Walk - The Magazine of the Ramblers » access

Celebrating 75 years of Ramblers

Chris Hatherill — Thu, 27 May 2010 11:04:41 +0000

From a collection of 300 rambling clubs and 1,200 individual members at its inception in 1935, the Ramblers has grown to more than 124,000 members and 800 affiliated groups today – but its mission remains the same. For 75 years it has campaigned locally and nationally to promote walking and improve conditions for all walkers in Britain, whether it be lobbying for a change in legislation or laying on one of its 28,000 volunteer-led walks each year. Over the coming weeks, walk will be publishing a series of 75th anniversary features from the Summer 2010 issue. To start, we present a brief history of the charity and take a fond look back at some of the visual materials produced over the years, including Rucksack – the forebear of walk! (Click on any image above to view larger and start the slideshow)

A brief history of Ramblers

1935   The Ramblers’ Association is founded after the National Council of Ramblers’ Federations agrees to change its name.
1941   The Ramblers submit proposals to Government for long-distance paths and national parks.
1947   The Hobhouse Committee sets out plans for 12 national parks in England and Wales.
1948   Tom Stephenson is appointed as the Ramblers’ first full-time secretary.
1949   The National Parks & Access to the Countryside Act lays the foundations for modern countryside protection and access.
1951   The Peak District becomes Britain’s first National Park, and the Ramblers establishes its first group in Croydon.
1958   The Ramblers persuade Ordnance Survey to show rights of way on its walkers’ maps.

1965   The Pennine Way (above) becomes Britain’s first national trail.
1967   Ramblers Scotland is established north of the border.
1968   The Countryside Act requires local councils to signpost their rights of way.
1971   A local Ramblers’ campaign defeats a reservoir plan to flood Farndale in North Yorkshire.
1973   Ramblers’ vice-president David Sharp proposes the Thames Path National Trail (below).

1974   Ramblers Cymru is launched as the representative body for walkers in Wales.
1980   Ramblers wins court ruling clarifying the law on how new development affects rights of way.
1981   The Wildlife & Countryside Act retains a right of appeal against path closures and diversions, following Ramblers’ campaigning.
1987   The first Family Rambling Day promotes walking to a wider range of people.
1989   The Water Act secures access safeguards over privatised water authority land following a Ramblers’ campaign.
1990   Ramblers work with Edward Leigh MP to regulate footpath ploughing and cropping in the Rights of Way Act.
1991   A footpath rationalisation scheme proposed by Hereford and Worcester County Council is defeated by the Ramblers.
1993   Ramblers Wales launch Lonc a Chlonc – one of Britain’s first healthy walking projects.
1994   The Government abandons Forestry Commission privatisation after lobbying by Ramblers.
1995   The first Ramblers’ group for people in their 20s and 30s is set up in North Wales.
2000   The Countryside & Rights of Way Act delivers the right to roam in England and Wales; the National Parks (Scotland) Act paves the way for National Parks north of the border.
2000   Ramblers successfully prosecute notorious landlord Nicholas van Hoogstraten for blocking a footpath on his East Sussex estate.
2001   An epidemic of foot and mouth disease closes Britain’s rights of way and demonstrates the value of walking to the rural economy.
2002   Loch Lomond (below) and the Trossachs becomes Scotland’s first national park.

2003   The Land Reform (Scotland) Act delivers world class access for Scottish walkers.
2004   Ramblers pressure leads to the creation of a safe road crossing under the A404 at Bisham, in Berkshire.
2005   Open access areas are fully rolled out across England and Wales.
2006   The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act restricts motor vehicles on byways following Ramblers’ campaigning.
2006   The popular Chimney Steps on the cliffs at Ventnor, Isle of Wight, are repaired and re-opened after Ramblers’ court action
2007   Ramblers win a Law Lords ruling against ‘secret’ evidence in rights of way claims.
2009   Marine & Coastal Access Act passed promising a continuous path around England’s coast.
2010   Designation of the South Downs National Park (below*) completes the list drawn up in 1947.

For more about the history of the Ramblers and its antecedents, visit www.ramblers.org.uk/aboutus/history

*South Downs image shows the view from Shoulder of Mutton Hill near Petersfield part of the Western Weald, currently excluded from the South Downs National Park. Photo by Paul Glendell.

