Ramblers on BBC News last night (29/10/10)

Len Bannister from the Ramblers Greater London Forum was talking about
the effect of Olympic development on local walking routes.

Here's the link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/hi/people_and_places/2012/newsid_9132000/9132467.stm

Tom Franklin
Sent from my iPhone

Ramblers - at the heart of walking for 75 years
Please visit www.ramblers75.org.uk to find out more
The Ramblers? Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.
Visit our website at www.ramblers.org.uk

Ramblers Get Walking Website up for an Award (28/10/10)

Our Get Walking Keep Walking website - www.getwalking.org - has been
nominated for a top award by the publishing industry trade body. This
recognition is well deserved. Since being launched in January, nearly
33,000 people have registered for a Get Walking Pack. We've recently
launched an online version of the pack called 'My Get Walking' on the
website, and nearly 1500 people have registered on this in just six
weeks.

Get Walking Keep Walking is a Ramblers programme to encourage people
who could do with taking up more exercise to give walking a go. It's
funded entirely by the Big Lottery Fund and RHCT (with match funding
from local authorities), and also covers a proportion of our overheads
too. As well as introducing new people to walking, it's also helping
the Ramblers develop different ways of communicating with people.
We're learning a lot from it, and that's helping local groups as well
as centrally.

Well done to all the volunteers (and there are many) and the staff
involved in Get Walking Keep Walking.

Tom Franklin

Ramblers - at the heart of walking for 75 years
Please visit www.ramblers75.org.uk to find out more
The Ramblers? Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.
Visit our website at www.ramblers.org.uk

Volunteers meeting in Glasgow (26/10/10)

It's past 11pm and I'm coming home bleary-eyed from a meeting this
evening with volunteers in Glasgow. This is the latest in our series
of special national and regional meetings involving Rodney Whittaker
(our Chair) and myself, with Ramblers volunteers.

As always, issues ranged widely - many were focused on how we meet the
target of ending 2010/11 with more members than we started. [In
Scotland, this means getting to October 2011 with more than 6,813 paid
up members!]. There are however issues which are unique to Scotland,
and I also acknowledge the strong feelings following last year's
budget cuts.

Here are some of the issues discussed. (It's not an exhaustive list.)

1. Communication was a big theme - making sure that there is better
understanding of Scottish issues in England and Wales, and vice versa
- and also that there is better flow of information back and forth:

- The new member 'welcome' letter, and the renewal letter, refer to
English and Welsh campaigning achievements but not Scottish ones - and
this is a particular long-standing irritant in Scotland. (I think this
is important. We need to look again at letters like these to make
them more relevant - which might mean different versions for different
parts of Britain.). It was also pointed out we'll need to think about
this when we re-vamp the new member booklet.

- It was suggested that we produce posters for the different offices
in each country with the messages, "Think Scotland", "Think Wales",
"Think England" - to remind people to consider how their actions
affect the different countries. This seems like a good idea to me.

- It was also suggested we organise a seminar for staff on the
differences between the countries, so they get a better grasp - again,
I think this is something we can do. (Sometimes we make the mistake
of asking Scottish volunteers to contact their MPs on issues which are
actually devolved to MSPs.)

- I said that the Board/SMT away weekend in 2011 will be in Scotland
(this year it was in Wales). This will make for a good opportunity to
learn more about Scottish issues. (I reassured people that this would
be low cost - we stayed, for example, in an ex-Boys Brigade camp in
Wales.)

- We also said that the Board had agreed in principle to move central
office out of London when the lease comes up for renewal in about four
years.

2. The importance of valuing volunteers was raised. It was felt that
this hadn't been done in the past:

- We are aiming to put a monetary value to the volunteering done for
the Ramblers, and to include this (which runs into several millions)
in our annual accounts. Not only will this highlight the value of
volunteering, it will also help with our lobbying and fundraising.
I'm not sure yet whether this can start this year, or next.

- We now include details of volunteer experts (not just staff) in the
'who to contact' section on the volunteer website. (I was pleased to
see at least one of those listed was sitting in the room tonight!)

- There are now more than 20 volunteers working on activities run
from central office: from updating the website, to organising the
festival of winter walks, to helping with updating the CRM database.
I'd like to see this number increase - it's great to see volunteers
and staff working together.

3. Devolution. The future level of autonomy in Scotland, or whether
there should be an entirely separate organisation in Scotland, is a
key issue. Rodney gave an update on the devolution working party,
which was set up after General Council (and includes two
representatives from each country). David Thomson, who is one of the
two representatives from Scotland, was also there tonight and spoke
about devolution.

