Imagine walking through the streets of London, traversing the centuries. One minute you’re gazing over the Covent Garden Piazza in the 1720s, the next you’re on Carnaby in the swinging 60s. Sound like a HG Wells fantasy? Thanks to a new iPhone app from the Museum of London it’s become a fascinating reality.

The free Streetmuseum app features hundreds of historical images from the museum’s collections, all plotted on an interactive map. Hold your iPhone up to the horizon and it even gives you an Augmented Reality view of the nearest sites of interest, along with how far away each one is. Once you’re there, just hold your iPhone up to the present day street scene and see the same London location appears on your screen, offering you a window through time. Tap the information button and you get historical facts, and create your own trails around London.

And the fun doesn’t end there. As the museum points out, “with thousands of years of turbulent history, London has changed many times so some streets or buildings may not exist today. Where precise locations aren’t available, relish the challenge of identifying recognisable landmarks which may offer you clues as to the current day site. A street name in the background or a church spire in the distance may be all you need to find the view. Our descriptions can also help you locate the right spot.”

Happy time travelling!

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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.

Click here to listen to extracts of this interview as a Podcast

I’ve always enjoyed walking, and my interest in access rights began when I was a boy. In 1932, when I was 17, I remember hearing with great excitement about the events on Kinder Scout, which paved the way for the right to roam. Several hundred people trespassed on the mountain, walking to Ashop Head at such a pace that the police were only able to catch the stragglers. I joined the Ramblers shortly after it was created in 1935, while studying law at the London School of Economics.

I sent a donation of five shillings (worth about £13 now – quite a hefty sum at the time, especially for a student). I got my money’s worth, though. Nearly every weekend I went out walking in the countryside. Southern Railways ran special ramblers’ trains and you would go out to one station and come back from another. My law studies included access to the mountains, now known as the right to roam. This became a great interest, which led me to join the Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths Preservation Society, whose secretary was Sir Lawrence Chubb, a leading figure in access to mountains and surveying rights of way.

The Ramblers offered a map-lending service and in 1936 I borrowed maps to walk from London to Fishguard, to get the ferry to Ireland to visit my family for the summer holidays. I took the tube to Uxbridge and walked a distance of 218km/135 miles, staying at youth hostels along the way. I was determined to make it all the way to Fishguard and turned down kind offers of lifts from passing motorists, but by the time I reached Llangasty the blisters on my feet had become unbearable. So I took a bus for the last leg. Apart from the sore feet, it was glorious. I went by field paths, which were well used then, so I never had to get out secateurs to clear the way.

In 1939, I joined the army and went to Sandhurst as a private cadet. I served until April 1946, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. I led walking and cycling tours in most of the places I was stationed. I remember one outing in Sierra Leone where we walked up the highest mountain in the colony and placed a big V-for-victory sign on the top so that passing aircraft could see it. When the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act was passed in 1949, I wrote a book about it, and it was through this that I met my wife, Isabel. I wrote to the Ministry of Town and Country Planning to ask if one of the civil servants who had worked on the Act during its passage through Parliament, and knew it well, could comment on my draft manuscript. They offered a Miss Isabel Kuhlicke, who, I soon discovered, shared my love of walking and appreciation of maps.

Richard (standing) leading a trek in the 1950s

I organised a lot of walking tours at that time, with parties of friends, using youth hostels, tents and my Dormobile van, called Dora. I invited Miss Kuhlicke (as I called her then) to join a party on the Pembrokeshire coastal path and found that she was very good company and excellent at reading maps. We married in 1955 and set up home in the Peak District. It was a lovely place to bring up children, with plenty of walking nearby. As a solicitor in town and country planning, I was in charge of the survey of footpaths for Derbyshire County Council, recording nearly 3,000 miles/4,800km of paths and claiming all canal towpaths as public footpaths. I also organised the access agreements for about 70 square miles of the Peak District. Through my work with the national park, I established the High Peak trail and the Tissington trail. Knowing about the Manifold Valley Light Railway’s old track being made into a footpath in the 1930s, I negotiated to buy the old railway between Buxton and Ashbourne – 18km/11 miles of track, stations and car parks – for £3,000.

It was a great honour to be invited back to open the route in June 1971 – there’s still a plaque there marking the occasion. In later years I became the chief executive of an educational charity in Bedford. Through this I set up the Blue Peris mountain centre in Snowdonia, now one of the top places for mountain leaders’ courses. I’m 95 now and I have many great memories of walking to look back on. I’m really pleased to have passed my love of the outdoors on to my children and grandchildren. Last Christmas I gave my youngest granddaughter, Lizzy, membership of the Ramblers. She is
19 and at university, just as I was when I joined 75 years ago.

