The establishment of a coastal path round Britain is evidence of the Ramblers continued success, says campaigns director Keith Roberts

The establishment of a coastal path round Britain is evidence of the Ramblers' continued success, says campaigns director Keith Roberts

The battle for the heart of Britain’s biggest walking group continues on the pages of a national newspaper.

Ramblers’ director of campaigns Keith Roberts has responded to vice-president Chris Hall’s plea to concentrate on campaigning rather than get embroiled in the world of Twitter and urban walking, with a defence of the charity’s recent work. Mr Roberts points out, in a letter to the Guardian newspaper, that last year’s announcement of the English coastal path is one of the Ramblers’ biggest ever victories.

Former president Chris Hall launched an attack on the direction the Ramblers were being taken by chief executive Tom Franklin in a letter last week, saying: “It is all very well to be chasing the young walkers – with, of course, a trendy genuflection to Facebook and Twitter – but if Mr Franklin had a realistic sense of the needs of ramblers of all ages he would launch a public and aggressive campaign to free the paths and remove the fences on open country.

“We campaigned thus for nearly 70 years and the membership of the association rose year by year. Since 2003 our numbers have fallen from more than 140,000 to fewer than 123,000 because we have ceased to be on the frontline in getting the paths and countryside open.”

Now, Roberts has issued a counter to Hall’s letter. He says: “It neglects to mention that the charity recently (two months ago) achieved one of the biggest campaigning victories in its history: securing a continual walking path around the entire coastline of Britain, which will open up an unprecedented amount of out-of-bounds coast for the public to walk, use and enjoy forever.”

Roberts defends the Ramblers’ recent record on campaigning and says the organisation will continue to fight for walkers’ rights. “The Ramblers will always be an active campaigning organisation,” he says, “with thousands of volunteers working to open up, and unblock, footpaths right across Britain.

“We never shy away from taking strong measures to protect people’s rights – including legal action – where necessary, but we prefer to work in partnership with local authorities, landowners and farmers, many of whom are supportive.”

He goes on to defend the move towards attracting young, urban walkers. “One of the biggest [challenges] is to encourage more people – young and old – to take up walking, and make the most of Britain’s 130,000 miles [209,215km] of footpaths and 936,000ha [229,808 acres] of open access land. That’s why the Ramblers network includes groups just for people in their 20s and30s (our fastest growing source of membership), and walks aimed at weekend, older and family walkers too.”

The Ramblers celebrate their 75th anniversary this year amid an atmosphere tainted by job cuts and disquiet last year, caused by a financial crisis brought on by the country’s deep recession. Members in Scotland and Wales discussed breaking away from the main organisation after both nations were left with just two staff members each.

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