A bit of a coup for the
Ramblers
Association with the news that TV walking celebrity
Julia Bradbury is set to become
Ramblers president next month.
The Wainwright's Walks presenter's nomination was announced today and,
provided nothing goes horribly wrong, she's set to be announced as
president at the Ramblers general council on 10 April.
You can tell that ramblers like Julia, she was recently voted number
one Walking Celebrity of the year by the Ramblers
Walk Magazine
readers, but clearly there's more to the nomination than that and it's
part of a wider strategy by the organisation to expand walking and freshen up its image.
Ramblers Chief Executive Tom Franklin comments: "We want to break down
the barriers to walking, whether it’s blocked paths or lack of
motivation. There is no better expert at this than Julia Bradbury."
Bradbury herself echoes these sentiments: “For too long
walking has been associated mainly with the ‘hardcore enthusiast’ tag,"
she says. "My message is that walking is for EVERYONE –
young, old, groups, singles, city, country, black, white, you name it.
“My ambition with the Ramblers over the coming year is simple: get
Britain on its feet. The country is stuffed with beautiful walks and a
130,000 mile footpath network – I want everyone to get out there and
enjoy it!”
Reading between the lines, the appointment is also part of an ongoing
initiative by the organisation to freshen up its somewhat tired public
image and attract more members generally. Bradbury looks like a good
choice to do that with her frequent TV appearances and generally high
public profile set to up the Ramblers' profile.
It's nothing new of course, Janet Street Porter did a stint as the
acceptable face of walking a few years back and up in Scotland, bearded
outdoors TV presenter and journalist Cameron McNeish holds the
presidency of Ramblers Scotland and uses his media profile to good
effect.
More Ramblers information at
www.ramblers.org.uk
