Ramblers Cymru’s AGM this year was held in Llandudno in north Wales, a delightful Victorian seaside town. We were on the seafront, in the teeth of Storm Kathleen so we were blown about a bit, but it was exhilarating.
My early-morning walk along the front brought me wheatears scuttling on the shore, as well as oystercatchers and my first swallow of the year.
Before the meeting Joanne Slattery, who lives in Llandudno, led a walk and she told us lots of interesting facts about it. The town is largely Victorian and belongs to the Mostyn family who have been strict about the architecture and colour of the buildings. Hence the buildings on the promenade have retained their uniform appearance. The pier is the longest in Wales.
We climbed up to the Happy Valley, a former quarry which Lord Mostyn gave to the town to celebrate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee. We would have gone higher but it was very windy, so we stopped here for coffee,
then climbed a little higher for a view over the town.
The trams to the top of Great Orme were not running because of the wind. Founded in 1902 this is the only surviving cable-hauled streetcar service in the UK. The tramway has been electric since 1957 and four cars remain.
We came round to the shore where terns were diving. Later I studied them with my binoculars and decided they were sandwich terns, a real bonus as I had not seen one since 2010 (and then I suspect it was identified for me). I also saw a gannet far off.
Our meeting was in Venue Cymru with wide views over the bay—which were somewhat distracting, especially as the terns continued to perform.
We started with a chat between the two Ramblers Cymru ambassadresses, Bethany Handley and Leanne Wood, both of whom I had met on the Gwent Levels on St David’s Day. Both champion access to the outdoors, and Bethany, who uses a wheelchair, fights for disability rights too.
Bethany explained how she is forced to be an activist to get non-disabled people to help remove barriers, and that we design people out of nature. Stiles and kissing-gates are not the only obstacles, surfacing can be impossible for wheelchairs, as are narrow parking-bays and inaccessible toilets. There are no maps for disabled people. Wheelchair-users have to fund their freedom she said. Bethany would love future generations to know that they belong in the countryside, without being questioned about their ability, and for barriers to be removed. Bethany’s advice for Ramblers groups: ‘Look at who is not there and why’. Think how to include them. And if she was First Minister? She would legislate to ensure barriers became illegal, and would make access to nature part of the national curriculum.
It was good to hear Leanne and Bethany talk about the importance of being outdoors, of ensuring that everyone can enjoy that experience, and how they personally have benefited.
Rebecca Brough, Ramblers Cymru’s policy and advocacy manager ran a session on ‘how to use your voice for walking’, an opportunity to learn of the campaigns which Ramblers’ volunteers are running in various parts of Wales, what works and what are the challenges (much of it to do with funding and resources). We also had a session on Ramblers’ volunteer structures and the new GB strategy.
Then it was entertainment time, with talk and music from Seth Bye of Filkin’s Drift (originating in the Gloucestershire village of Filkins—though the apostrophe is rather confusing); a folk duo who walked the Wales Coast Path from north to south last year, with gigs along the way. Later we decamped to the Magic Bar where we were left bemused as to how Chris Williams moved playing cards between people’s pockets, and apparently recalled a whole book of Sherlock Holmes stories by page number.
The next morning I was up early for a walk with my friend Chris Hodgson on Little Orme, a limestone outcrop. We walked up through the Rhiwledyn nature reserve.
We didn’t go to the top because it was windy and we were short of time, but we still had some great views.
That morning was the AGM, with a video showing what Ramblers Cymru has achieved over the last year, with its brilliant volunteers. There were motions calling for a junior membership and greater engagement with young people, and for consultation with user groups about pre-planned temporary traffic regulation orders (TTROs), and the proposed extension of TTROs. Too often highway authorities use TTROs to avoid carrying out their statutory duty to repair a highway. Both motions were passed.
Ramblers Cymru has a steering group (formerly the Welsh Council Executive Committee) which provides advice and guidance to staff. Many members were leaving the group, including the excellent chair, Rob Owen, their terms having expired. The upshot was that I was elected co-chair (cyd-gadeirydd) with Graham Taylor from Powys, an honour which surprised me. However, I shall enjoy it, as Ramblers Cymru does great work for walkers and I am pleased to play my part.
Diolch yn fawr Ramblers Cymru.
CampaignerKate 