Ramblers cancel national walking event due to foot-and-mouth alert [February 27 2001]

THE RAMBLERS' Association has cancelled a national walking event following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain.

The Euro Ramblers Rally, scheduled to start in Liverpool on Saturday, 3 March, was intended to be a relay of walks across the country along the Trans-Pennine Trail (TPT). However, as new cases of foot-and-mouth continue to be confirmed across Britain, the Ramblers' Association has decided to cancel the entire event.

The Ramblers last week advised all members of the public to avoid affected areas completely and to steer clear of all farm land and other areas where there may be livestock. Hundreds of Ramblers groups across the country have subsequently cancelled their walks programmes.

Relay walks event organiser Rachael Bryett said: "The current foot-and-mouth crisis is potentially devastating to Britain's farmers. These walks have been planned for months, but everyone involved in the event has agreed that cancelling it is the only responsible course of action. We all have to play our part in ensuring that this terrible disease is contained."

The TPT walks had been organised by the Ramblers as part of the Euro Ramblers Rally, taking place in Strasbourg, France, this September. Following the Liverpool rally participants would have travelled the 213-mile TPT in 16 separate walks, arriving in Hull for a celebration in June before crossing the North Sea to Rotterdam to join Dutch and Belgian walkers on their way to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

EURO RAMBLERS RALLY DEBATE, STRASBOURG

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