Interview by Julia Buckley

YOUR WALK OF LIFE
Do you have a story to tell about a life-changing walk or how walking has transformed your world? Contact us at walkmag@ramblers.org.uk

F is for Flora and Fauna

There are differences between them. You never hear a peep out of Flora. And she’s a down-to-earth kind of girl, very rooted. Whereas Fauna’s either all over the place, up in the air and gabbling fit to beat the band. Or she keeps herself to herself as quiet as, say, a mouse, and runs a mile if you make the wrong move.

Now when they first caught my eye, both Flora and Fauna used to be very reliable about turning up on time (give or take a week or two), and in the usual places, too. But recently they’ve been getting a bit flighty, a bit unpredictable. Flora’s retreated to the hilltops when she used to be a valley girl, while Fauna’s either much too early or doesn’t turn up at all. Springs have been especially funny. Flora’s started popping up when you just don’t expect her, and Fauna’s been making all sorts of saucy moves before I’ve even got my thermals off! This spring, though, they were both sulky and didn’t put in an appearance till I’d almost given up on them.

I hope they’re not thinking of leaving me. I’d really, really miss them.

Windy pits are networks of limestone fissure caves found in the southwest corner of the North York Moors National Park and their name derives from the flurries of air emitted from within. Providing important bat roosts, the discovery of skeletons and other objects in the windy pits suggest they also had a more gruesome use in the Bronze and late Iron Ages. Graham Lee, Senior Archaeological Conservation Officer for the North York Moors National Park Authority will talk about the finds and the importance of the windy pits for nature conservation on Tuesday 1 June.

Geology-expert Brian Sweeney will then take the audience back millions of years on Thursday 3 June to a time of warm shallow seas when the limestone of Sutton Bank was formed and looks at how this iconic landscape was later shaped by ice and meltwater. On Sunday 6 June, the spotlight turns to the human imprint on the landscape with a look at the archaeology of Yearsley Moors which ranges from the Bronze Age through to the Second World War.

“The landscape around Sutton Bank is not only visually stunning; it also has many fascinating tales to tell,” says Jennifer Smith, Project Officer for the £500,000 Heritage Lottery funded Lime and Ice Project. “Attending one of the talks or the guided walk will make you look at an area – perhaps that you thought you knew very well – with a fresh pair of eyes.”

Wondrous Windy Pits and Limestone Stories take place at Sutton Bank National Park Centre from 7pm to 8.30pm. The walk to explore Yearsley Moor starts at 2pm and will take around 90 minutes. There is no charge for these events but booking is advisable to guarantee a place – call ✆ 01439 772738.

Above: The view towards Sutton Bank and Hood Hill. Left: A windy pit, yesterday

Looking for something extra to add to your walks around the city or out in the countryside? A growing library of audio tours, guides and art helps add another dimension to your excursions. Check out our exclusive online feature and you could win a BBC audio guide…

One of the best things about getting out in the fresh air for a walk is the way it brings your senses to life. The smell of a freshly cut field, or a sun-dappled woodland trail; the sight of the sun rising between two hills; and the feel of cold stone as you ascend towards a peak – all evoke and imprint memories that last long after you’ve returned home. Sounds of the countryside – or indeed the city – add to your walk too, but if you want to experience something different there’s an increasingly large choice of audio tours you can take with you to add an extra layer of knowledge and fun to your walk. Here are just a few we’ve come across recently…

New Forest, new sounds
Walkers can now take their own guide with them to discover the history and wildlife of the New Forest National Park thanks to four new audio tours. The downloadable tours on the National Park Authority’s website celebrate Alice Liddell, the inspiration behind Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’, D-Day at Lepe Country Park, the history of the airfield at Stoney Cross and a tour around the Lymington-Keyhaven Nature Reserve taking in the local bird population.

‘The New Forest is bursting with so much history and wildlife,” says Jim Mitchell, Interpretation Officer with the park authority. “We wanted these tours to show a different side of the Forest – its role during World War II, the coastline and its influence on literature.”

