Category Archives: walking

Alan Haworth, the radical rambler

Posted on 26/04/2024 by campaignerkate

My friend Alan Haworth would have been 76 today, 26 April. Tragically he died while on a cruise last August. His partner Maggie Rae died, on another cruise, in November. It is such a sad story; I am privileged to … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, campaigns, Obituary, Open country, Open Spaces Society, parliament, People, Public paths, Radical Ramblers, Ramblers, Scotland, walking, wild country | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Walking in the wind with Ramblers Cymru

Posted on 21/04/2024 by campaignerkate

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, Birds, campaigns, Obstructed path, Public paths, Ramblers, Wales, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Forty fab years at the Open Spaces Society

Posted on 05/04/2024 by campaignerkate

On 2 April I celebrated 40 years as general secretary of the Open Spaces Society. They have been very happy ones. The job specification said ‘Despite its long and productive history the society’s membership and public image are not all … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, campaigns, commons, green spaces, Henley-on-Thames, Obstructed path, Open Spaces Society, planning, Public paths, riding, town and village greens, walking | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

A people’s charter 75 years on

Posted on 31/03/2024 by campaignerkate

Seventy-five years ago today, 31 March 1949, Lewis Silkin, then minister of town and country planning, spoke of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Bill as ‘a people’s charter’. This was the second reading of the bill, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, AONB, campaigns, Countryside Council for Wales, Dartmoor, National parks, National trail, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, Open country, parliament, planning, Public paths, walking, wild country | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Launch of the River Coln Trail

Posted on 30/03/2024 by campaignerkate

I was in Fairford, Gloucestershire, on 23 March to open the River Coln Trail. This 33-mile route links the Walkers are Welcome Towns of Winchcombe in the north and Fairford in the south. It takes in the source of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, AONB, Cotswolds, Obstructed path, Public paths, Ramblers, Walkers Are Welcome Towns, walking, walks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Radical Ramblers and parachuting pipits

Posted on 10/03/2024 by campaignerkate

I joined my first walk of the Radical Ramblers since the tragic and untimely death of our leader, Alan Haworth, last August. Roger Hough has generously stepped in to keep the walks programme going. On 9 March eight of us … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, AONB, Birds, Chilterns, National trail, Radical Ramblers, walking, walks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

St David’s Day, women, and wheelchairs

Posted on 08/03/2024 by campaignerkate

On 1 March I visited the Newport wetlands nature reserve, to celebrate St David’s Day, National Wheelchair Day, and (a week early) International Women’s Day. The event was organised by Ramblers Cymru, and I felt honoured to join some energetic … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, Birds, campaigns, Ramblers, Wales, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The clock is ticking for unrecorded paths

Posted on 24/02/2024 by campaignerkate

This is an article (with some amendments) which I wrote for Red Rope‘s bulletin, spring 2024. I am a long-standing member of Red Rope, the socialist walking and climbing club. One of the downsides of the Countryside and Rights of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, campaigns, Defra, Open Spaces Society, parliament, Public paths, riding, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

John Elfes, campaigner for access

Posted on 21/01/2024 by campaignerkate

When we wander over Buckinghamshire’s access land we should remember John Elfes with gratitude.  John, who died last October aged 88, was the access officer for the Ramblers Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and West Middlesex Area for 18 years, from 2002 … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, AONB, Bucks, Chilterns, Obstructed path, Open country, Public paths, Ramblers, Ramblers' path-check, Turville, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Shocking state of paths

Posted on 13/01/2024 by campaignerkate

Yesterday an investigation by the BBC revealed the shocking state of public paths in England and Wales. They are blocked or obstructed in nearly 32,000 places, that is an obstruction every four and a half miles—and the problems are growing. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Access, campaigns, Obstructed path, Open Spaces Society, Public paths, riding, Walkers Are Welcome Towns, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments