For many people living in towns and cities, walking offered a welcome relief from a polluted environment and the stress of daily life in urban areas.

[3] On 24 April 1932, the Communist-inspired British Workers' Sports Federation, frustrated at the lack of resolve of the newly formed Ramblers, staged a mass trespass of Kinder Scout, the highest point in the Peak District.

[5] From 1948 onwards its secretary was Tom Stephenson, who was a leading campaigner for open-country access and for the first British long-distance footpath, the Pennine Way.

[3] Labour politician Hugh Dalton, an avid outdoorsman, served a term as president of the Ramblers' Association.

The Ramblers believes that walking can have a positive impact on people's lives, and that rambling in the countryside and in urban places is a right and that it benefits everyone.

It also argues that Britain's network of public paths is an invaluable part of its national heritage and that the relevant authorities have a duty to invest in them.

[8] The Ramblers is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered with the Charity Commission in England and Wales and with OSCR in Scotland.

This has helped maintain the Pennine Way, the Pilgrims' Way, the Saxon Shore Way, Offa's Dyke, The Ridgeway and many others routes, as well as innumerable shorter paths.

A notable case involved Nicholas Van Hoogstraten, the millionaire property tycoon, who has had a long-standing dislike of and dispute with Ramblers.

In 1992 Hoogstraten erected a barn, a gate, barbed wire fence, and a refrigeration unit across a footpath on his country estate in East Sussex.

[27][28] The results found 56% of footpaths were well-kept and signposted, 35% were in need of improvement and 9% were difficult or impossible to use with 46,000 photos taken of these issues.

[29] The Countryside and Rights of Way Act introduced a limit for all unrecorded footpaths and bridleways created before 1949 to be recorded before 1 January 2026.

This includes green and walkable urban neighbourhoods, well-maintained and well-connected public access, signage to help people navigate through the landscape, and a rich natural environment for everyone to enjoy.

The Ramblers is a part of the Walking and Cycling Alliance with a shared vision that enables collaborative campaigning across the sector.

Consideration is given to the difficulty of the course and the terrain, whether stiles, steep hills, and busy roads are to be crossed, and the number of members who may be expected to take part.