Image by Wikimedia user Peter Trimming.

“I started coming when I was 95,” says Charles Harvey, a retired county court officer from Wirksworth who – at 98 – is the oldest walker involved. “I used to go walking with my wife, and I’ve always liked to go out for healthy exercise. I enjoy the company, and as I no longer drive it’s a wonderful way of discovering new places.”

Peak Park Leisure Walks were originally set up as a partnership between the High Peak and Dales Primary Care Trust and the National Park Ranger Service, with volunteers from Bakewell & Eyam Community Transport providing a pick-up service. The walkers need a high level of support, and some of the volunteer rangers have been helping them right from the start.

Diane Whelbourn, of Darley Dale, who has been a leisure walker for five years, said: “When you’re on your own it’s lovely to come out and mix with people. It gives you the motivation to exercise and get to places you wouldn’t go on your own. The leisure walks do me a lot of good – when you’re in the fresh air any problems you’ve had seem to fade into the background.”

To mark the 20th anniversary, National Park Authority chair Tony Favell greeted the walkers for their last walk of the year and thanked the volunteers and organisers, saying “I wish you all a very happy 20th anniversary celebration, and I hope you continue to enjoy these excellent walks for another 20 years.”

The group then set off to walk from Bakewell along the Monsal Trail through the longest tunnel, Headstone Tunnel, to Monsal Halt. They stopped for a picnic lunch and later, tea and a celebratory cake at Great Longstone. The cake was cut by Audrey Foster, the leisure walker who has been coming out the longest (15 years), and volunteer ranger Baz Booler, who helped right from the start.

For more on the park and the programme, visit http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/accessibility/leisurewalks

Image: Peak Park Leisure Walkers celebrate their 20th anniversary with a specially decorated cake. Flanking the cake on the left is leisure walks co-ordinator Christina Porter, and on the right, oldest walker 98-year-old Charles Harvey.

You should never read too much into the symbolism of a political photo opportunity. But if you’re looking for straws to clutch at, you look for them wherever you can find them, don’t you? So for any supporter of the proposed all-England coastal path, one of this year’s silly-season press photos could be significant. On holiday in Cornwall, David and Samantha Cameron posed for pictures on the South West Coastal Path above Daymer Bay, near the village of Polzeath. With cuts coming thick and fast, the outlook for the all-England project looked bleak, so perhaps the choice was a good omen? Maybe the coalition understands how valuable countryside access is to domestic tourism; it’s estimated that the South West Coastal path earns the region more than £390,000 per year per mile.

Since the change of government, civil servants have been hard at work identifying where spending cuts could be made. Only health and overseas aid have been spared. The headline details of those cuts have now been published (see p12), but during the run-up rumours were coming thick and fast, prompting veteran access campaigner Kate Ashbrook – the Ramblers’ former chair – to dub 2010 “the age of uncertainty”. “In my years of campaigning, there’s never been anything like it,” she said. “Decisions are being made very quickly and it’s impossible to say what may be around the corner.” For the campaigning umbrella group Wildlife and Countryside Link, the coalition’s cuts threaten to take us beyond uncertainty, to an age of austerity. The organisation is the joint voice of 25 countryside organisations, including the Ramblers. It picked up on Nick Clegg’s argument that it would be “morally wrong” to leave future generations with huge debts, saying: “It would be just as immoral to bequeath them an impoverished environment.”

Painful cost-cutting

The belt-tightening on current budgets has already had an impact, and that’s before the cuts announced in the comprehensive spending review kick in from April onwards. In August, Natural England was forced to slow the pace of work on the all-England coastal path, and it has also had to look at selling land and cutting jobs. Painful decisions are being made elsewhere by other public sector organisations involved in the countryside, and local authority budget cuts are biting too. The Ramblers’ campaign ‘Dead End for Walking?’ has shown that hard-pressed councils are failing to meet their obligations on the footpath network, and many are making cuts to what are already hard- pressed rights-of-way teams (Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council is even considering scrapping its team altogether). The squeeze on spending is also hurting third-sector organisations that rely on grants from the public purse. For example, the Nevis Partnership, which maintains paths on Ben Nevis – Britain’s highest peak – looks set to fold after losing council funding. The fate of the partnership made headlines earlier this year when its manager, Brian Wilshaw, was reported as having suggested that the 160,000 or so people who go up the mountain each year should be charged £1 to do so. He told walk that he had been misquoted, but the scale of the cuts coming has meant many organisations involved with managing the countryside have started thinking the unthinkable – whether that’s selling off land and facilities, or charging the public for access.

