Ramblers
Ramblers - 75 years young
The Ramblers was born into a troubled and changing world. Britain was in the middle of the great depression, with unemployment at over 20%. Germany had just formed the Luftwaffe and begun a programme of re-armament in contravention of the Treaty of Versailles. Women had been able to vote on equal terms with men for just seven years.
There were no national parks, no freedom to roam, little protection for rights of way, and most manual workers worked six days a week, with little leisure time.
Much has changed in Britain in the 75 years since the Ramblers was first formed. Generations of Ramblers volunteers have played their part in shaping social history. If those founders were still with us today, I have no doubt that they would look back with pride on what has been achieved.
• 14 National Parks, protecting our most precious landscapes for the nation in perpetuity.
• A unique network of footpaths safeguarded for future generations, and local authorities producing improvement plans to modernise their footpath networks for the 21st century.
• World-famous long-distance trails, such as the Pennine Way and Hadrian’s Wall walk.
• Freedom to roam across mountain and moorland, and throughout Scotland in its entirety.
• Most recently, a legal right to walk right the way around the coastline of Britain – due to be made a reality over the next few years.
If you thought that at 75, after a lifetime of achievement, we’d want a rest, you’d be wrong. As Britain’s walking charity, we’re building on our successes of the past 75 years, and evolving to meet new challenges in the 21st century.
• We’re campaigning to make sure that local authorities stick to their word to improve their rights of way network – making them easier to use.
• We’re helping new generations of people in cities to get out into the countryside for the first time, teaching them about the countryside and how to respect it.
• We’re encouraging tens of thousands of people to give walking a go, and experience the benefits for their health and happiness.
• We’re taking some 700,000 participants on 28,000 walks each year, thanks to our 12,000 volunteers, and introducing more family-friendly walks.
• We’re continuing to safeguard footpaths, thanks to our expert volunteers, through encouraging, persuading and – if necessary – taking tough action with landowners and local authorities.
Thanks to the Ramblers, people in Britain have many more opportunities to enjoy walking. We’ll be celebrating through 2010 our achievements, and looking forward to new challenges.
