The Right Way for High Speed Rail (19/10/11)

Ramblers supported a reception for MPs and Peers last night to promote the 'Right Lines Charter', a charter for doing High Speed Rail well. Alongside twelve other organisations including the RSPB, the CPRE, the Campaign for Better Transport, and the Woodland Trust, we were arguing that the Government's present High Speed 2 (HS2) proposals and consultation are unsound.

There are four key principles which the organisations believe High Speed Rail should comply with: (i) it should be set within the context of a national strategy; (ii) different options should be tested; (iii) there should be early public participation; (iv) adverse impacts should be minimised.

People have different views about High Speed Rail - personally, I support it as a way of persuading people out of their cars - but the current proposals are flawed.

One example of where we think they fall short are the proposals (or lack of them) for rights of way. There is a huge discrepancy (in the order of almost 6:1) between the number of rights of way that the Ramblers knows cross the proposed line (150), and the number claimed by the HS2 company (27). Many walking routes will be severed, and it's clear that this hasn't even been identified as a serious problem, let alone acted upon. It is no good the government and the HS2 company seeing rights of way as an afterthought.

For more information on the Right Lines Charter, visit www.rightlines.org.uk

Ramblers and Surrey Council act in tandem to relaunch Greensand Way route(13/10/11)

I very much enjoyed the re-launching of the Surrey section of the Greensand Way today. The 108 mile route, which takes in two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty as well as numerous Sites of Special Scientific Interest, wends its way from Hazelmere in Surrey through to Hamstreet in Kent. The relaunch includes new signage, waymarking, and mapping, and ten new downloadable web maps. It was a great partnership between the council and the Ramblers - with Ramblers volunteers helping to survey the route and produce the maps, as well as making a contribution to the cost of a leaflet.

The Ramblers is the eyes and ears for footpaths - keeping a watch over them. Sometimes we need to show our teeth, when footpaths are not maintained. But there are many occasions when we can work together with councils - and in these straightened times, we can help councils not only to maintain their footpath networks but also to improve them.

Thanks to all the volunteers involved - particularly Denis Holmes, the former chair of Surrey Area, and the Haselmere and Godalming Group. Thanks also to Surrey County Council for a superb job. You can download the guide and individual maps from: www.surreycc.gov.uk/greensandway

Ramblers trains civil servants in the art of developing walking routes 7/10/11)

We've been hosting about 15 civil servants from the Department for Transport, who are taking part in an away-day to spend time in a voluntary organisation.

After a morning’s training with staff, they've been helping to develop four walking routes in central London, between key public transport destinations. We’ll be using the routes they develop to promote walking as a healthy, cheap and interesting way of getting from A to B, as an alternative to public transport. With visitor numbers due to swell next summer, leading to pressure on public transport, we think these routes will be a hit with Londoners and visitors alike. My thanks to the team from Department for Transport for volunteering to support our work to promote walking.