Ben Buxton.

Image of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path by Dara Jasumani via Geograph.

Click here to listen to a recording that Richard made from the summit of Everest.