- Some volunteers were concerned about the time it is taking. David
explained that - considering the complexities of the devolution issues
- it was actually a very short timescale, with a report due by February.

- It was also suggested that there should be more information about
the working party, or consultation to feed into the working party, in
Scotland. Rodney said that this is a matter for the Scottish Executive/
representatives to think about.

4. Recruitment. We had a long discussion about how to persuade more
people to join, and then to keep them:

- It was suggested we give a £10 'new members' discount not only to
full rate members but to concessionary ones too. (I'm a bit skeptical
about this - the concessionary rate is already low.)

- A volunteer from Renfrewshire said that short walks were the key to
his group's recruitment. The walks were three miles, and the group
produced a flyer which went into local libraries. It was proving
really successful in attracting new members.

- It was suggested that groups which are growing be given a tangible
reward for their success. (If anyone has any suggestions on what it
might be, let me know.)

- Some volunteers highlighted the need to recruit more walks leaders,
to help with putting on more walks. Training was seen as key to this.

- One volunteer said there was too much emphasis on campaigning and
not enough on developing walks. She said that she had not met a single
new member who had joined to support the campaigning. (This is a
tricky one - other volunteers will tell me the exact opposite. To my
mind, the combination of the two is what makes the Ramblers unique.)

- Some people thought that the emphasis on events for the Olympic
Games would not be successful in Scotland. I said these events are
optional for Groups - some were getting involved enthusiastically,
others not.

5. Budget. We explained that we are likely to make a surplus of c
£600k this year, although much of this is 'one-off' from legacies and
backdated Gift Aid. About £350k of this would be used to fund
investment this year (including an investment in a temporary Promoting
Walking post in Scotland, which Scotland intends to use to attract
additional grant funding). As well as next year's budget, which is
prudent, we've also drawn up fairly stretching income targets - aimed
at achieving our second priority, to increase charitable income.

That covers many of the points discussed. As well as the GB business
plan, the Scottish Executive will be signing off a specific Scottish
Business Plan.

Next week: London


Tom Franklin

Ramblers - at the heart of walking for 75 years
Please visit www.ramblers75.org.uk to find out more
The Ramblers' Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.
Visit our website at www.ramblers.org.uk

New Ramblers Group for London (26/10/10)

This is a short post to welcome a new addition to the Ramblers family.  

A new Ramblers Group has been constituted this week.  The Group is called "London Strollers", and sits within the Inner London Area.  It has been set up to provide shorter walks - for example, for those who are just starting to walk, or wanting to slow down, or short of time. 

It's a great innovation, and I wish it every success. The more diversity we have in our walks programmes, the better for recruiting and retaining members. 

Tom Franklin

 

Ramblers - at the heart of walking for 75 years Please visit www.ramblers75.org.uk  to find out more.

The Ramblers' Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at www.ramblers.org.uk

London on Foot Success (21/10/10)

A gentleman who has been on most of the Ramblers 16 evening Films on Foot walks (put on to coincide the the BFI London Film Festival) called Ramblers this week and joined up to one of our groups as a Life Member with an extra donation on top. He's loving the walks and is really impressed with the Ramblers work.

This is one of many similar stories from this year's festival.  Attendances have been averaging 29 per walk with the highest turnout 50 so far and the smallest 17. Around 80% are to the Ramblers (up from about half last year) with a complete mix of ages. People have been finding out about the walks from the Evening Standard, Time Out and the radio (the Ramblers got a plug we believe on BBC Radio London from the presenter who went on one of the walks last year).

Themed walks and different types of walks really capture the imagination of the public and are a major opportunity for us. We need more of these types of walks in development across Britain in the coming months to build further on this success and get more members - as per our target to end the year with more members than we started. 

Thanks and congratulations to the volunteers who put so much effort into organising the festival. 

Tom Franklin

 

Ramblers - at the heart of walking for 75 years Please visit www.ramblers75.org.uk  to find out more.

The Ramblers' Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at www.ramblers.org.uk

What future for promoting access and recreation in the countryside? (20/10/10)

I've just left the briefing at DEFRA with the Secretary of State,
Caroline Spelman MP, and her team - giving more details about how the
Comprehensive Spending Review will affect her department. I'm not
feeling very cheered about the consequences for promoting access to
the countryside, and what that means for walking.

The Department is facing reductions in resource spending of 29%, and
capital spending of 34%. And it's clear that ministers are not seeing
promotion of involvement with the natural environment as a priority
for DEFRA.