In the face of the onslaught, Kate Ashbrook argues that countryside ‘users groups’ need to do more to make the case that public spending is actually public investment – that spending delivers benefits, such as increased tourism and improved health for local people. “It’s a case the Ramblers have been making, but perhaps not clearly enough,” she says. At the same time, organisations like the Ramblers should be ready to remind decision-makers of their legal duties, as ministers get to grips with what the government’s ‘Big Society’ is all about. “Volunteers add value, but they can’t take on the job. They need support and management,” Kate says. That theme is taken up by countryside management expert Professor Nigel Curry, who is the director of the Countryside and Community Research Institute at the University of Gloucestershire. “The ‘Big Society’ is half about giving the public an empowering opportunity, and half about dumping what used to be state responsibilities on to unpaid volunteers,” he says. “How you view it probably depends on how cynical you are.” But, Curry argues, the rethink about how the countryside is cared for must look beyond short-term savings. He says that funding for the countryside – through rights of way, access, farm support and forestry budgets – has been relatively generous over the past couple of decades, representing a shared investment in the environment. Quick savings now risk throwing away the value of 20 years of spending.

The role of the ‘Big Society’
Fully understanding what the ‘Big Society’ is all about is also concentrating minds at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Martin Harper, the RSPB’s head of sustainable development, is keen to stress that what he doesn’t want to see is more land leaving public ownership, saying: “As a rule, keeping land in state ownership is the best way to protect it.” He’s not saying whether or not the RSPB is one of the eight organisations that have expressed an interest in taking over the Roaches from the Peak District National Park, but the charity does have a track record of helping the park: in April it and the National Trust took on the Eastern Moors estate, which includes such popular walking areas as Curbar, Froggatt and Birchen Edges. Martin Harper says that sort of transfer can mean that the countryside is being managed by specialists who understand issues such as conservation and access as well as public bodies do, but who can do the job more cheaply. However, he thinks it’s important to remember that cuts are not only about the need to reduce the deficit – they also reflect a belief that the state should do less.

How that will shape up in the area of countryside policy should emerge next spring, when the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) publishes its Natural Environment White Paper. Martin Harper is hoping that it will take power from the centre and give it to local people. If the new way of doing things is truly community-led, he says, people will be more ready to volunteer. “There are some really big gains to be had in making it even easier for people to get stuck in.” That’s a view that strikes a chord back in Cornwall. Away from the coastal path, the county’s rights-of-way system is badly neglected. But in the face of council cutbacks local people are taking up the slack. They are being led by Graham Ronan, who chairs Cornwall Ramblers. “We’ve always known all about big society here in Cornwall – since long before anyone in the government coined the phrase,” he says. “What we’re trying to do is a balancing act. We’re still holding Cornwall Council to account on its statutory duties as the highway authority, but we’re also looking to do more ourselves.” One aspect of that has come recently through a Ramblers-funded training day on path obstruction. It taught a group of volunteers the skills they need to gather formal evidence to email to the council. The first session turned out four trained volunteers. That may seem like a small contribution, but it’s a real boost for the council’s team of two officers, who cover all of Cornwall’s 4,388km/2,727 miles of paths.

