Wilfrid Merydith Capper (12 July 1905 – 27 July 1998) was a countryside campaigner in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Educated at Bangor Grammar School, Methodist College, and Queen's University. Capper's career in the forestry division of the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

fitted well with his interest in the countryside.

Whitepark Bay

In 1931, Capper was involved in the creation of a Northern Ireland branch of the

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

movement, the first

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

being established at

Whitepark Bay White Park Bay (also spelled Whitepark Bay) is a bay and three-mile long beach located near Ballycastle, County Antrim, on the north coast of Northern Ireland, along the Giant’s Causeway Coastal Route. Sheep and cattle graze the hills and beac ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

. It was the impending threat to the bay from development that lead hostellers, including Capper to purchase the bay and present it to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

The Ulster Way

Much of Capper's time and effort was spent in the creation of the

Ulster Way The Ulster Way is a series of walking routes which encircles Northern Ireland. It was founded in the 1970s by Wilfrid Merydith Capper, who was inspired by Tom Stephenson's Pennine Way. The route was relaunched in 2009 by the Department of th ...

, a long-distance walking route connecting various areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Awards

In 1975, Capper received the MBE. He was later awarded the Sir John Hunt Award for services to the countryside for his work in establishing the Ulster Federation of Rambling Clubs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capper, Wilfrid 1905 births 1998 deaths People from Northern Ireland Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Methodist College Belfast Youth hostelling People educated at Bangor Grammar School Alumni of Queen's University Belfast