A local ramblers club is this week celebrating its centenary year with a party and commemorative walks.
The Liverpool’s Holiday Fellowship walking group, which was founded in 1915, draws members from Liverpool and Wirral and arranges walks for every weekend excluding bank holidays.
Carmel Dersch, membership secretary of Liverpool HF Ramblers, told JMU Journalism: “The club first started out in 1915 as an offshoot of the holiday fellowship.
“During that time many people were working in the terrible conditions of the mills. A local vicar came up with the idea of a holiday a year in walking locations such as the Lake District and it took off.”
The HF Ramblers run a moderate, local walk on a Saturday but their Sunday walks often take them further afield to places such as the Lake District, the Yorkshire Moors and North Wales.
A turning point in history for the Liverpool HF movement came in the 1930s. Carmel said: “At the time there was a lot of private-owned land which meant conflict between walkers and owners. A fight broke out on Kendall Hill, and walkers were arrested. This, however, inspired the Right to Roam agreement.”
This centenary year promises to be a big one for the Liverpool HF ramblers, as interest continues to grow and trips take the group even further. Memberships cost £6 a year and for members the coaches cost £13 on the day and £14 for non-members.
The ramblers have three distinct groups, ranging from strenuous to moderate and leisurely for all types of walkers.