A MEMBER of the Camelford Walkers group attended a meeting of the town council to seek support for the future of the group.

Helen Wood attended the Camelford Town Council’s meeting on July 6, to ask the council to look at the future of the walking group, and provide some support for the running of it.

The group, which has been running since October 2016, has had a successful number of local people wanting to take both local and long-distance walks, depending on their ability. The group started with approximately four individuals, and has now expanded to over 50.

She said: “We now have over 50 members that meet every Thursday afternoon. The age range is from people in their 40s to 89 years old — some walk very slowly, some walk very fast.”

John Pearce has been running the group but would now like to step back, and so approached Helen to take over the Camelford Walkers, but she did not realise that the job would entail promotion and tourism work for the group

She told the council: “I’m very happy to get publication of the walkers, but I think it’s very important that the council gets onto it (to support the group).”

Town clerk, Esther Greig, told the Post: “To the best of my knowledge the council has not had any previous involvement with Walkers are Welcome. John Pearce currently runs the group, but wants to step back. He has approached Helen to take over, but she is concerned that as marketing and economic development is not her forte, she would like council support.”

The Camelford Walkers group has also recently obtained a ‘Walkers are Welcome’ status, and walkers often gather in groups of between 12 and 20. For local walks around Camelford, the group normally meet on Thursday afternoons outside the Old Bank in the town centre, walking to nearby places such as Tregoodwell and areas within three to five miles of Camelford itself.

The walkers have recently extended their ventures to further afield, to places such as St Breward, Bude, Boscastle and Tintagel, meaning a drive is required first.

Helen told the Post that one of the main reasons for the importance of a local walking group is to maintain and keep rural walks and paths thriving.

She said: “The local walks are the ones dearest to people’s hearts, and having a walking group helps keep the paths open. If a problem arises, such as if a gate becomes blocked, or whatever, the paths tend to fall into disuse.”

Another important factor of the walks is the community coming together. Helen added: “It’s not just about the exercise; it’s about socialising too — we all go back to have a cup of tea and cake at the Old Bank afterwards, and people can chat and make friends. Lots of dogs come too, so that’s nice.”

She explained that the Walkers are Welcome scheme is ‘about keeping the walks open’. As Camelford is now a ‘Walkers are Welcome town’, walkers must follow certain guidelines to encourage visitors and to promote walking in their local area.

Walkers are Welcome is a non-profit Community Interest Company, which was launched in 2007 to encourage towns and villages to be ‘welcoming walkers’. Since it was first established ten years ago, there are now over 100 Walkers are Welcome towns and villages in the UK.

As part of the scheme, Camelford Walkers must ensure that they provide attractive destinations for walkers and provide quality information about these walks; ensure the footpaths and facilities for walkers are maintained and well-signposted; ‘contribute to local tourism plans and regenerate strategies’ and promote the health benefits of walking.

Following the meeting, Ms Greig added: “When the whole picture is presented to council, it will decide how much it wants to be involved. I do not want to speculate at this stage. It has decided that it would support the annual membership up to £100 in order to ensure that all the work done so far is not wasted.”

For more information about the group and how to get involved, visit www.theoldbankcamelford.org.uk/clubs/camelford-walkers