 It has been reported on local TV this morning that the Lake District National Park Authority is to end all its free guided walks and lectures.
Apparently this decision is because the free walks and lectures are predominantly attended by "Middle Class white people", and the authority can increase the government funding it receives by boosting services aimed at ethnic minorities and the disabled.
Local safety groups have expressed concern that more people are likely to be injured or die without the expertise of the free volunteers who lead the walks at present.
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 That is disgusting.
Another case of persecuting the WASP in this country by the looks of it.
Looks like I'll have to write a letter to them to complain.
If enough people do that then maybe they will reverse their decision.
Especially if it starts to impact the income of the local businesses.
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 Maybe they'll reintroduce them after a few people die.
There was an article about this in the Telegraph yesterday, and one woman was so upset about the news that she said she would never be able to go walking again on her own as she feared for her safety and relied on the Rangers for support.
I think theres something funny going on in the Lakes; in the latest edition of The Cumbrian [ the little mag] there were a few letters about perceived racism up there and maybe Captains Mainwaring/Sensible have been told to do something about it .
No doubt they will have to replace all the sign posts, info boards, leaflets etc to include translations for all the extra people they will now attract with the new funding.
BTW didnt this rear its ugly head sometime last year in the thread that was deleted?
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 The decision by the Lake District Nat Park to cancel the whole of the events program, including free guided walks and slide shows, has caused a lot of upset with my fellow Voluntary Rangers. We give up our time, free of charge, to do these walks and slide shows, and both us and members of the public get a lot of pleasure out of them.
I don't know the figures for how many attended the other events, but last year our guided walks attracted over 30,000 people. The slide shows were also well attended and in the north west area, the nominal entrance fee for the lecture was used to raise about £1600 for the North Air Ambulance.
I doubt that they will reverse their decision, especially as it's due to be ratified by the full members board today.
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 Surely by aiming its services at ethnic groups (to get extra funding)that is discriminatory (have I spelt that right/)in itself.
I'd be surprised if anywhere in the LDNPA policy ethnic groups were being disadvantaged, so what is the justification in extra funding for discriminatory programmes......I give up.
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Ask the Govt. They are the ones who say that the correct target audience are not being reached.
Political Correctness gone mad!!!
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 Of course it's more discriminatory now. Same as professions in the public sector where they have to have quotas of women/disabled people / ethnic minorites. Ridiculous.
I mean, at the moment, is anyone stopping non-white people joining the guided walks? No. Presumably they would go if they wanted to.
Before we know it we'll see armed police herding people out of Brixton and Handsworth onto the hills at gunpoint, just to meet "targets".
Grrrrrr
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 Very sad, I've been on a few of these and they've always been enjoyable.
There was an article in January's Country Walking reporting on comments made by Trevor Phillips, Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality on BBC's Today programme which were then "reacted to" by country walking's readers panel. I'm not sure what the context of the discussion on Today was but here are the comments from Trevor Phillips:
"This is not[something that has happened] by anybody's will; there is no law and I doubt anybody in the countryside wants to keep people out. But I think what we are seeing is a gradual drift towards a difficult situation, in which people from ethnic minorities feel uncomfortable.
All British citizens should be able to live in and visit any part of the British Isles without being made to feel uncomfortable. We need to ensure that we do not settle into a passive apartheid."
The readers panel gave views for and against the existence of a passive apartheid on countryside footpaths, 7% for and 93% against. I'm not interpreting these results at all but it would be interesting to see the ethnic make up of country walking.
The article then went on to talk about the Mosaic Project that sparked debate here some time back.
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 discrimination is discrimination. and it's BAD!!
that and the minefields of so called pc-ness. cara, are you being racist or merely describing a physical attribute.......that depends upon who is looking for statements to take offence at.
<BAH!!! stomps off to bathe in what's left of the asses milk>
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are there vast numbers of ethnic minoritys who want to get in the outdoors?
how about getting more disadvantaged kids into the outdoors rather than claiming outdoorfolk are racist. isn't it a fact that in most out of the way villages your be a strange new comer until you've lived there 45 years anyway:)
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 I'm sorry but I think I've missed the point here - how does cancelling free guided walks, talks etc help the park to attract ethnic minorities,young people and people with disabilities?
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 That's a good point Martin. If there are numbers of ethnic minorities that wish to get outdoors, disabled people and children they should be encouraged, but where's the evidence to support it?
Also, why aren't white people on low incomes from inner cities included on that list?
30,000 is not a number to be sniffed at, and if people stop visiting these areas then that could have a large impact on local businesses. I'm all for the outdoors being available to everyone - but white middle aged classed people have more disposable income and I don't see why everyone can't be kept happy.
Why is it always at the expense of something else? Just pushes the class divide even more.
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How are the LDNPA and the Government going to know if they're attracting more "disadvantegaed" poeple anyway? Are we going to find rangers stationed at major centres like Wasdale and Langdale armed with clipboards and questionairres? If they do manage to attract hordes of disadvantaged people then how many, given their required income levels to be classed as disadvantaged, are going to be equipped properly? Is this going to cause yet more work for the rescue services? If they're not going on the high fells then are the "Honeypots" going to be even more overcrowded? The list of questions goes on and on.
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 Most of the money that funds the National Parks comes (indirectly) from middle class, middle-aged white people.
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While it's true that the vast majority of people who take part in our walks are white, we never have and never will discrimate against ethnic minorities taking part, underpriviledged children, or disabled people taking part. In fact, a large number of those taking parts are foreign tourists, not just middle class whites from surburban England. We also provide special walks for people with sight and hearing difficulties.
The truth is that not everyone is interested in the great outdoors. I live and work in Cumbria, and I'm definitely in the minority when it comes to spending time out on the fells. Most of the people I work with, who have lived here all their lives, think I'm mad for spending my weekends walking up and down mountains. No amount of encouragement will get them up the fells or even within the boundaries of the Lake District Nat Park.
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Actually Dave, we do carry out visitor surveys. So the Nat Park generally are aware where people are from.
Don't know if I agree with the statement that John made about the money from middle class, middle-aged white people. The Lake District National Park Authority is a government appointment authority funded by the Government, Cumbria County Council, and all the other local Cumbrian councils. Only a small proportion of the budget is provided by the Nat Park instead, and this comes from car park fees and what it manages to sell in its Visitor Centres.
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Hmmm well I'm a white person on a low income in the inner city, and I manage! I don't need initiatives blasted at me to decide that I love the hills etc.
As for equipment - simple: serious sacrifices in day to day living to be able to have decent hill kit :)
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Lorraine:
My thinking was:
Where do the government and councils get their money from?
Taxes.
Who pays the taxes?
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I'm with Cara Lyn on this one - if you really want to get onto the hills then you will - if you ndon't then no amount of goverment persuation will make you
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And don't call me middle-class - I come from a long line of Yorkshire miners
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