Eight MPs and two Lords recently joined Chris Bonington on his favourite walk over Bannerdale and Blencathra in the Lake District to highlight the benefits of hill walking and to find out more about the BMC.
The walk, organised by the BMC, followed the establishment of the new All Party Parliamentary Group on Mountaineering (APPG). David Davis, Lord Greaves, Lilian Greenwood, Nia Griffith, Lord Haworth, Denis MacShane, John Mann, David Rutley and Derek Twigg were also joined by BMC CEO Dave Turnbull, access volunteer Henry Folkard, and Paul Exley and John Barrett from the Fell & Rock Climbing Club.
The new APPG, formally established earlier this year by MPs John Mann and David Rutley, is a group of 20+ Parliamentarians, all keen walkers, climbers or mountaineers. The Blencathra walk was a chance for them to find out more about the work of the BMC and discuss current hot topics such as coastal access, the Red Tape Challenge and forestry land.
“It was an great day out. Despite the wet and windy weather there was strong turnout of MPs and Peers with 4 new faces we hadn’t met before. The day provided an opportunity to raise awareness about the BMC and seek support for a list of issues, including the extension of coastal access and the possible inclusion of climbing in the 2020 Olympics. The MPs were a fit bunch which just goes to show the health benefits of hill walking as all who took part were keen walkers. All in all it was a really good first outdoors event for the new APPG and this bodes well for future relations.” said Dave Turnbull.
To read an account of the day by Denis MacShane MP click here.
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