Walk in depth: the Pennine Way

Chris Hatherill — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:59:37 +0000

Britain’s first official long-distance path, the Pennine Way, was the dream of walkers’ campaigner and first full-time secretary of the Ramblers, Tom Stephenson. Andrew McCloy investigates…

There’s a certain mythology surrounding the Pennine Way, partly because it was the first official long-distance footpath in the UK, designated just two years after the ground-breaking National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949. It’s a trail almost everyone has heard of, but surprisingly few actually walk it in full. The highlights are numerous and familiar – Kinder Scout, Malham Cove, Pen-y-Ghent, High Cup Nick, Cross Fell, Hadrian’s Wall, the Cheviots – but in between are long stretches of high, and often bleak, open moorland which have earned the trail its reputation as a physical challenge.

But there’s so much more to the Pennine Way than a three-week upland slog. ‘None could walk the Pennine Way without being improved in mind and body, inspired and invigorated and filled with the desire to explore every corner of this lovely island. ’ So wrote journalist Tom Stephenson in his now legendary article for the Daily Herald in 1935, setting out his vision for a ‘long green trail’ the length of the Pennines. He would spend the next three decades tirelessly campaigning to make his cherished dream a reality, 21 years of it as secretary of the Ramblers, fighting tooth-and-nail for access to his beloved uplands.Fitting, therefore, that I should step out on the first few miles of this epic path with Kate Ashbrook, one of today’s doughty access campaigners and twice national chairman of the Ramblers.

“National trails like the Pennine Way continue to inspire people, ” says Kate. “They’re part of an overall footpath network and a wider right of access which we must continue to fight for. ” It’s a sentiment that Tom Stephenson would no doubt have shared, since the hard-fought creation of a Pennine walking trail was symbolic of a more general fight to open up the private shooting moors and estates of northern England. In the 1930s, members of the newly formed Ramblers’ Association helped survey a likely route from Derbyshire to the Scottish border, revealing that 112km/70 miles of new public footpaths would be necessary if a continuous path were to be realised. Tom and his colleagues lobbied MPs and government ministers, even taking some of them out on high-profile walks along the proposed route, culminating in the 1949 legislation.

Walking through history
We left the busy Peak District village of Edale, the southern terminus of the Pennine Way, and climbed slowly up Jacob’s Ladder on to the high, dark plateau of Kinder Scout. Groups of cheerful young walkers passed us – a generation, we mused, for whom a walk on the Derbyshire moors is something simply taken for granted. “It was partly due to the campaigning efforts of the early Ramblers that through the 1949 Act we now have national parks, national trails and footpaths recorded on the definitive map, ” says Kate. How fitting, therefore, that almost two-thirds of the Pennine Way National Trail is within designated national parks – the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland. This sense of walking through history, chronicling the struggle for access to England’s northern hills, was reinforced further when we reached the windy escarpment near Kinder Low and gazed down towards the village of Hayfield. It was from there that some of the ramblers on the mass trespass in 1932 made their way up on to the moors, ahead of their fateful encounter with local gamekeepers and the establishment. Hallowed ground, indeed.

Gamekeepers clash with protesters at Kinder Scout in 1932

Beyond Kinder Scout, the trail continues its lonely moorland passage across Bleaklow and Black Hill, then eventually switches to the softer limestone scenery of the Yorkshire Dales. Here, on 24 April 1965, the Pennine Way was formally opened at a ceremony on Malham Moor attended by 2,000 people. For many trail walkers this is a popular stretch – you’ve found your rhythm, perhaps dealt with the first blister and discarded unwanted kit, and now you can start to appreciate the awesome Pennine landscape in earnest. From the rocky amphitheatre of Malham Cove to the shapely summit of Pen-y-Ghent, the walk is punctuated by a succession of stunning natural features as it wanders into the heart of the North Pennines: the wild flowers and waterfalls of Upper Teesdale, High Cup Nick’s plunging slopes and the immense and windy summit of Cross Fell – at 893m/2,947ft the high point of the entire walk. Further on is a short burst of Hadrian’s Wall, then a finale among the rolling Cheviot Hills, Tom Stephenson’s favourite section.

