Stepping out across Wales: Ramblers press the message

The Ramblers continued their campaign to open up the Welsh countryside to walkers by getting Assembly Members to walk all over the nation.

Ramblers Cymru brought a giant map to the site of the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff to press home its Wales for Walking campaign.

The charity said Assembly Members and members of the public walked over the biggest map of Wales ever produced to try out what it would be like to walk over new parts of Wales.

Angela Charlton, director of Ramblers Cymru, said: “We’re really pleased so many Assembly Members, the Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr Ruth Hussey, schoolchildren and many other people joined us in support of unveiling Welsh countryside for local communities, connecting them to one another, as well as to their own history and heritage.

“We know walking can play a huge part in helping people to get fit and healthy, reducing the numbers of journeys made by car and improve a person’s connection to their own community and understanding of the world around them.

“By joining up communities to their local landscapes, unveiling new places to discover and continuing to maintain our world class network of paths, we could make Wales the best walking country in the world.”

A Ramblers Cymru spokesperson said: “The Welsh Government has already started the debate on expanding the places people can walk, visit and enjoy in Wales and is expected to produce a report on the topic later this month.

“Ramblers Cymru wants the Welsh Government to use this fantastic opportunity to connect Wales’s communities together, making local landscapes a source of national pride.

“By joining up communities, unveiling new places to discover and continuing to maintain our world class network of paths, Wales could become the best walking country in the world.”

The British Mountaineering Council is also pressing for increased access to climbing sites with its Open Wales campaign during the Welsh Government’s consultation.