The Walkers are Welcome scheme is a community-led initiative operating in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The scheme promotes towns and communities as 'walker-friendly', based on a number of criteria, aiming to benefit local economies by attracting tourism.

Overview

The scheme was first proposed in Summer 2006 by a local walkers group in the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

town of

Hebden Bridge Hebden Bridge is a market town in the Calderdale district of West Yorkshire, England. It is in the Upper Calder Valley, west of Halifax and 14 miles (21 km) north-east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the Hebden W ...

and formally launched on 18 February 2007. Since then, it has expanded rapidly and more than ninety towns and villages have been granted Walkers are Welcome status. The Walkers are Welcome Towns Network claims that the scheme helps strengthen a town’s reputation as a destination for visitors, and also brings benefits to the local economy, encouraging the towns to view walkers as "economic assets". The Walkers are Welcome logo is widely used in towns with the status.

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

and Cornish versions of the logo are in use in

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

Organisation

The scheme is run by the towns and villages themselves, who are all members of the Walkers are Welcome Towns Network. The Network operates through a committee that meets every six to eight weeks as well as an annual conference. The scheme is different from most official accreditation schemes in being managed through

peer review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (:wiktionary:peer#Etymology 2, peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the ...

, rather than through a top-down agency. Direct community engagement is considered essential to the scheme’s success. The current patron is the

Ramblers Association The Ramblers' Association, branded simply as the Ramblers, is Great Britain's walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path network. T ...

vice-president Kate Ashbrook.

Objectives and criteria for inclusion

The main aim of the campaign is to get towns to be more supportive of hikers. Towns and villages wishing to receive Walkers are Welcome status are required to meet six criteria. These are: * Demonstration of popular local support for the concept. * Formal endorsement by local council. * Action to maintain facilities for walkers in good condition. * Adequate marketing of the Walkers are Welcome status. * Encouragement of use of public transport. * Procedures in place to demonstrate sustainability of local interest.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walkers Are Welcome Walking organisations in the United Kingdom Charities based in the United Kingdom