I asked the Secretary of State, and the minister, Richard Benyon MP,
specifically about access and recreation, and pointed out the link
between promotion and teaching people about the natural world, and
rural economies.

Richard Benyon said he "could not say" that this was a priority. While
in the medium term he wanted more people in the countryside, it was
not a focus for either DEFRA or Natural England. He confirmed the
'first wave' of coastal route stretches would go ahead, but he would
not commit beyond this. There "may be some slippage" in the timetable
of ten years for the coastal route. Caroline Spelman highlighted the
recent 'open farm Sunday' as an example of people visiting the
countryside and learning about farms.

I think ministers do see the value of countryside access and
recreation. But there's a real danger that without government weight
behind it, the improvements in opening up the countryside for people
which we've seen in the past two decades are going to stall - and
coupled with the cuts in local authority funding for rights of way,
may mean we will begin to return to the 'Forbidden Britain' world of
the 1960s. We have difficult times ahead.

Tom Franklin

Ramblers - at the heart of walking for 75 years
Please visit www.ramblers75.org.uk to find out more
The Ramblers? Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.
Visit our website at www.ramblers.org.uk

Ramblers warn cuts spell return of ‘Forbidden Britain’ (20/10/10)

Spending cuts announced today could close off the countryside to an entire generation.  We're predicting we will return to the ‘Forbidden Britain’ of the 1960s where accessing our countryside was often more of a challenge than a pleasure.

I'm saying in a press release today: “Millions of people are going to be affected by today’s announcement, in all sorts of difficult ways and we understand that together we face some tough times ahead. However, walking has always been a simple pleasure, a free activity that any family can do, even when money is tight.

“When today’s cuts take effect at a local level, walking in the countryside will be taken back 50 years, to a time when you were lucky to be able to reach the end of a path without difficulty. We urge local councils to safeguard this essential and cost-effective service before we close off the countryside and deny an entire generation one of life’s free joys.

“Britain is indeed facing sad times when a short walk in the countryside becomes a challenge.”

I'm going into a meeting with Caroline Spelman, DEFRA Secretary of State, later today.

Volunteer meeting in Nottingham this evening (19/10/10)

I'm on my way back from a meeting with 25 Ramblers volunteers in
Nottingham - from Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Rutland
Staffordshire, Birmingham, Sheffield, to name a few. Lots of issues
covered, mostly around our four priorities for the coming year of more
members; more income; protecting and improving the path network; and
more efficiency/effectiveness. Here's a list of some of the issues:

- The importance of promoting membership in outdoors shops (we talked
about the example of Cotswolds in Preston which has membership
leaflets by the till - some volunteers said they would try to get this
locally).

- The importance of putting on a diverse range of walks, and having a
diversity of groups, to attract and keep members. (The South
Birmingham Group said it is growing, and puts this down to short
walks, social events, and advertising.)

- Promoting Ramblers membership amongst affiliated clubs. It was
suggested that we find out the total membership of the c750 affiliated
groups, and include this figure when we lobby. We discussed various
ideas around encouraging affiliated clubs' members to join the
Ramblers too. Several volunteers said they would try things out
locally. It was suggested that the discretionary discount be taken
away from affiliated clubs, as this was more suitable for individual
members.

- There was a lot of enthusiasm for producing small signs which
Ramblers working parties could attach to stiles, etc, which they have
repaired, which said 'Maintained by the Ramblers - Join us!'. It would
be cheaper if these were produced in bulk centrally - we're looking
into this.

- Finances: we've made a surplus in 2009/10 of about £6-700,000. Most
of this is because of one-off income (such as claiming backdated Gift
Aid). We'll be investing some of this surplus in the coming year on
things that are likely to boost income in future years (such as our
website). Most of the rest is being put aside to cover a potential
shortfall in the pensions fund that the Ramblers is part of. (Of
course, if this pensions shortfall doesn't materialise we can use the
money in other ways in the future.)

- There were still a few concerns expressed about administration
(delays in replying to letters, some continuing issues with the crm
database), although people also thought this had improved.

- We discussed the following campaigning issues:

- the very deep cuts which some local authorities are making in their
rights of way budgets (we have recently heard that Nottinghamshire
intends to cut its rights of way team in half, for example). We're
working to highlight the effect of these, through local media work and
lobbying of councillors.
- how we can offer support to local authorities - we already have many
teams of volunteers going out repairing footpaths - like our Spade
Work team in Nottinghamshire- but these are at risk if the rights of
way professionals go; one Group said it provided info on how to report
problems on its website
- meetings with MPs were important. The Sheffield Group has arranged
to take all six MPs on walks in the next few weeks.
- working with parish councils - it was suggested we encourage more
parish councils to join us, and work in partnership with us.
- Coastal access - we are focusing on two things: a timetable for
implementation, and a budget.

