‘A physical and mental delight which can be obtained in no other way’
Discover the world’s best reward-to-investment ratio with a ramble – or hike – in the countryside.
RAMBLING – OR WHAT we like to call country walking – is the simple joy of exploring Britain’s varied, beautiful rural landscapes on foot. In general parlance ‘ramble’ now has a slightly fusty feel to it – sensible anoraks, hefty boots and possibly a map on a lanyard around the neck – but it’s been both all the rage and surprisingly riotous. In the 1930s, escaping the filthy city air for a fresh rural breeze was a properly popular pastime, as hip young things hopped on a train to the countryside. Their enthusiasm was fuelled by a boom in guidebooks like Southern Rambles by S.P.B. Mais and the Field-Path Rambles series by Walker Miles (as Edward Seyfang Taylor styled himself), plus numerous rambling clubs and the development of the Ordnance Survey’s leisure maps.
Access to the countryside wasn’t always straightforward though, and there were battles with landowners intent on keeping ramblers off their property. Some of those struggles turned physical – most famously during a mass trespass on Kinder Scout in 1932 – but most were contested by committed campaigning. In 1935 the Ramblers Association (ramblers.org.uk) was formed and since then they have fought for our national parks, for open access land, for land reform in Scotland, for coastal access, and now for the survival of 49,000 miles of historic footpaths.
Hiking – an upbeat word for long, energetic walks more commonly used in the USA – also has history here. In 1931 The Daily Record newspaper set up the National League of Hikers supported by Sir Martin Conway MP: ‘You who are hikers know the joys of wandering over hills, through woodland glades and by streams and waterfalls. You know that the pastime provides a physical and mental delight which can be obtained in no other way.’ And whether you prefer gentle rambling or vigorous hiking, you’ll probably agree with the joyful sentiment of the League’s song: I’m happy when I’m hiking.
“Whether gentle rambling
you prefer or vigorous hiking, you’ll probably agree with the joyful sentiment of the League’s song: I’m happy when I’m hiking.”