At a national level, the Ramblers faces a similar conflict, according to Adrian Morris, its head of walking environment. He’s an enthusiastic supporter of a greater involvement for volunteers in access work, but stresses that the Ramblers have to continue to act as a watchdog too. In the coming months, local councils will be making their decisions about spending, he says, and rights-of-way budgets are expected to be cut by up to 50 per cent. “What we need to be doing is highlighting the massive benefits that walking brings to people’s lives, especially at a time of stress and austerity,” he says. “We need to let councillors know how much it matters, because it will be seen as an easy cut.” But at the same time he’s certain that the Ramblers should be looking for opportunities in the ‘Big Society’ agenda. In future, that may mean taking over rights-of-way work on contract, or even land ownership, he says. “The big picture is that there’s going to be a fundamental re-appraisal of the relationship between the citizen and the state,” Adrian says. “I’m not sure if that’s what Cameron was intending with the ‘Big Society’. But that’s what’s happening and we need to engage with that debate and be open to the possibilities, because it needn’t all be negative.”

Countryside for sale?

Nature reserves
One option on the table at Natural England is to sell off some of the country’s 224 National Nature Reserves, the jewels in the crown of their network of protected wildlife sites. Natural England owns many of them – close to 20,000 hectares of land in all.

National Parks
Park authorities are looking to raise money to make up for a predicted shortfall in funding next year. For example, the Peak District National Park Authority is looking for someone to take the Roaches – a popular walking and climbing spot – on a lease, and is considering selling its education and conference centre, Losehill Hall.

Woodland
The Forestry Commission is looking at what it can sell from its huge estate of nearly 900,000 hectares of woodland in England and Scotland. The Welsh Assembly Government also has woodland that may be sold.

Rivers and canals
British Waterways, which manages 3,540km/2,200 miles of canals and rivers, will become a third sector charity in the same model as the National Trust. It could look to sell or lease its waterways as a means of raising funds.

Illustration: Nina Hunter @ Illustration Ltd

£12.99, BBC Books, ISBN 978 1 84990 0461

The campaign is run by the Chemicals Regulation Directorate, part of the Health & Safety Executive. The aim is to prevent poisons, particularly pesticides, harming wildlife, pets or livestock through misuse or abuse.  For the past two years it has been managed by a consortium which includes the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Farm Wildlife Advisory Group and other independent experts.

The newly formed group began by establishing a base line of awareness by surveying key audiences including countryside users.  There was good news and bad news. First, despite the siren voices that often hit the headlines, there is broad support for the work of farmers and gamekeepers in controlling pests. Also, many who enjoy the countryside have come across dead wildlife. But, while there was a willingness to report such incidents, especially deer and badgers, very few people had a clue who to report to. Suggestions included the police and RSPCA, and while they can have a role, just one respondent had the right answer – the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS).

So part of the focus of the revitalised CAIP is to inform those who regularly enjoy the English countryside, and the leaflet enclosed in the current issue of walk magazine (Autumn 2010) is intended as a quick aide memoire to alert ramblers to what they may come across in the countryside and what to do about it. So what might you find? What should you do? And who can help?

This autumn, there is a particular hazard for those who enjoy the company of pet dogs as they stride out. From October onwards farmers will be battling against the threat of slugs to their newly sown oilseed and cereal crops. That means the application of slug pellets (very similar to those used in gardens).  Based on cereals, slug pellets are tasty morsels for any pooch. The odd one may pose little threat, but in a heap –as you might get from a split bag or an overflowing applicator – will provide a tasty, yet lethal, treat.

Unfortunately, while the taste repellents added to many pellets in recent years are good at stopping accidental human consumption, they are much less effective for dogs. If you suspect your dog has eaten slug pellets, you need veterinary help immediately. If you know where the heap is you could alert the farmer to the hazard. In addition, contact WIIS.

Across the year, you may find dead animals that most likely have died from natural causes, but some that might have been poisoned. And, sadly, these can be the result of deliberate abuse. If you find a dead bird of prey, or several animals in an area it is time to get suspicious. You may even find a dead carcase, such as a rabbit, staked out. Don’t touch – it could be laced with poison. But contact WIIS.

