Irene Evison: 'Come and meet me'
An outdoors campaigner will be getting on her bike to encourage people to get into national parks.
Irene Evison, a trustee of the Campaign for National Parks, will cycle at least 75 miles (120km) in each of Wales’s national parks on a fact-finding mission in Snowdonia, the Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire Coast.
The outdoor enthusiast, who is the CNP’s vice-chair in Wales, also hopes to raise funds for the campaign group, which works to protect and promote the national parks in England and Wales.
Ms Evison will talk to 75 people who visit, live in, work in and take care of the national parks to find out why they are important to them. The trip will mark the 75th anniversary of the Campaign for National Parks.
Irene, who lives and works in Wales, will start her journey near Lake Vyrnwy in Snowdonia tomorrow, 11 June, travelling through Abergavenny in the Brecon Beacons and finishing in Fishguard on 23 June after cycling through the Pembrokeshire Coast park.
Her trip mirrors the CNP’s Getting into National Parks campaign and, Irene’s route will take in some of her favourite places as well as including some new places that she wants to explore.
She said: “I’m really looking forward to getting into the three national parks on my bike.
“Cycling makes it possible for me to explore so many different parts of them. But this isn’t just about me enjoying myself – which I’m sure I will – but hearing from all sorts of different people about why national parks matter to them.
“If you get the chance, please come and meet me and tell me your story. It only takes five minutes.”
Norma Barry, head of Welsh affairs for the Campaign for National Parks, added: “Irene should be commended for this initiative and using her valuable, personal time to draw people’s attention to the importance of protecting our spectacular national parks and getting out and enjoying them.
“Our beautiful landscapes are under continual threat from modern-day developments. People need to be more aware of these threats and the benefits that national parks can bring to people’s physical and spiritual health.
“Our organisation campaigns tirelessly to protect Welsh national parks from inappropriate developments and keep them safe for future generations so they too can benefit from them.”
She appealed for outdoors enthusiasts to support the venture by helping Ms Evison raise cash via her online donation website or sending donations to the CNP.
Details, along with a map to follow Irene’s progress, are on the Campaign for National Parks website.
