![]() | WALKERS ARE WELCOME Ross-on-Wye Herefordshire | ||
![]() | |||
| Latest News Click Here to find about the 2013 Ross-on-Wye Walking Festival Click Here to read all about the 2012 Annual Conference held in Ross-on-Wye. | ||||||
| CLICK BELOW TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT | ||||||
| Home | Ross Walking Festival | Local Walks | Latest News | |||
| Our Current Sponsors | Where to Stay and What to Do | Walkers Are Welcome | Local Walking Groups | |||
| Want To Know More About Sponsorship? | Ross-on-Wye Walking Festival Deals | Other Walking Events | ||||
| Click here to see details of the Ross-on-Wye Walking Festival | ||||||
2013 Dates for your Walking Diary -------------------------------------------------------------- Ross-on-Wye Walking Festival 27th to 29th September Organized by Walkers Are Welcome -------------------------------------------------------------- CLICK HERE for details of the planned walks and to book your place. -------------------------------------------------------------- 2013 Herefordshire Walking Festival Organized by Herefordshire Council. 15th to 23rd June For more information visit the Herefordshire Local Council Website or CLICK HERE | ||||||
| Click Here to return to the top of the page. | ||||||
| 2012 Annual Conference | ||||||
|
The sixth
Annual National Conference of the Walkers Are Welcome Towns Network was held in
Ross over the weekend of 20th and 21st October and can
only be described as a triumph for the local organising committee, the
Larruperz Centre and for Ross. The weekend
began with a programme of short walks in the local are. Local leaders took
visitors up onto Coppett Hill, along the river to Backney and around the John
Kyrle Walk. The weather was superb and the visiting walkers really enjoyed the
super Herefordshire countryside. On Saturday
evening 29 diners sat down to a truly excellent meal at the Eagle Inn where
Maria and her staff provided beautifully cooked, simple food that tasted great
and was piping hot. This was a really good start to the main event on Sunday. The conference “proper” took place at the Larruperz Centre on Sunday 21st October and the team of local volunteers was up early erecting banners and other informative material ready for the Delegates who began to arrive at about 9-00am. Brian our MC for the day Delegates listening attentively
Kate addressing the conference Sam presenting Andrew with his cider
David running leading Worksop two.
Running Workshop one There then
followed a major turn around during which Delegates moved to Workshops 3 and 4. The IT man does his magic!
Sam discussing where next?
Pat and Sharon preparing lunch
But eating and talking had to give way and MC, Brian, then called for everyone to return to the Main Hall for the afternoon session. This started with a presentation by James Turner, from an organization called “Hidden Britain”. Hidden Britain is a charity that specializes in helping less-known communities market themselves in order to encourage tourists in. This aim is much the same as Walkers are Welcome. James giving his lecture Kate with her cider and the new Chairman Nigel
The final open session of the day looked to the future of the organization. With a membership that is now very close to 100 towns and villages across the whole of England, Scotland and Wales, there is an urgent need for funding to provide additional administration support. There were a number of suggestions on where such support could be found. The old and new committee pose for a photo The last event
of the day was a summary by outgoing Chairman, Kate Ashbrook. She concluded by
saying that it had been the best planned, organized and run conference ever and
the Ross Committee should be proud of what they had achieved. At the end of a very long day the Ross Committee reflected on the event and concluded that the event had been such a huge success because of the enormous amount of detailed planning; the support of the local volunteers who worked tirelessly all day to make sure the Delegates were fully informed of what was happening; the excellent venue in the Larruperz Centre and the work of the small team of “Clock Watchers” who ensured that each element of the day ran to time. Our MC, Brian Jackson, smoothed things along as he linked each element of the day with anecdotes, witty remarks and even poetry. At the very end he read part of William Wordsworth's poem “Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey”. One person was reported to have had a large lump in their throat as he referred to the “Sylvan Wye”, our river. Local sponsors also contributed to making the day a success. The Garden Store generously donated plants that decorated the stage and Ross Cider and Perry Company donated presentation cases of cider and perry to Andrew Blake, James Turner and Kate Ashbrook. Some of our sponsors Over the past
three weeks the Ross Walkers are Welcome group has really lived up to its aim
of bringing visitors and revenue into Ross and district. At the end of
September the Walking Festival brought visitors from the USA, Australia, New
Zealand and Japan as well as all parts of the UK. In early October they brought
a group of 50 walkers from Buckinghamshire to Ross for 4 nights accommodation
and three days walking and, now, the Conference; truly a triumph. Ross is quite
good at running itself down. We should stop doing this as events such as this
conference demonstrate, clearly, that when the people of Ross set their minds
to doing something they can do it very well. Typical of the number of
heartwarming complimentary comments about every aspect of this event and the
town is as follows; “We thought it was the best one we've been to, we found it well organised and so friendly. Well done, it will be a hard act to follow” A representative from Swaffham, Norfolk, telling the attendees about next year's annual conference | ||||||
| Click Here to return to the top of the page. | ||||||