Trolls and trees both popular in Northumbria (28/7)

This banner greeted the Forestry Panel as we arrived in Kielder village today on our second visit (we visited Forest of Dean last month).  It made me chuckle. We had a very friendly welcome from local communities.

It was good to see Dave Turnbull from Northumbria Ramblers flying the flag for walking and leisure at the event. It's clear that the forest is so much more than a commercial timber forest (important though that is).  I didn't realise the effort that's going in to create diverse landscapes (by mixing up tree species and staggering tree felling), protect biodiversity (for example, by making sure that red squirrels have food all year round), promoting tourism (with a joint development trust between the Forestry Commission and Northumbria Water), and promote leisure (through promoting footpaths).  Very impressive.

One final statistic that I learnt: a house made of wood uses six cubic metres of the stuff, which means that 1.2 tonnes of carbon are locked up for the lifetime of the house.  

Tom Franklin

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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
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Trolls and trees both popular in Northumbria (28/7)

Ramblers - at the heart of walking
Please visit www.ramblers.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
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Leeds-Liverpool Canal

Leeds-Liverpool Canal, a photo by The Ramblers on Flickr.

I spent a bit of time near Leeds this week as part of my work as a transition trustee for the new National Waterways Charity, and was able to get onto the towpath of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal for a walk, close to Burnley. Such a relaxing place to walk. Canal towpaths are used by millions of people each year.

Ramblers Milestone: 200,000 led walks on our Walks Finder

We've just published the 200,000th Ramblers led walk on the Ramblers online Walks Finder.

That's amazing - 200,000 led walks that have been posted on the Ramblers Walks Finder since it started in 2003.

Each of those 200,000 walks were planned, recce'd, and led by Ramblers volunteers. And there are two volunteers who really are unsung heroes of the Walks Finder: Chris Percy and Brenda Horwill. They're the ones who work behind the scenes to make sure it runs smoothly, answer queries and sort out problems. They do an amazing job.

80% of Ramblers Groups currently use Walks Finder to publicise their walks. If your Group isn't one of them, how about joining now?

Thanks to all volunteers involved in this achievement - it's a great success story.

Tom Franklin
Sent from my iPhone

Ramblers - at the heart of walking
Please visit www.ramblers.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
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Get Ready for the Big Welsh Walk next May (18/7/11)

I was in Cardiff yesterday meeting with the Ramblers Cymru team to discuss its plans for its Big Welsh Walk on 5th and 6th May next year. It's on that weekend that the All Wales Coastal Path is set to open - a continuous path along the entire Wales coastline. Ramblers Cymru campaigned for the path for years - and so it wants a big party along the coastline, with as many people as possible heading for the coast that weekend. 

But if you can't get to Wales, you don't need to miss out. I hope all Ramblers Groups will head for the seaside anywhere in Britain, to put on coastal walks and to celebrate 'Coast for Most'

If you want to organise a walk that weekend, have a look at our festivals page for more information:

http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/festivals/

Tom Franklin

Sent from my iPhone

 

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
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Arrgh!! I'm missing the Cornwall footpath opening! (16/7/11)

Best laid plans, and all that. I'm meant to be arriving in Newquay around now, to help open Footpath No 8 in St Ervan, which has been blocked for decades, and is now clear thanks to a collaboration between Cornwall Ramblers, the county council and landowners.

Instead, I'm at Gatwick Airport having missed the plane. I arrived here nice and early to then discover I'd left my photo ID at home - so had a mad dash in a cab to home and back, only to get here as the plane was leaving. How silly do I feel! (It's probably a hint that I ought to have taken the train rather than fly.)

Anyway, what am I missing? A circular walk with Cornwall Ramblers group REACT (Ramblers' Environmental Action Clearance Team) along Footpath No 8 in St Ervans - unobstructed for the first time in decades. There'll also be the Ramblers first honorary junior member, nine year old Teggen, an enthusiastic walker and dedicated member of REACT.

Cornwall Ramblers formed REACT in January this year after fearing that cuts to Cornwall Council's footpath maintenance budget would mean access to rights of way in Cornwall would be neglected. Made up of dedicated volunteers and Ramblers across Cornwall, they set to work on Footpath No 8, clearing years of growth to reveal the full stretch of the footpath. After months of hacking, cutting and clearing, installing steps and a bridge, working with Cornwall Council and the landowners, the path has been cleared, unblocked, restored and is ready for all of Cornwall and its visitors to enjoy.

Congratulations to Graham Ronan and your team of Cornwall Ramblers. I'm sorry to be missing today. Ramblers Campaigns Officer Anastasia French DID remember her ID and made the plane, so she'll be doing the honours at the opening ceremony this lunchtime.

Tom Franklin
Sent from my iPhone

Ramblers - at the heart of walking
Please visit www.ramblers.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
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales

Get Walking Keep Walking goes West (14/7/11)

Get Walking Keep Walking, the Ramblers scheme to entice people to get walking, is going west!

 

Supported by NHS Swindon, Swindon Borough Council has commissioned the Ramblers to create short routes to inspire more people to start walking, and to publicise them on a new 'In My Area' section of the Get Walking website.

 

It will be launched this autumn as part of the Walk Swindon project. In the coming months volunteers from the North East Wiltshire Ramblers Group will be developing short routes in and around Swindon.

 

Alongside existing Ramblers members, we'll be inviting health walk leaders and volunteers from local community groups to get involved too. Routes will be developed using the Ramblers new routes development website - which is gradually being rolled out nationwide and will be launched nationally next year.

 

Walking was given a boost this week, being frequently mentioned in the new Chief Medical Officer's guidelines on physical activity. And it's thanks to schemes like Get Walking Keep Walking and Walking for Health that more and more people are starting to realise for themselves just how easy it is to improve their health and happiness by walking.

 

To find out how you can bring Get Walking Keep Walking to your area seehttp://www.ramblers.org.uk/Resources/Ramblers%20Association/Website/Get%20Walking%20Keep%20Walking/Documents/April2011CommissionersLeaflet.pdf

 

Tom Franklin

Sent from my iPhone

 

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
www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland
www.ramblers.org.uk/wales