Volunteer profile:
Co-ordinating and leading walks
Susan Blake
Dorset Area and South Dorset Group
I first joined the RA because I’m a keen
walker and there was a special membership offer on at the time.
Once I became more familiar with the organisation and realised
the role the RA plays in the upkeep of footpaths, I decided to
become more actively involved as a volunteer.
Over the years I have been the Area Membership Secretary, Area Affiliated Clubs’ Representative and Area Publicity Officer. I was also part of the team which established the Dorset Jubliee Trail (a 90 mile promoted route opened in 1995 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Ramblers’ Association) and I continue to assist in looking after and promoting the trail.
At the moment I am mainly involved in two local projects – ‘Discover Dorset’ and the ‘Wessex Wanderer Railway Rambles’. In 1995 I co-ordinated the four RA Groups in Dorset to contribute a led walk each to the County Council’s Countryside Guide. Over the years this has gradually evolved into Discover Dorset – an eight day annual festival of walking. Each year I produce a leaflet, do press releases and organise a promotional display in my local library. I have been co-ordinating the Wessex Wanderer walks for five years, taking over from Peter Gould, Avon Area, who founded the walks ten years ago. These are led walks that all start from a station on the Bristol to Weymouth Railway Line – so all the walks are accessible by public transport, something the RA is really keen to promote. Leaders now come from RA Areas as far as Avon, Wiltshire and Devon as well as Dorset. The Rail Partnership print the walks programme for us and distributes it to the public. There are 32 walks this season, and I’m leading four of them. And again, with this project I issue weekly news releases and put up a display in the local library – there’s no point in putting on the walks if no one knows about them!
What I enjoy about volunteering for the RA is the variety of things you can do - you can bring your range of skills to the work and develop new skills too. I’ve always been an organiser and interested in displays, which has been valuable for this work, but writing press releases is something new I’ve learnt. I go on as many of the walks as I can because I enjoy the companionship of like-minded people and I like to spot potential new walks leaders!
I commit approximately 6 hours a week to my voluntary work for the RA, although this is not a set amount of time each week – I have flurries of activity and then quieter periods. The benefits my time and skills bring to the RA are publicity, the recruitment of new members and volunteers, and the promotion of footpaths and public transport. The reward is that more people are able to discover the joys of walking.