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

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

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

. 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 ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

town of

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

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, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

and Cornish versions of the logo are in use in

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

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 (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

, 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 is the trading name of the Ramblers Association, Great Britain's leading 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 ...

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 Hiking organizations Charities based in the United Kingdom Walking in the United Kingdom