National Trails are the crown jewels of all our long-distance paths, and as big a draw for walkers internationally as Big Ben or Loch Ness are for tourists…

If we are going to get people driving less and walking more, it won’t happen by making it lethal for them to travel in the countryside except encased in a vehicle.

As the immediate post-Olympic era seems set to revive the debate about the Big Society, especially as the 17,000 volunteer Games Makers were such a resounding success, it seems self-evident to me that we can learn a lot from organisations like Morley College and the Ramblers.

Like all National Trails, the North Downs Way is extraordinarily well-maintained. The waymarks and signage, aka ‘aids’, is excellent; I hardly even refer to my map. This is entirely deliberate; National Trails are meant to be as easy to use as possible, which is partly why I, and approximately 12 million visitors each year, enjoy them

The Olympic Opening Ceremony invited us all to become part of history at an historic moment, and I hope that these guided walks do the same. I hope we create a wave of people young and old that will cherish these local areas: a lasting legacy of Our History rather than Them vs. Us, West vs. East, London vs. The Rest of the Country, or even Poor vs. Rich

A sea of meadow flowers cuts a swathe through the forest, as far as the eye can see, undulating along the route of the Elan valley pipeline from Powys to Birmingham. The slightest touch on the bracken sends a frenzy of wood white butterflies into the air.

The future of our National Trails could be secured if there was a national champion to support and promote them…

There are thousands of volunteers whose hard work allows us to contribute enormously to local communities; from protecting footpaths to helping people to start walking. These highly skilled and committed volunteers are one of our main strengths.

The sun’s declining rays kept the butterflies about; marjoram scented the breeze; the ox-eye daisies and the bee-orchids were just finishing; agrimony, meadow vetchling, pyramid-orchids, white bedstraw, and rock rose and yarrow were out in force.

In response to a Lancet Report published this week, the Ramblers is urging people to start walking to combat many of the serious diseases and health consequences of inactivity…