In their recent 10 year vision, Ramblers Cymru mapped out how Wales can be a happier, healthier nation where walking is at the heart of every community. They now want your voice to encourage the Welsh Government to make that vision a reality and ensure Wales becomes a world-class country for walking.

Welsh Government is consulting on the ways that people use and enjoy Wales’ incredible landscape. Ramblers Cymru have been successfully championing many of the proposals Welsh Government have put forward – extended access to our coast and cliffs, a statutory code for responsible access and an all-Wales digitised definitive map of paths.

Director of Ramblers Cymru, Angela Charlton, said “It’s really encouraging to see Welsh Government take on some of the changes we have been calling for as we believe they will make a real difference to how walkers enjoy the Welsh outdoors. For example, by creating a complete online map of Wales’ paths people will find it so much easier to find out where they can walk, and the statutory code will helps everyone understand how to behave responsibly. Opening up the coast and cliffs for more access is also a great step forward as it builds on the amazing success of the Wales Coast path”.

Angela said “We fully support opening up the countryside to more people, but we are concerned that some footpaths simply aren’t suitable for bikes or horses. We are asking Welsh Government to consider each path on a case by case basis, with the help of local knowledge and of course Ramblers Cymru’s volunteers”.

Ramblers Cymru supports the idea that community should be at the heart of decisions about changing use because outdoor spaces should be cherished community assets. Across Wales much of the path network, which is enjoyed by millions of people each year, is regularly maintained by Ramblers Cymru’s volunteers who take a hands on approach to improving their local patch.

The volunteer groups across Wales, with the support of their local councils, clear footpaths, fix and build fences, bridges, gates and even boardwalks. One Ramblers volunteer maintenance group in Anglesey, the Silver Slashers, have clocked up 572 work days over the past 12 years, with an average of 12 people working per day. In this time they have cleared a staggering 48KM of footpaths, and opened up 70 paths which were previously inaccessible to the general public. This is in addition to building 375 gates, 78 bridges and 3Km of boardwalks. These statistics, from just one of our volunteer groups, highlight the time and energy Ramblers Cymru volunteers invest to ensure our varied footpaths across Wales are open.

Local Ramblers Cymru volunteer, John Stubbs, “Our path network is something to be treasured and we want everyone to recognise the value that it brings in connecting people to the places around them. As a walker all my life, I volunteer to maintain the footpaths as a simple way to give back to my local community and let the public enjoy our beautiful outdoors”.

Angela added: “We’d love people to join us and add their voice to our campaign, let’s unite and ensure Wales is a world-class country for walking”.

For further information about Ramblers Cymru’s vision for walking in Wales, please visit www.ramblers.org.uk/wales