News archive 2003
Access milestone in
Scotland as Parliament debates land reform [22 January 2003]
THE RAMBLERS' Association has welcomed the final stage of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill as it completed its passage through the Scottish Parliament.
'Van Hoogstraten' footpath being opened up [10 Feb 2003]
THE COUNTRY'S most notorious blocked footpath, the 'van Hoogstraten' path at Framfield in East Sussex, is finally being
re-opened.
Worried about the congestion charge? Take to the streets [14 Feb 2003]
THE RA is advocating taking to your feet to avoid the costs of the
congestion charge.
"You're Either
Quick or Dead", warns Rambler's Association [11 Apr 2003]
PEDESTRIANS' AND walkers' lives are being put at risk by dangerous road
crossing, a shocking new report reveals.
Ramblers help win vital planning battle to protect countryside
[25 April 2003]
A SPECIAL area of classic English countryside has been saved thanks to campaigning by the Ramblers.
Go
wild in the country [30 April 2003]
THE RA has joined forces with other well-known outdoor organisations to
raise awareness of how much the countryside has to offer during National
Outdoor Week 3 - 11 May.
Madonna comes clean on footpaths
Madonna comes clean on footpaths [30 April 2003]
POP STAR Madonna speaks out about the media, walkers and footpaths on her
Wiltshire estate. Of her supposed objections to walkers' access to her land and the subsequent threat to her privacy and safety, she had this to say: "I didn't have a go at the Ramblers. Jesus Christ! I didn't have a go at anybody. They're pissed at me because I left England.
Read more
Crime prevention and public rights of way
[8 May 2003]
DEFRA has introduced new powers for local authorities to divert or close public rights of way to prevent crime. This legislation is contained within Section 6 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
Highway authorities can apply to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to have an area designated for the purposes of crime
prevention.
Economic
value of walking 'grossly underestimated' by Local Authorities
[19 June 2003]
A new report commissioned by The Ramblers' Association (RA) and
published today, dramatically highlights the enormous impact of walking on
the rural economy in England, and the benefits of an open and easily
useable footpath network to rural businesses.
Government walks on by
[30 July 2003]
Leading walking charities left disappointed at Government's walking 'discussion paper'.
Britain's two leading walking charities, the Ramblers' Association (RA) and Living Streets,
expressed their disappointment at the Government's continuing reluctance to demonstrate its commitment to walking. The latest evidence for this is the half-hearted stab it has made with the launch of a 'discussion paper' , despite its promises to publish a National Walking
Strategy.
Moorland Fire Risk
[4 August
2003]
The Ramblers' Association (RA) calls upon all walkers to minimise the risk of fire on moorland during hot, dry weather.
The peat itself can burn, as well as the surface vegetation. Fires can therefore be deep, intense, and long-lasting. They can do serious long-term ecological and scenic damage.
The RA believes that the presence of walkers is beneficial if they are encouraged to prevent fire and to minimise the damage caused by any which do occur. This is preferable to closing
moors.
New Chairman for The Council for
National Parks
[7 August
2003]
Access champion. Kate Ashbrook, has been elected as the new Chairman
of The Council for National Parks. A former Chairman of the Ramblers' Association, and currently General
Secretary of the Open Spaces Society, Kate recently led the campaign to
re-open the blocked footpath that ran across the estate of disgraced
businessman Nicholas Van Hoogstraten. Kate takes on the role at an exciting time as two new national parks
are coming into existence in the South Downs and the New Forest.
Airport Expansion, One Member's
View [12 August 2003]
Terry Perkins, Newsletter Editor for the Manchester Area of the
Ramblers' Association gives an insight into living with airport noise and
pollution, and explains why we should all take airport expansion
seriously.
Go Organic and Map an Elm During
National Walking Festival [18 August 2003]
Welcome to Walking Week (September 20 -28), the annual walking
festival organised by the Ramblers' Association, offers the public the
chance to join Ramblers group on over 300 free walks around the country.
This year we have teamed up with the Natural History Museum to organise
Elm Map Walks, an attempt to find the last remaining mature elms in
Britain, and with The Soil Association to offer walks to organic farms.
Walkers Spend Billions in the
Countryside, but Paths Remain Difficult or Impossible to Use [08 September
2003]
Walking is big business for the English countryside, but the serious under investment and neglect of the footpath network by local authorities is jeopardising this, a shocking new report released by the Ramblers' Association (RA) reveals.
The findings, from Dr Mike Christie at the University of Wales Aberystwyth and independent research consultant Jon Matthews, show that over 527 million walking trips to the English countryside are made each year, with walkers spending over ?6
billion.
Recreational Off Road Vehicles are
'Devastating' Green Lanes [16 September 2003]
The Ramblers' Association has joined forces with English Nature, the
Council for National Parks and the Campaign for Protection of Rural
England, to campaign for a ban on recreational off road vehicles using
green lanes, or byways open to all traffic. Find out more about the campaign and how you can get your MP involved in
protecting the countryside from the environmental damage being wrought by
4x4s and trail bikes.
National
Park Adopts 'Zero Tolerance' Policy Towards Illegal Off-road Vehicles
[07
November 2003]
'Zero Tolerance' may be synonymous with cleaning up crime in New York City, but a National Park Authority in Wales has been forced to adopt a similar approach to solve the growing problem of illegal off-road vehicles.
The Ramblers' Association is working with a number of organisations including English Nature, the Council for National Parks and the Campaign for Protection of Rural England, to encourage authorities, especially national park authorities, to use new legislation introduced in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to protect the countryside and restrict recreational motor vehicles from green
lanes.
Ramblers
warn that walkers must not be forgotten by new land management agency
[11 November 2003]
Despite their vital role in the recovery of the rural economy post-Foot and Mouth, the nation's millions of walkers are long down the list of priorities for the new integrated land management agency, argues the Ramblers' Association today (11 November 2003) following the Secretary of State Margaret Beckett MP's response to
The Haskin's Report.
'Country
Life' poll names wind turbines as the nation's biggest eyesore
[13
November 2003]
Wind farms have topped a poll of the most offensive buildings in the UK, Country Life magazine has revealed
today.
Youth
Hostels saved from closure [19 November 2003]
Good news from the YHA as the
future of two hostels under the threat of closure since summer last year
is secured.
Ramblers start down path to new image
[25 November 2003]
A new magazine is being launched to promote the nation's favourite activity.
The Ramblers' Association's quarterly membership magazine has undergone a
radical overhaul as an early stage on the road to a re-brand for the
organisation.
Government urged
to take action to prevent devastation by vehicles in countryside [10
December 2003]
The Ramblers' Association is calling on the Government to take immediate
and strong action to prevent an historic loophole in the law from
destroying the countryside.