Enjoying the legacy
For now we were content just to amble on Kinder Scout’s breezy top, and it seemed a busy place. What Pennine Way walkers there were had probably passed through earlier. It was gratifying to see so many people enjoying the hills: vindication, if it were needed, of the Ramblers’ more recent efforts to ensure that the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 had real teeth and delivered lasting benefits. Launched here in the Peak District National Park, the legislation ensured public access to large tracts of obstinately private moors the length of the Pennines. This included Boulsworth Hill, off the Pennine Way, west of Haworth (where Tom Stephenson had wanted the original Pennine Way to run, but which was opposed by the landowners) and Hartside and Geltsdale – a sizeable expanse of open moorland adjacent to the Pennine Way, near the small town of Alston in Cumbria.

“We’ve won a lot of access battles over the last 75 years, ” says Kate, “and the issues aren’t so black and white any more. The laws have changed so that landowners can’t simply say ‘no’ when people are walking on mapped access land. That’s a big turnaround. But there are still plenty of blocked and difficult paths when you leave the Pennine Way and other national trails, and we must campaign to get them in good order. Thanks to the hard work of the Ramblers, the walking public is much clearer about its rights. But here today, there are probably a lot of people out walking who are not members or even supporters of the Ramblers – to embrace them is part of our challenge.”

In some senses, the Pennine Way is in a similar predicament, with plenty of people setting foot on the trail as part of a day walk but very few actually attempting the full distance (fewer than 2,000 a year at the last count). Perhaps this is due to a greater choice of where to walk or changing leisure patterns. Or maybe it’s simply that this is a long, tough trail that for many will remain an unfulfilled dream rather than a reality. Either way, the Pennine Way’s image and identity remains as strong as its place in our access heritage. It seems that the Ramblers and the long green trail still have much in common.

TIME/DISTANCE: According to the official website, the 429km/268-mile trail takes around 16 days to complete (27km/17 miles per day). But a more relaxed alternative of 22 days averages 19½km/12 miles a day. It’s a challenging upland route, with long sections of exposed hill country requiring decent navigational skills. There’s an uneven spread of accommodation, so booking ahead is recommended. May, June and September are the most popular times.

MAPS: OS Explorer OL1, OL2, OL16, OL21, OL30, OL31, OL42 & OL43; Landranger 74, 80, 86, 87, 90, 92, 98, 103, 109 & 110

TRAVEL TO: Edale is a 45-minute train ride from Sheffield and Manchester. Kirk Yetholm has a bus service to Kelso (30mins), where a service runs to Jedburgh for connections to Newcastle (90mins) and Edinburgh (75mins).

FURTHER INFO: www.national trail.co.uk/PennineW ay; www.penninewayassociation.co.uk

GUIDEBOOKS: Pennine Way by Edward de la Billière, Chris Scott and Keith Carter (£11.99, Trailblazer, ISBN 978 1 905864027); Pennine Way National Trail Guide South/North by Tony Hopkins (£12.99 each, Aurum Press, ISBN 978 1 854108514/978 1 854109626). walk have 10 copies of Cicerone’s comprehensive guidebook The Pennine Way (pictured, worth £12.95) to give away. It’s been newly updated for 2010 by author Paddy Dillon. Enter at www.walkmag.co.uk/competitions by 31 August 2010, or order a copy today from www.cicerone.co.uk

See walk‘s Routemaster section for a circular walk from Edale to Kinder Scout.

