Grasmere, destination for the five-mile walk
A group of walkers will set out today to mark the anniversary of the birth of a pioneer of outdoor holidays.
Thomas Arthur Leonard has been ranked alongside Thomas Cook and Billy Butlin for his influence on British holidaymaking.
The former Congregational minister turned Quaker was instrumental in the founding of the Holiday Fellowship and had a hand in starting organisations such as the Co-operative Holidays Association, Ramblers, Youth Hostels Association and the National Trust.
The boss of the Ramblers will join the head of HF Holidays, the successor organisation to the Holiday Fellowship, in a walk between Ambleside and Grasmere, retracing the steps taken by 30 Lancashire mill workers who enjoyed the first group walking holiday in the Lake District in1891.
Thomas Arthur Leonard
The Rev TA Leonard was keen to dissuade workers from sampling the more sinful pleasures of resorts such as Blackpool during their ‘wakes weeks’ and set up holidays to tempt them with the outdoor pleasures of walking in the countryside.
Today marks the 150th anniversary of his birth.
Jim Forward, chief executive of HF Holidays, said: “TA Leonard ranks alongside Thomas Cook and Billy Butlin as one of the pioneers of English holidaymaking.
“Anyone that has ever taken a walk holiday is following in his footsteps. His legacy lives on at HF Holidays, the co-operative society he established over 100 years ago.
“Leonard devoted his life to encouraging people to enjoy the great outdoors in the company of others. Our holidays have become more modern but the values that Leonard held so dear remain the same.”
Benedict Southworth, chief executive of the Ramblers, said: “TA Leonard was one of the founding fathers of the Ramblers and its first president from 1935 until 1946.
“As a leader in the outdoor movement, I’m sure he would be proud that nearly 80 years on we are still championing the wonder of walking and continuing to protect and open up our great outdoors for people to discover.”
Caroline White, YHA chief executive, who will also take part in the walk, said: “I am delighted to be able to join all of these other great organisations that TA Leonard helped establish on a walk to celebrate his life.
“As one of YHA’s first ever vice-presidents, TA Leonard would have been really pleased that the youth hostelling movement is doing so well in the modern era.”
Among the walkers will be representatives of HF Holidays’ 700 volunteer walk leaders.
A Holiday Fellowship plaque still in place at Rowardennan in the shadow of Ben Lomond
Mike Innerdale, assistant director for the National Trust in the Lake District, said “It’s great to see his birth celebrated with a walk through some of the stunning scenery of the Lakes, scenery that we work hard to look after so that millions can enjoy it every year.
“It is thanks to people such as TA Leonard, that we have so much of the outdoors available for people from all over the world to enjoy.”
TA Leonard was born in London in 1864, the son of a clockmaker and a Congregational minister’s daughter. His father died when he was a child and he later espoused the religion, eventually taking up a minister’s post in Colne, east Lancashire.
He held strong pacifist views and joined the Quakers after the First World War.
He was friends with many luminaries in the fledgling Labour Party and was also a key figure in the Friends of the Lake District and the Campaign for National Parks and was appointed an OBE for his work in promoting the outdoors.
TA Leonard died in north Wales in 1948.