So what happens if you ring  the WIIS helpline? After your details have been taken, a wildlife expert from Natural England will be in touch to ask you a series of questions to see if what you have found is suspicious. If it is, then further investigations are carried out. Deliberate abuse or reckless misuse may lead to prosecution; details of unintentional misuse that leads to poisoning are recorded and if necessary instructions for pesticide use are amended.

Pest control does not always involve pesticides. Gamekeepers depend on traps to control corvids in spring and rodents across the year.  But there are many instances of perfectly legal and humane traps being damaged or destroyed. CAIP now provides posters to alert ramblers of the legality of traps in use. If you think a trap is illegal, do not interfere with it, but do seek advice from the police, ask for their Wildlife Crime Officer.

As well as making countryside users aware of CAIP, the campaign is also working to educate farmers, landowners and gamekeepers in best practice when it comes to pest control. Across the country there are daylong training sessions providing practical advice on issues such as slug and rat control, safe storage of pesticides and alternative approaches to pest control.

There is much more information about the campaign on its website www.caip-uk.info and remember if you see something suspicious you can help make our countryside a safer place by phoning 0800 321600.

Patrick Goldsworthy is the campaign director of CAIP

Jamie Owen, £20,
Ebury Press,
ISBN 978 0 09 193282 4

Less a guidebook and more a stimulant to the senses, Countryside should succeed in tempting you into the less travelled corners of Britain. The descriptions of mountains and moorland are at times overly flowery, but it’s lifted by stunning photography and evokes the splendour of the sights, sounds and smells of rural Britain. Even the oft-mocked flatness of the Wash is transformed into a land of endless adventure worthy of inspiring the poets of old. With tips on where to stay and eat, the armchair explorer may well be lured out of their comfort zone, helping to rejuvenate some of Britain’s forgotten gems along the way. Maria Castellina

What we see today is only a fraction of what was built 200 years or more ago. According to a 1995 survey by the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service, 40% of dry stone walls in England have been lost since the Second World War.  Much of this has been the consequence of changes in farming practices. Of those which remain, only 13% are in good condition, 58% are in urgent need of restoration, and the remainder are now beyond repair. In Wales and Scotland the position is unknown but likely to be similar.

In the past, the cost of rebuilding field walls used to be shared between Defra and the landowner. Most upland farmers are now in no position to make their contribution and the present prospect is that unless the public can be engaged - either through voluntary action or with financial support - dry stone walls will slowly disappear from our countryside except perhaps within our upland national parks.

While in many areas the agricultural need for dry stone walls has declined, their value as a wildlife refuge and a landscape feature has increased everywhere.  There are a huge number of plants and insects that live along the walls, not to mention numerous important lichens, mosses and liverworts providing an essential input at the bottom of the food chain. David Bellamy himself has said: “Well-managed dry stone walls are as important as hedgerows to the character and wildlife of our country”.

In terms of being a treasured part of the landscape, it’s well known that the public puts a high value on the preservation of dry stone walls. A recently published report has shown that for every £1 expenditure on the repair of dry stone walls in the Yorkshire Dales National Park there was an injection of £1.92 into the local economy.

The Ramblers has been enormously successful in promoting walking and campaigning for access to the countryside. Its charitable objectives include the protection of the countryside for the enjoyment of all walkers, and its Articles of Association also allow it to work with other organisations with similar objects.

The Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain works to maintain the craft standards of dry stone walling and provides training for members of the public though its 20 UK branches (see www.dswa.org.uk). A lot can be done by volunteers: complete novices, under the supervision of a qualified instructor, can build excellent walls – albeit rather slowly! Moreover, rebuilding dry stone walls is just as much fun and just as much exercise as walking with something to show for it at the end. As one or our recent course attenders said: “There is not much which I do in my life which I can say will last for a hundred years”.

So isn’t it time our two organisations got together to realise these objects as they apply to our dry stone field walls? How about it Ramblers?

Chris Stephens is a member of both the Dry Stone Walling Association and Ramblers