The Pennine Way is one of those trails that seems almost as old as the windswept hills and moorland it traverses; an indelible part of our walking heritage. As you stride out on Roman roads and former packhorse routes, it’s easy to forget that the well-known 429km/268-mile trail along the spine of northern England is officially less than half a century old, and the long campaign to realise this pioneering walking route mirrors the Ramblers’ wider struggle for public access over the last 75 years. There’s a certain mythology surrounding the Pennine Way, partly because it was the first official long-distance footpath in the UK, designated just two years after the ground-breaking National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949. It’s a trail almost everyone has heard of, but surprisingly few actually walk it in full. The highlights are numerous and familiar – Kinder Scout, Malham Cove, Pen-y-Ghent, High Cup Nick, Cross Fell, Hadrian’s Wall, the Cheviots – but in between are long stretches of high, and often bleak, open moorland which have earned the trail its reputation as a physical challenge. But there’s so much more to the Pennine Way than a three-week upland slog. ‘None could walk the Pennine Way without being improved in mind and body, inspired and invigorated and filled with the desire to explore every corner of this lovely island. ’ So wrote journalist Tom Stephenson in his now legendary article for the Daily Herald in 1935, setting out his vision for a ‘long green trail’ the length of the Pennines. He would spend the next three decades tirelessly campaigning to make his cherished dream a reality, 21 years of it as secretary of the Ramblers, fighting tooth-and-nail for access to his beloved uplands. Fitting, therefore, that I should step out on the first few miles of this epic path with Kate Ashbrook, one of today’s doughty access campaigners and twice national chairman of the Ramblers. “National trails like the Pennine Way continue to inspire people, ” says Kate. “They’re part of an overall footpath network and a wider right of access which we must continue to fight for. ” It’s a sentiment that Tom Stephenson would no doubt have shared, since the hard-fought creation of a Pennine walking trail was symbolic of a more general fight to open up the private shooting moors and estates of northern England. In the 1930s, members of the newly formed Ramblers’ Association helped survey a likely route from Derbyshire to the

Scottish border, revealing that 112km/70 miles of new public footpaths would be necessary if a continuous path were to be realised. Tom and his colleagues lobbied MPs and government ministers, even taking some of them out on high-profile walks along the proposed route, culminating in the 1949 legislation. Walking through history We left the busy Peak District village of Edale, the southern terminus of the Pennine Way, and climbed slowly up Jacob’s Ladder on to the high, dark plateau of Kinder Scout. Groups of cheerful young walkers passed us – a generation, we mused, for whom a walk on the Derbyshire moors is something simply taken for granted. “It was partly due to the campaigning efforts of the early Ramblers that through the 1949 Act we now have national parks, national trails and footpaths recorded on the definitive map, ” says Kate. How fitting, therefore, that almost two-thirds of the Pennine Way National Trail is within designated national parks – the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland. This sense of walking through history, chronicling the struggle for access to England’s northern hills, was reinforced further when we reached the windy escarpment near Kinder Low and gazed down towards the village of Hayfield. It was from there that some of the ramblers on the mass trespass in 1932 made their way up on to the moors, ahead of their fateful encounter with local gamekeepers and the establishment. Hallowed ground, indeed. Beyond Kinder Scout, the trail continues its lonely moorland passage across Bleaklow and Black Hill, then eventually switches to the softer limestone scenery of the Yorkshire Dales. Here, on 24 April 1965, the Pennine Way was formally opened at a ceremony on Malham Moor attended by 2,000 people. For many trail walkers this is a popular stretch – you’ve found your rhythm, perhaps dealt with the first blister and discarded unwanted kit, and now you can start to appreciate the awesome Pennine landscape in earnest. From the rocky amphitheatre of Malham Cove to the shapely summit of Pen-y-Ghent, the walk is punctuated by a succession of stunning natural features as it wanders into the heart of the North Pennines: the wild flowers and waterfalls of Upper Teesdale, High Cup Nick’s plunging slopes and the immense and windy summit of Cross Fell – at 893m/2,947ft the high point of the entire walk. Further on is a short burst of Hadrian’s Wall, then a finale among the rolling Cheviot Hills, Tom Stephenson’s favourite section. Enjoying the legacy For now we were content just to amble on Kinder Scout’s breezy top, and it seemed a busy place. What Pennine Way walkers there were had probably passed through earlier. It was gratifying to see so many people enjoying the hills: vindication, if it were needed, of the Ramblers’ more recent efforts to ensure that the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 had real teeth and delivered lasting benefits. Launched here in the Peak District National Park, the legislation ensured public access to large tracts of obstinately private moors the length of the Pennines. This included Boulsworth Hill, off the Pennine Way, west of Haworth (where Tom Stephenson had wanted the original Pennine Way to run, but which was opposed by the landowners) and Hartside and Geltsdale – a sizeable expanse of open moorland adjacent to the Pennine Way, near the small town of Alston in Cumbria. “We’ve won a lot of access battles over the last 75 years, ” says Kate, “and the issues aren’t so black and white any more. The laws have changed so that landowners can’t simply say ‘no’ when people are walking on mapped access land. That’s a big turnaround. But there are still plenty of blocked and difficult paths when you leave the Pennine Way and other national trails, and we must campaign to get them in good order. “Thanks to the hard work of the Ramblers, the walking public is much clearer about its rights.

