Ramblers Savaged In Guardian

The good old Ramblers Association take a bit of a pasting in today's Guardian newspaper which - shock horror - claims 'the bobble hat and knobbly knee image is an embarassment to young people joining the RA.'

The story, by Andrew McCloy highlights the problems the Association has in attracting younger members in their 20s and 30s and the dispoportionately small size of its membership. With just 130,000 members, the RA is dwarfed by, say, one million Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds enthusiasts, or the 2.7 million who support the National Trust.

The RA's response to its image problem has been to set up around 20 ramblers groups aimed at walkers in their 20s and 30s and known as 'young people's groups' or YPGs, but this in turn has apparently led to internal schisms as older members oppose any fragmenting of the movement.

For an example of the new YPG-style groups, see the Notts and Derby Walking Group web site definitely less fuddy duddy than the old-style Ramblers, but it says something that they've minimised the 'Ramblers' name instead opting to be called a 'walking group'. Plus what happens when you hit 40? Is it off to the old farts group without a backwards glance?

That might make you snigger, but the tragedy is that until a more attractive alternative emerges, walkers and our interests are deprived of a voice proportional to our numbers. British Walkers Association anyone?