Who are the BMC and what do they do?

Q What does the British Mountaineering Council do for walkers? Is it worth becoming a member? Christian Stewart, Cambridge

When the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) announced their ill-fated decision to rebrand as Climb Britain, one of the criticisms levelled at them was that the new title suggested they were purely a climbing focused organisation that did nothing to represent the interests of walkers. Following a consultation with their membership, it was decided to abandon the rebrand – but it also highlighted the question above; what does the BMC do (and what are the benefits of joining) for walkers? We put this to Carey Davies, the BMC’s Hill Walking Development Officer.

“Joining the BMC will benefit you, but most importantly, it will benefit the hills. We aim to save you money though providing membership benefits like a 15% discount at Cotswold Outdoor and Snow + Rock. We insure you against accidents and disability and we provide advice and inspiration for your mountain life. But above all, we work to keep the mountain environment free and protected for all to enjoy, through work that ranges from picking up litter in the Peak District to lobbying MPs at Westminster.

“Recently we have become a lot more walker-focused with initiatives like our Mend Our Mountains campaign, which last year crowdfunded more than £100,000 for vital paths on some of Britain’s most iconic mountains. We’re currently working on the ‘sequel’ to this campaign and it will be 10 times bigger. Watch this space!”