But here today, there are probably a lot of people

out walking who are not members or even supporters of the Ramblers – to embrace them

is part of our challenge. ” In some senses, the Pennine Way is in a similar predicament, with plenty of people setting foot on the trail as part of a day walk but very few actually attempting the full distance (fewer than 2,000 a year at the last count). Perhaps this is due to a greater choice of where to walk or changing leisure patterns. Or maybe it’s simply that this is a long, tough trail that for many will remain an unfulfilled dream rather than a reality. Either way, the Pennine Way’s image and identity remains as strong as its place in our access heritage. It seems that the Ramblers and the long green trail still have much in common.

History repeating

Chris Hatherill — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:08:03 +0000

The 1932 mass trespass of Kinder Scout was a seminal event in the history of access and walking, and a catalyst for the formation of the Ramblers. This Saturday (24 April 2010), Ramblers will be marking this momentous anniversary with a ‘mass march’ retracing the route of the original trespassers up Kinder Scout.

Hundreds of Ramblers and walking enthusiasts will scale the heights of this historic mountain carrying a special Ramblers banner and baton as part of the Ramblers 75th birthday celebrations. Today we take for granted our right to go out walking but back in the 1930s it was a very different story as Ramblers CEO, Tom Franklin, comments: “When the Ramblers first came into being, much of Britain was out of bounds to walkers including 99% of the Peak District.”

The Kinder Scout mass trespass brought the issue of access to national attention and participants, including some who would later go on to become prominent figures in the Ramblers, were imprisoned for their beliefs. The event was a catalyst for the formation of the Ramblers Association 3 years later. The Kinder Scout marchers’ courageous walk over 70 years ago meant many risked injury and even imprisonment but it lit the torch for responsible freedom to roam for future generations. Millions who can now enjoy our national parks and greater access to the countryside are indebted to the marchers. Tom Franklin, encouraging everyone to take part in the baton walk, said: “Over the past 75 years the Ramblers have lobbied for — and obtained piece-by-piece — legislation to open the countryside up to walkers. Now we’re asking everyone, of all ages and walking levels, to get out, celebrate walking and help us pass on the baton for future generations.”

The baton walk will take place at 10.30 AM, setting off from Hayfield car park, Kinder Scout. For those who do not wish to tackle the heady heights of Kinder’s summit the ‘Get Walking’ team will lead an easier walk, taking in the beautiful scenery surrounding Kinder Scout, so that everyone can take part in this historic occasion.

This walk is part of a nationwide Baton walks programme, where a special Ramblers birthday baton will travel around Britain throughout 2010. Baton walks will be taking place across the whole of the North East in April, before handing the baton onto Scotland in May. For more information about your nearest baton walk visit: www.ramblers75.org.uk

Main image: Detail from the commemorative plaque of Mass trespass of Kinder Scout at Bowden Bridge Quarry, Hayfield, UK by Marcin Floryan. Historic images: Ramblers

A vote for walking

Chris Hatherill — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 10:05:07 +0000

More than one in five election candidates commit to delivering coastal access as fast as possible, and have signed up to Ramblers’ Walking Manifesto. Candidates from all parties have committed to delivering a continuous coastal route around England, which gives the public the legal right to access currently out-of-bounds areas of the coastline. Implementation of the scheme relies on the political will of MPs and local politicians, to create a coastal route ‘on the ground’.

The Walking Manifesto (click here to download the PDF) encourages candidates to put their support for coastal access, and walking, on record by signing up to the document. The coastal access scheme will open up thousands of miles of inaccessible and out-of-bounds coastline permanently to the public for the first time by creating a continuous 4m (average) path around the shore. It contains provisions for ‘spreading room’, which will minimise conflict with landowners.

