LFTO News

Country Walking Local Hero

Vote for your Country Walking Local Hero!

Competitions and offers

21 August 2009 09:35

In July Country Walking asked you to nominate your walking heroes, those unsung supermen and women who do amazing work and have achieved extraordinary success.

Take a look at the shortlist of candidates and vote for your winner on the panel below.

The winner will get £300 of vouchers to buy great Regatta walking kit.

Regatta walking gear

Steve Jones
Last year Steve underwent open heart surgery. He pledged that in 12 months’ time he would walk to the summit of Snowdon, which he did, and has since completed the journey four times. He has now organised a team to trek to the summit carrying a TV, a Sky box and a generator in order to achieve the highest satellite TV signal in the UK, and raise £1,000 for the British Heart Foundation and The Welsh Guards Benevolent Fund. Cast your vote here!

Kevin Clark
Kevin devotes hours of his spare time to East Anglia Ramblers. As social secretary of his rambling group he is always planning days out for the group, but he never hogs the limelight – just getting on with the job in hand. Many of his local ideas are centred around walking and he has encouraged a recent member with a keen interest in photography to introduce photos to a web page for all ramblers to access so the group can all have happy reminiscences. Cast your vote here!

Nicki Woodward
In May 1998 Nicki put up a small poster in her village asking if there were any ladies who would like to go for regular walks with her. It marked the birth of Purley Pathfinders and over the years the number of walkers has grown to about 100. Several now share responsibility but it is still Nicki who organises the group and leads the majority of walks. For the group’s 10th birthday she has organised a walking weekend in the Cotswolds. Cast your vote here!

Ron Gordon
Ron is an inspiration to all who know him. Whether leading urban walk schemes, such as the U3A, or his tireless efforts organising rambles into the countryside, he inspires everyone with his energy, knowledge and leadership. He organises coach trips into the countryside for people who would otherwise not have access, taking 100+ people out walking every month. All this and amazingly, Ron is now in his 90th year! Cast your vote here!

Ronald Pigney
A sprightly 79-year-old, Ron has been a tireless campaigner over the years to ensure paths are kept open and stiles replaced in preparation for the Essex Hundred walks, which he has led on several occasions. Sadly Ron now has myeloma but it hasn’t stopped him. Seeing his consultant, he complained he was feeling tired after walking for an hour and a half. The consultant laughed and said he knew plenty of 20 year olds who couldn’t even do that. Cast your vote here!

Diane Lang
A voluntary leader on National Trust working holidays, Diane has been instrumental in getting volunteers out on the fells to wild camp. Never one to shy away from spending hours digging in the mud and wrestling with huge boulders, Diane throws her all in to everything she does. She is also a great ambassador for Fix the Fells, but an unsung hero who has introduced many people to the fells for the first time. Cast your vote here!

Julie Hallam
Julie, 52, from Nottingham, has raised more than £60,000 for Breast Cancer Campaign by organising annual sponsored walks. Five years ago, Julie organised the first Edwinstowe Angels Friendship Walk with her friend Mandy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. Sadly, Mandy died in 2006 but Julie has continued to hold the walk each year in her memory. Despite losing her closest friend, Julie has shown incredible strength and determination. Cast your vote here!

Denise Noble
Denise was due to walk the Pennine Way last year but broke a vertebra in her back. After an operation, she was in a body brace for several months and slowly rehabilitated. The Pennine Way was one of her lifetime ambitions and a major inspiration to get fit again. And on June 17th this year, despite the early summer heatwave and some discomfort and pain as a recurring result of the accident, Denise duly completed the epic 268-mile trail. Cast your vote here!

Shawn Streeter
Shawn is just 13 years old and has been walking with the Walk and Talk Your Way to Health scheme for three years. Now he is probably the youngest volunteer walk leader in the country. He inspires everyone to keep walking, listens patiently to all the older people on his walk, and sometimes is the youngest walker in the group by 40 years. He is also a keen worker with his local volunteer conservation group. He is, in short, a remarkable young man. Cast your vote here!

Steve Scoffin
Steve has been helping others to get out and enjoy the great outdoors for over 30 years. A firm belief in both accessible walks close to home and seeking out the most inspiring of landscapes led to Steve running the Great North Forest Urban Fringe Project, and promoting the qualities of national parks as a Friend of the Campaign for National Parks. He has given talks to over 1,000 people, as far afield as Northumberland and Cornwall. Cast your vote here!