- Get Walking Keep Walking - we're on track to meet all of our targets
from this scheme (which is funded by the Big Lottery and the Ramblers Holidays Charitable Trust). We've just had
an independent evaluation showing that people taking part are walking
more by the end of the programme; and more than half of participants
are from black and minority ethnic communities. It also contributes
about £200k each year to overheads.

- Area and Group funding: there was discussion about the balance of
funding between areas and groups; each area and group is different, so
it is hard to generalise - but we are looking at helping areas and
groups to reduce costs, by sharing ideas between them.

- volunteer experts: we reported that on the volunteers website, as
well as listing staff to contact for advice, we are now listing
experienced volunteers too. People thought this was a good idea.

Our tour around the Britain continues - Rodney and I will be in
Glasgow next week.

Ramblers - at the heart of walking for 75 years
Please visit http://www.ramblers75.org.uk/ to find out more
The Ramblers' Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.
Visit our website at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/

It's getting easier to set up new Ramblers groups (18/10/10)

We've just published advice on setting up new groups. This follows a rash of new groups being set up across the country - many aimed at people in their 40-50s, for those who like shorter walks. 

I'd like to see more of a variety of groups (and sub-groups in existing ones) in the Ramblers, catering for different age groups and interests.  What about setting up a bird watcher's walking group, for instance?  It's a good way to attract more members. 

The advice also covers what to do if your group is changing it's name, or is closing down. 

We're currently trying to cut the bureaucracy in setting up and running Ramblers groups - to make it easy for volunteers. 

Here's the link to the guidance:

http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/AreaGroup/Basics/groupsupport

 

Ramblers - at the heart of walking for 75 years Please visit www.ramblers75.org.uk  to find out more.

The Ramblers' Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.

Visit our website at www.ramblers.org.uk

A goodbye and some congratulations

We've said goodbye to Keith Roberts, Director of Campaigns and Policy, this afternoon.  After three years with the Ramblers he's moving on to new challenges.  He's been a great colleague to work with through some very turbulent times - always calm and consistent, and with a lovely sense of humour.  I shall miss him.

I'm not rushing to replace the post, because I think what we need at the moment is more on-the-ground campaigning firepower, to help us respond to the threats to rights of way and walking routes across the country from spending cuts.  Anastasia French (who's been an administrator within the Campaigns team) will be on secondment as an additional campaigns officer from this coming Monday.  Ade Morris (Head of Walking Environments) and Simon Barnett (Heading of Walking Programmes and Promotions) will both be taking part in my senior management team for the time being.

The good news today is that Natural England have announced the start of public consultation on the first stretch of coastal access from Lulworth to Portland in Dorset. 

Wales Special Meeting

I'm just on my way back from a special volunteers meeting in Cardiff,
with Rodney (our Chair) and myself. There were sixteen volunteers from
a range of groups including Mendip, Llanelli, Tiger Bay and Islwyn;
and the event was chaired by Helen Lloyd Jones, chair of Ramblers
Cymru. Rodney and I outlined the business plan's four priorities (more
members; more income; footpaths campaigning; and more efficiency), and
then we answered questions, alongside Rob Hanna from the Wales office.
One of the things that we highlighted was our priority to finish the
financial year with more members than we started. In Wales, this means
finishing next September with MORE THAN 6,382 members.
Issues that were raised tonight included:
- the need for Areas and Groups to have more certainty in budgeting.
For example, an earlier indication (perhaps in May/June) of the level
of funding likely to be available for the year starting in October.
- ways to become more efficient (one of our priorities) at Group level
- for example, by using electronic comms rather than paper.
- how some local authorities are cutting back on volunteer path
maintenance work (Mendip Group raised this in particular).
- whether we could provide a template for small plaques which Groups
can fix onto mended signs/styles, promoting the Ramblers
- provision of rights of way training for volunteers - the need for
'high level' as well as induction courses. We talked about cascade
training (volunteers being trained to train other volunteers) and
about using the expert volunteer knowledge that's around
- the differences there are between Wales and England - for example,
on funding for rights of ways (it is going up in some parts of Wales),
the Glastor scheme to encourage landowners to look after footpaths, etc.
- Rob explained about some of the exciting externally-funded projects
in Wales - for example, a research project being undertaken by Andrew
Morgan from West Glamorgan Ramblers into the benefits of the Coastal
walking route; the e-trails project to provide walking information on
smartphones; and plans to apply for match grant funding for staff
posts covering different parts of the country
- we heard from Tiger Bay Ramblers how they managed to recruit 30 new
members on Get Walking Day (more than any other group in the country)
by targeting people who had previously expressed an interest (warm
leads, in the jargon)
- we discussed the potential for setting up new groups (or virtual
groups, based on email) in Wales. The Wales Rail Ramblers is a GB
pilot for a virtual group, to see if thus will work. One of the
messages from people was that the bureaucracy in setting up groups can
put people off. We also discussed working more closely with affiliated
groups, to persuade their members to join the Ramblers, to support our
campaiging.
Finally, Rob reminded us that we have a special 75th anniversary
event, with two government ministers, at the Welsh Assembly Government
on 16th November. I look forward to coming back to Cardiff then, and
thanks to everyone who came to the meeting tonight.