The manifesto states “We want to see delivery of the coastal route, which became law last November, as fast as possible” – in line with Natural England’s ten year timescale. Candidates signing up to the Walking Manifesto have been evenly spread across the main political parties. Justin Cooke, Ramblers Coastal Access Campaigner, comments: “That so many candidates have signed up to quickly deliver coastal access demonstrates the universal support that walking and access enjoys. We particularly welcome the cross-party support for access to our coastline.”

For more information on candidates who’ve signed up to coastal access delivery, and to walking, visit the Breaking Down the Barriers campaign at www.ramblers.org.uk and watch Ramblers CEO Tom Franklin’s video blog about the manifesto below.

The paths less travelled

Chris Hatherill — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:00:07 +0000

Footpath erosion in Britain’s walking hotspots costs millions in repairs each year and is permanently changing the face of our most cherished natural landmarks. Check out Mark Rowe’s full report on in the winter issue of walk, or read on for a sample of his alternatives to the most popular routes…

HOTSPOT Mam Tor, Peak District, England
Erosion has led to deep scars on the mountainside and paths being closed with temporary routes opened up. The National Trust had to pave the summit area to bind it against further erosion, making it hard to decipher a Bronze Age tumulus by the trig point.

ALTERNATIVE Win Hill
You would have to set out at 3am to have anywhere in the Peak District truly to yourself, but Win Hill — a hop, skip and a jump along from Mam Tor — sees fewer visitors than its neighbour. At 462m/1,516ft, it is only 50m/104ft lower, so the views are just as clear, and unarguably better, looking east towards Derwent Edge. One of the best routes up is from the Yorkshire Bridge close to the Ladybower Reservoir. Coming down, weave your way through the deciduous woodland or just keep heading west, bouncing along the hilltops of the ridge to the crowds on Mam Tor.

FURTHER INFO www.peakdistrict.org

HOTSPOT Ben Nevis, Highlands, Scotland
Erosion on both tracks up the mountain requires constant maintenance, currently funded by a £300,000 grant from the European Regional Development Fund. Cabins have been airlifted halfway up to enable footpath teams to work five-day shifts. The Nevis Partnership, which oversees environmental management, has proposed extending one path to reduce damage.

ALTERNATIVE Aonach Mor and Aonach Beag
Aonach Mor and Aonach Beag form the two summits of an extensive north-south ridge. Aonach Beag (the more southerly), stands 1,234m/4,048ft high, and is 3km/ 2 miles east of Ben Nevis, on the north side of Glen Nevis. Usually accessed from the car park at the end of the road in Glen Nevis, you can climb the mountain from the north side, but you’ll encounter the Nevis Range Mountain Gondola (built for the ski industry), which cuts the hike in half. Aonach Mor is 1,221m/4,006ft high and usually climbed together with its neighbour. The walk offers superb views towards Ben Nevis and Carn Mor Dearg.

FURTHER INFO www.visit-fortwilliam.co.uk

HOTSPOT Scafell Pike, Lake District, England
All the main paths suffer from erosion, although this is less of a problem close to the summit, which comprises bare rock and rubble. Even so, in places, mechanical diggers have been used to secure rubble tracks that are more resilient to heavy use. The Fix the Fells project aims to repair 14 paths in the Lakes each year.

ALTERNATIVE Ennerdale Water
Perhaps the best way to enjoy the scenery of the peaks here without the crowds is to make for lonely Ennerdale Water. Remote and time-consuming to reach, there is really only one walk here: a circular trail around its shores that requires the occasional bit of clambering. For an elevated view, make the short detour from the lakeside path up Bowness Knott for sneaking views of Pillar, Great Gable and the Scafell range.

FURTHER INFO www.lakedistrict.gov.uk

HOTSPOT Snowdon, Snowdonia, Wales
There are seven main routes up Snowdon and the national park funds two dedicated footpath teams. Last year, more than 90,000 people walked each of the Llanberis, Pyg and Miners’ Track routes. General erosion maintenance has cost £6.5 million in the past eight years.

ALTERNATIVE Carneddau Mountains
Located just to the north-east of Snowdon, this is Snowdonia scenery without the crowds. There are spectacular mountain tops, with seven peaks above 900m/2,953ft and views across the Menai Strait to Anglesey. Routes are accessible through the Ogwen valley from both the A5 and Bethesda.

