PM back from alpine hike to walkers’ warning
When Prime Minister Theresa May returns from her hiking holiday in the Alps today (Wednesday) she will find a letter from the society. We express delight that the Prime Minister enjoys walking, but urge her to look into the state of public paths in England and Wales which, due to continuing local authority cuts, are…
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Happy centenary to vice-president Len!
Our vice-president Len Clark is 100 today, 19 August. Our general secretary has written a blog in celebration and we have reproduced it below. Every blog I have so far written to celebrate a friend’s centenary has been posthumous. This one is different. Len Clark, loved and admired by the amenity movement, is 100 today—and…
Read MoreThreat to public paths in the Rochdale area
Our newly-appointed local correspondent for Rochdale, Yvonne Hunt, looks at the threat to public paths in her area, including the Rochdale Way. The Rochdale Way and parts of its connecting network of paths are under threat by developers who do not seem to understand their importance. The Rochdale Way is a circular 45-mile (72-km)…
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Our new activist for St Edmundsbury, Suffolk
Simon Bunn is our new local correspondent for St Edmundsbury Borough in Suffolk. Simon will be our eyes and ears, keeping a close watch on paths, commons, greens and open spaces in the district and intervening as necessary. Simon, who lives at Haverhill, works for Cambridge City Council as a Sustainable Drainage Engineer, and has…
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Shropshire’s public paths are the arteries of the countryside
‘Shropshire’s public paths are the key to people’s enjoyment of this splendid county.’ So declared Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary when she opened Clun Carnival on Saturday 6 August. Kate continued: ‘Clun is a walking hub: a Walkers Are Welcome town on the Shropshire Way in the heart of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding…
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New Sheffield environmental charity launched
‘Sheffield and the Peak District National Park are the crucible of the access crusade. The new Sheffield Environmental Movement is well placed to enable everyone to enjoy the park’s special qualities today’. So said Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary, when she launched the new charity, the Sheffield Environmental Movement, led by Maxwell Ayamba, at Sheffield…
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Herefordshire path-defender wins Open Spaces Society’s national award
Peter Newman, formerly of Kington, Herefordshire, is the first-ever winner of our prestigious Eversley Award for Outstanding Personal Endeavour. Peter won the award for his 25 years of work on public paths with offenders on Community Payback. Peter collaborated with the Herefordshire Probation Service and Herefordshire Council to install about 800 stiles and gates, waymarks…
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Phenomenal volunteer effort has saved two Welsh gems
We have congratulated the Elenydd Wilderness Hostels Trust on its phenomenal volunteer effort. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, spoke at the trust’s tenth anniversary lunch in Tregaron on Saturday (2 July). Said Kate: ‘Not only have the trust’s activists saved two hostels in the remote heart of Wales from closure and sale, but they have…
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A big welcome to West Yorkshire
On Saturday 25 June a new long-distance path, the Welcome Way, will be opened in Otley, West Yorkshire. The 28-mile circular walk is unique because it was created through the collaborative effort of three West Yorkshire Walkers Are Welcome towns: Otley, Burley-in-Wharfedale and Baildon, linking all three. There is an additional nine-mile loop taking in…
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Space invaders
Public funding is being cut and our green spaces exploited to fill the gap. Our general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, considers the threat to our open spaces and national parks. In London, communities fight motor racing in Battersea Park, and festivals on Acton Green, Clapham Common and Finsbury Park—among countless battles. But we have a new…
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