Walkers are Welcome

First Welsh Town gets "Walkers are Welcome" Status

26 October 2007 - There are still just a handful of towns and villages that have earned "Walkers are Welcome" status (only four in fact) but Prestatyn has just become the first for Wales.

The other three are Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd, both in West Yorkshire, which are joined by Moffat in the Scottish region of Dumfries and Galloway.

Walkers are Welcome is a new idea that aims to encourage communities to promote their town or village as an area that encourages and welcomes walkers. It is very different from other initiatives that are driven from the top down in that the driving force has to come from the community itself.

The benefits of investing time in this initiative are that it helps to build a strong reputation as a good place to come walking, with the resultant boost to the local economy, and it helps ensure footpaths are well-maintained for everyone's enjoyment.

The inaugural conference of Walkers are Welcome took place last weekend at Hebden Bridge and launched a walk-friendly towns' network to support not only the existing four towns but also the growing number working towards the same goal.

The Ramblers Association are therefore strong supporters of this initiative and is hoping that the Prestatyn initiative will accept as a model for other towns and communities in Wales - especially as nearly half the paths in Wales are difficult to navigate due to neglect.

The 6 Criteria (taken from the WALKERS ARE WELCOME website)

1. Demonstration of popular local support for the concept.
Demonstrated, for example, by signatures of local residents collected on a petition. Recommended minimum support: 50 signatures (small village), 250 signatures (small town), 500 signatures (larger community)

2. Formal endorsement of application for WALKERS ARE WELCOME status by local council
Demonstrated by the local council (unitary, district and/or town council) passing a resolution in support; allocating responsibility for WALKERS ARE WELCOME to a member of staff or committee; making small budget available

3. Action to ensure that rights of way are maintained in good condition
This can be demonstrated by the local council and/or voluntary group making a commitment to ensuring that all paths in parish are walked at least once a year; that any obstacles are removed promptly; that (England and Wales) all of the area covered by the local council area is registered with the Use Your Paths initiative of the Ramblers Association.

4. Adequate marketing of WALKERS ARE WELCOME status
This can be demonstrated in a number of ways: press coverage; signs/map in the centre of town advising casual visitors of walks they could undertake; at least two waymarked walks starting from town centre; leaflets readily available; local shops encouraged to display WALKERS ARE WELCOME stickers

5. Encouragement of walking using public transport
This can be demonstrated, for example, by including clear public transport advice on marketing leaflets

6. Demonstration of mechanisms in place to maintain WALKERS ARE WELCOMEstatus
This can be demonstrated by the creation of a local WALKERS ARE WELCOME steering group.

Anyone interested in finding out more about helping their town or village gain this status should visit the WALKERS ARE WELCOME website.