The Ramblers is a charity whose goal is to protect the ability of people to enjoy the sense of freedom and benefits that come from being outdoors on foot.
Protecting and expanding where we walk
Our roots are in groups of walkers who wanted access for the public to the countryside. To this day most of our work is done by members who volunteer their time.
We have dramatically increased the ability of the public to access the countryside:
Our success comes through our ability to work alongside other recreational users of the countryside. We also work with the broader outdoors community including those companies and communities that rely on walking for their economic well-being.
Over the last sixty years the Ramblers have played a pivotal role helping secure the footpath network in England and Wales. We literally helped put your rights of way on the map as well as championing long distance routes like the National Trails.
We continue to look after the network. By law, Ramblers in England and Wales needs to be consulted on changes to paths and our volunteers inspect thousands of miles of paths each year. Eighty of our volunteer teams work with local authorities doing hands on maintenance and improvement work, for example, putting in new gates and making sure paths don’t become overgrown.
We also protect the places people go walking. We believe in protecting people's ability to enjoy the intrinsic values of nature and so we will defend the countryside and urban green spaces. To avoid unnecessary duplication of effort with other charities we mainly do this through effective participation in wider coalitions and by work within local communities to avoid particular developments.