FURTHER INFO www.snowdonia-npa.gov.uk

The paths less travelled

Chris Hatherill — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:40:41 +0000

FURTHER INFO www.peakdistrict.org

FURTHER INFO www.visit-fortwilliam.co.uk

FURTHER INFO www.lakedistrict.gov.uk

FURTHER INFO www.snowdonia-npa.gov.uk

Landmark law opens up English coast

Chris Hatherill — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:25:32 +0000

Hundreds of miles of inaccessible and out-of-bounds coastline are set to be permanently opened up to the public for the first time under the new Marine and Coastal Access Act.

The historic legislation, which received Royal Assent on 12 November, will create a continuous coastal path around England, allowing the public the right to walk the country’s entire coastline. Currently, almost half of England’s shores have no public right of way. It follows decades of campaigning by the Ramblers, whose Chief Executive Tom Franklin hailed the Act as “a victory for everyone who walks in this island nation”.

“The Marine and Coastal Access Act will enshrine a very simple principle on the statute books — that everyone, no matter who they are, where they come from or how much money they have, has the right to visit all parts of the coast which is so much a part of our heritage, ” he said. “The Government deserves congratulations for having introduced the bill, based on Natural England’s research. What is needed now is a continued commitment to deliver access on the ground so people have a chance to enjoy the coast.”

The Ramblers’ coastal-access campaign will now focus on making the secondary legislation needed to turn the act into reality, working with its strong national workforce of volunteers to help Natural England create a National Trail that will be the envy of the world.

Read more about the plans for a new coastal path in our extended feature in the winter 2009 issue of walk, or an excerpt here.

A new trail in the Lake District?

Chris Hatherill — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:04:09 +0000

The Lake District National Park Authority is asking for your thoughts on a proposed new 10-mile trail between Coniston and Foxfield. Winding through the area’s spectacular scenery and following an old railway track, it is hoped the multi-use trail will be used by walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

“Gentle gradients and clear signposting will make it accessible to families and people with limited mobility as well as people less confident in visiting the countryside,” says David Switzer, Access and Recreation Developer with the Lake District National Park Authority. “We believe the trail between Coniston and Broughton-In-Furness and Foxfield railway station could become an important tourism attraction in this part of the national park.”

A detailed consultation with local people and landowners is due to be completed by December, and the proposal is being backed by Cumbria County Council. You can share your thoughts via the authority’s website or pick up a questionnaire at Information Centres in Broughton and Coniston. You can also hear more about the proposals at the following parish meetings:
Coniston PC – 19 October
Duddon PC – 12 October
Torver PC – 12 November

Or at the two drop-in sessions which will be held for members of the public to find out more:
20 October – Broughton main square on auction day in the morning
27 October – Coniston (venue to be confirmed)

Walk & Talk with Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones

Chris Hatherill — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:23:28 +0000

Famous as The Black Farmer with his range of supermarket sausages, food entrepreneur Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones talks to Susan Gray about city and country life and his plans to stand as a Tory MP in the next general election…

You divide your time between London, your Devon farm and Chippenham. Are city and country two separate worlds in Britain?
We need urban Britain to connect with rural Britain. Cities are constricted, so people come to the country for a sense of freedom. But this isn’t what causes the social problems. Second homeowners don’t kill villages – lack of employment does. We need to find ways of creating jobs around tourism, light industry and small family businesses. Differences between country and city people are skin deep – we all share the same humanity.

Do you think the countryside is welcoming or inclusive enough?
Lots of black people are from rural origins. My family were subsistence farmers from Jamaica but, like most immigrants to Britain, they settled where the work was. The inner-city became their safe place and anything beyond their community became dangerous and unwelcoming. Enoch Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech scared the shit out of us, but times have moved on. We need to rediscover our parents’ pioneering spirit and move outside the cities. If we wait to be invited to the country, we’ll wait forever. It’s not down to the countryside to be more welcoming, but up to more black people to move to the country.

Projects like the National Parks’ MOSAIC scheme are actively encouraging ethnic minorities to make use of the countryside. Do you agree with these kinds of schemes?
I’ve helped out with MOSAIC, but these schemes are patronising. You can’t expect rural people to welcome you with open arms – why should they? You have to accept the local customs and practices. And expect people to look at you – it’s not because you’re black, it’s because you’re a stranger. Rural communities’ security comes from knowing the people around you; even I will stare at a stranger in a pub. When there are more black families in rural areas, people will become more comfortable. It’s down to you to make the effort – others won’t change.

