Rebecca Evans AM, Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales, joined Ramblers Cymru at the launch of a campaign to make Wales the best walking country in the world.
Mrs Evans attended the launch event of the ‘Wales for Walking’ campaign, which invited people to walk around one of the biggest maps of Wales ever produced.
The campaign seeks to connect Welsh communities to their local landscapes by increasing the places people can walk. This would give people the chance to enjoy the countryside around them, to learn about their local surroundings and to make more journeys on foot.
All this whilst offering visitors the chance to share in the secret of Wales’ spectacular scenery.
The Welsh Government has already started the debate on expanding the places people can walk, visit and enjoy in Wales and are expected to produce a report¹ on the topic later this month. Ramblers Cymru wants the Welsh Government to use this fantastic opportunity to connect Wales’ communities together, making local landscapes a source of national pride. By joining up communities, unveiling new places to discover and continuing to maintain the world class network of paths, Wales could become the best walking country in the world.
Rebecca Evans said:
“In Wales we have some of the best walking trails in the World. Indeed, Lonely Planet, a leading worldwide tourist magazine, designated the Wales Coastal Path as their number one tourist destination in 2012.
“Wales also has some fantastic scenic routes among the mountains and lakes of inland Mid Wales, be it among the mountains of the Brecon Beacons, the Lakes of the Elan Valley or along the canals and rivers of Montgomeryshire.
“I am delighted to support the drive to encourage everyone to get walking in the countryside near to where they live, and to discover the treasures we have on our doorstep.”
Angela Charlton, director of Ramblers Cymru, said: “We’d like to thank Rebecca Evans for coming along to the launch event and supporting the campaign. We really want to see the Welsh countryside unveiled 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.”