Double award nomination for the Ramblers

It's just been announced that the Ramblers has been nominated TWICE in
the International Customer Publishing Awards - once for our (already
award-winning) Walkmag.co.uk website, and again for our getwalking.org.uk
website (aimed at those new to walking). These nominations follow
hot on the heels of our Third Sector Excellence Award a couple of
weeks ago.
Well done to everyone - staff and volunteers - involved. We've got
plans to develop our main website this year, so our web presence looks
set to improve still further.

Membership

Ramblers membership figures for the beginning of October have just
come through - at 121,498. Our target is to finish the coming year
with more members than we started - that is, more people supporting
our cause, meaning more walking, and more volunteering.

The new generation for the shadow DEFRA team

I was just about to write to write to Mary Creagh, the new Shadow
DEFRA Secretary, when I got a call from her office inviting the
Ramblers to speak to the Shadow DEFRA team next week. We'll jump at
this opportunity to put across the Ramblers priorities. The other MPs
in the team are Jamie Reed, Willie Bain, and Peter Soulsby.
Tom Franklin
Sent from my iPhone

Ramblers - at the heart of walking for 75 years
Please visit http://www.ramblers75.org.uk/ to find out more
The Ramblers? Association is a registered charity (England & Wales no 1093577, Scotland no SC039799) and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 4458492). Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.
Visit our website at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/

Is this our most successful group?

I attended the walk and the AGM of the Chilterns Weekend Walkers (CWW) on Sunday. About 45 people at each.  It is a very successful group - and shows what can be achieved.

CWW is a Ramblers Group for 40-50s, is five years old, and spun out of the Chiltern 20-30s group.

In the past year, its membership has gone from 120 to about 220, and it has increased its number of walks from 130 to 150.  These are the things that impressed me:

-  excellent dynamic committee - all of the committee members are adding value.

-  as well as full members, they also have associate members (ramblers members in other groups, who can go on the emailing list for info on walks and socials), and prospective members (those who have signed up for info, but not yet joined the Ramblers).

- incredible social programme - at least 4 socials a month, and between 6-12 in the summer. Barn dances, parties, point to point racing, monthly pub nights, boat trips... They send out a weekly socials update email.

- use of the web. They have launched a new website (using metatags to get it rated highly in google, etc) and anyone can sign up by email to get info - these people are then 'converted' into members.  The website includes a google calendar with walks, socials, and trips away.

-  use of facebook, etc. They know that there are 1,400 facebook users within a 20 mile radius of Amersham, aged 35-55, who list walking as an interest. This is their target Market.

- low cost. They spend very little money because so much is done electronically.

-  friendliness. They make a real effort to be friendly to newcomers: 

they 'make them a star for the day'.

-  training. They put on map reading, orienteering, and walk leading courses.

Issues they are addressing:

-  they're concerned about growing at a sustainable rate. They need to grow members and walk leaders in tandem - so that it is sustainable.

-  they have twice as many women as men. So they are launching a man- membership drive, and have nominated a committee member to focus on this!  (the sociable aspect of the group is highlighted by two weddings taking place this year).

-  they're keen to get more involved at the Are level.

All in all, very impressive, and an enjoyable day.

Launch of Putting London on the Map - video

We held the launch of our campaign for a definitive map for inner London at the British Library Map Exhibition recently.  We had a great speaker from the Camberwell Society giving an example of how easy it is for routes to disappear.  Here he is explaining it.

London on the Map video

Welcome to my new-style blog

I've been blogging once a month for Ramblers volunteers for the past year. I think it is time to take the plunge and start to blog more frequently - so this is my new-style blog. If you're a Ramblers volunteer, I hope its useful.