Volunteer rangers, from left, Matthew Pitt, Alan Keen and Pete Wardle receive the National Parks UK volunteer group of the year certificate from Mary Bagley, Peak District National Park assistant director for enterprise and field services, second from right. On the left is Christina Porter, who co-ordinates the health walks
Kind-hearted national park rangers have spread seasonal goodwill to a walkers’ service by donating a £1,000 prize to restart the scheme.
The cash, which volunteer rangers in the Peak District won for their work, will enable Next Steps Walks to run 10 guided events next year.
The project is for people with enough confidence and strength to graduate to regular ranger-guided walks but who still need transport to get to them.
Next Steps Walks, run with Bakewell and Eyam Community Transport, had to stop its activities when NHS restructuring led to the ending of its funding.
The £1,000 prize came after the band of nearly 300 volunteer rangers was named National Parks UK volunteer group of the year for its work over the past 20 years in leading health walks for people with physical or mental health problems.
National park health walks organiser Christina Porter said: “I’m extremely grateful to the volunteer rangers for their support for this cause.
“It will mean that we’ll be able to provide transport for people to attend an additional 10 walks in 2014.
“Many of our ranger-guided walks are easy enough for people with less severe health problems to tackle, and it’s often only transport issues that prevent people from joining them.”
Retired teacher Audrey Foster, 67, of Darley Dale, has been going on the walks since 1996 after a bout of manic depression. Now suffering from polymyalgia and having to use two sticks, she still loves to go on health walks as often as twice a month between February and November.
She said: “The health walks have been invaluable to me.
“Apart from the exercise they offer companionship and they enable us to get to places we’d never normally visit.
“Most of us have medical problems. Some are in their 80s, so transport is essential for us to get to the isolated meeting points. I’m very pleased the rangers’ donation will enable the Next Steps walks to continue in 2014.”