You’ve said you see parallels between the tension caused by second homeowners in Britain’s villages and tourism’s impact on communities in Jamaica. What do you mean?
In Jamaica there’s resentment because tourists live in comparative luxury, while locals scratch a living. But these communities can’t survive without the money tourism generates. Rural communities everywhere have to find creative, realistic ways of being economically viable.

Some rural landowners take a dim view of walkers. How about you?
There are no rights of way across my farm. I think they’re wrong – more national parks are the answer. Escapist walks are precious for urban dwellers and we must all appreciate that. Growing up in inner-city Birmingham with eight brothers and sisters, I know what it’s like to be starved of air. Rural Britain must be sensitive to this. Of course some visitors abuse the country, say by leaving rubbish on the verges, but we have to be patient and educate them. I’m glad walkers come into the country.

Are you in favour of a public right of access to the coast?
Walkers should have access to the coast, especially if it stops developers moving
in and restricting access for everyone. The coast shouldn’t be the preserve of the rich. What made you decide to go into politics? I’m from a poor background. Most of my life I’ve felt outside the mainstream and that my life wasn’t relevant. When you come from life’s dustbin heap, you have a different take on things. So it’s vital that someone like me is part of the debate that creates our laws and policies.

Why did you choose to stand for the Conservative Party?
The black middle-class is predominantly made up of people on the Left. Historically, it’s seemed more inclusive than the Right. But few black businesspeople have emerged from this alliance. Instead, educated people have gone into the race industry, working in cahoots with white liberals to decide how to handle the blacks. The Left’s ideas are about being victims, or being owed. Conservative values say get up and do it for yourself. We need to get back to self-reliance – we can do a better job with our own lives than the state can.

If elected as the MP for Chippenham, what rural policies would you push for?
Although I make my living from supermarkets, I’m a big critic of how they operate. A market of just five major chains limits farmers’ options: you do as they say or you go out of business. With their long opening hours and easy parking, they own convenience, which means consumers migrate from the high streets. I’d like to see supermarkets take greater social responsibility. A third of a branch’s food lines should be local produce. They should also have to charge for parking at high street parity and give a third of their parking space over to farmers’ markets once a month. Supermarkets should be harnessed to help local producers. Wouldn’t entering parliament mean you’ll become part of the establishment? You’re either an outsider or part of the mainstream. I’m an outsider, and outsiders bring change. If I’m going to be inside the corridors of power, it’s going to be on my terms. This country needs more black success stories. Hope is the greatest gift you can give people.

Bridging the gap

Chris Hatherill — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:06:15 +0000

A new bridge in the Lake District has been unveiled, opening up the circular route around Derwentwater for people of all abilities. Designed for wheelchair and pram users, the new structure replaces the iconic 1938 ‘Chinese Bridge’ while retaining the original curving design. As befits a 21st century update, the new bridge also features recycled plastic decking and an extra-safe non-slip surface.

The round Derwentwater walk is part of the Lake District National Park’s ‘Miles without Stiles’ project – a network of 39 walks accesible to wheelchair users, families with pushchairs, dogwalkers with less active dogs and the visually impaired. Click here for more on the Derwentwater route over the new bridge or here for more about the other walks on offer.

At the other end of the country, the New Forest National Park Authority is now publishing full details of easily-accessible trails within the New Forest. Walks around Blackwater and Lymington/Keyhaven are the first two routes to be published, and include information on parking, the gradient and surfaces, details on gates to negotiate and seats along the route. It’s hoped the information will be useful for people with wheelchairs or pushchairs, those with restricted mobility, and also those who have limited experience in the countryside.

“The New Forest has some of the most accessible countryside in the country,” says Sarah Manchester, the Authority’s Countryside Access Officer, “with an abundance of surfaced paths with very gentle slopes and great views. We want to give people the information they need to be confident they will find a walk that suits their own abilities.” Downloadable maps, detailed descriptions and photographs are available on the Authority’s website: www.newforestnpa.gov.uk