To download a National Park audio tour visit www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/tours_and_trails

Hear here! Take a sound trip through history
Castleton visitors can now explore the village’s heritage using sound and touch, with free audio-guides available on MP3 players at Castleton Visitor Centre. Aimed primarly at helping visually-impaired people to tour the centre’s museum with narration and sound-effects, the tours are part of a refurbishment of the visitor centre, run by the Peak District National Park Authority. Walking through the exhibits, you can feel and touch old household implements, farming and industrial tools, a prehistoric animal’s footprint, local stone and a hang-glider.  Along the way, you can summon up the sound of quarry-blasting or a brass band on Castleton Garland Day.
“The tour is very tactile,” explains Adam Whetton, of the national park’s customer service team, who is himself visually-impaired. “You can feel things like an old household mangle, a farm spade, climbing ropes or birds’ eggs. The narrators are local people, and they give you an excellent understanding of Castleton’s history and the way people made their living, as well as its wildlife and sports activities.”

For more information, contact Castleton Visitor Centre on 01629 816 558

A real hero
Our own walkmag.co.uk blogger, the enigmatic Walking Class Hero, goes above-and-beyond when it comes to creating custom soundtracks for your walk. His regular posts are packed full of great walks, insights and above all sounds – with music ranging from The Kinks to The Ting Tings. Essential reading… and listening!

A sonic odyssey on the Southbank
On a similar note, Patrick Baxter constructs soundtracks for walks as part of his walkingmusicproject. “This is a piece of ambient music that can be used to soundtrack the riverside walk along the Southbank in London,” he says of his recent Blackfriars to Westminster composition. “It is intended that the listener will download the track on to their MP3 player, start listening on their headphones at Blackfriars Bridge then simply follow the river path. The music has been specially composed to fit exactly with the surroundings; the music will end when the listener reaches Westminster. Along the way a number of important points are marked in sound – some are specific, others are less obvious. It is hoped that the music will enhance the short journey, enabling the listener to gain a new perspective on their surroundings.”

North-west weekends
As part of their extensive series of travel audio guides, The Guardian have produced tours of Manchester, Liverpool and the Lake District, the latter narrated by Martin Wainwright, who “takes you on a short tour of the Lake District, ‘the most beautiful place in the world’ and home of Peter Rabbit” lasting just over twelve minutes. Other guides take your further afield and cover topics like music and business travel in more detail.

A Guide to British Water Birds (RRP£8.99 from BBC)
Ever wonder which bird that is lurking beyond the reeds? Join presenter Brett Westwood and Stephen Moss in this fascinating guide to the calls and songs of Britain’s most popular water birds, as heard on BBC Radio 4. Recorded in springtime on the Somerset Levels, which we featured in the Spring 2010 issue of walk, each of the programmes focuses on a different group of birds, starting with waders such as the Lapwing, Redshank, Snipe and Curlew. Then there are the warblers, who thrive in the reed beds, and the rails and crakes, including Coot, Moorhen and Spotted Crake. Last – but by no means least – are the river birds, including Grey Wagtail, Common Sandpiper and Kingfisher.

Packed with useful information and helpful tips, this series will appeal to boththe complete novice and the experienced birdwatcher who simply wants to know more about water birds. walk has five copies to give away – to enter just fill in the form below or click here for Terms & Conditions.

As we reported in the Spring 2010 edition of walk, Saturday saw an unprecedented event across the north of England, as a thousand volunteers lit beacons along the length of Hadrian’s Wall. At the time, we could only show you a computer generated mock-up of what it might look like – as it’s never been attempted before!

According to organisers, more than 25,000 people turned out to witness the spectacular event along the 84-mile Hadrian’s Wall Path National Trail, which recreated the lights that once shone from  Roman turrets and milecastles stationed along the length of the Wall.

“Working in partnership with local people, we’ve done something really quite extraordinary to bring to life Britain’s longest and greatest World Heritage Site,” says Linda Tuttiett, Chief Executive of organisers Hadrian’s Wall Heritage Ltd. “It’s something that many of us will remember for a long time.”

4,000 people witnessed the first beacon being lit at Segedunum Roman Fort in Wallsend, where a procession of Roman soldiers escorted a torch to light the first beacon at the fort at 5.45pm, which was followed by a fireworks finale. The line of light ended at the Wall’s most westerly point at Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria, with the last beacon being fired just after 7pm, marked by Roman re-enactors firing burning arrows into the air.

For more information about walking in Hadrian’s Wall Country visit www.hadrians-wall.org

Note: Flash is required to view the video above.
Click here to watch it directly on Vimeo.com

Book your free tickets to see the event at www.illuminatinghadrianswall.com

Follow the batons’ progress at www.ramblers75.org.uk

A history of the Ramblers in the Midlands has been penned by the chairman of Warwick Ramblers in time for the 75th celebrations. Michael Bird’s
83-page book is free to download from www.warwickshireramblers.org.uk