GUISELEY resident, Mike Briers, has been elected as the new chair of Lower Wharfedale Ramblers, at their recent AGM.

Mike replaces Janet Williams and Lesley Hill who have served as co-chairs for the last three years.

Mike was born in Hinckley, Leicestershire, where his father was a keen member of the Ramblers. As a teenager, Mike walked the full length of the Pennine Way. Following university, Mike starting working at the Water Research Centre in Medmenham, Buckinghamshire. In 1990, he joined the National Rivers Authority, which later became part of the Environment Agency, in Leeds and moved to Guiseley.

Both his sons attended Guiseley School where his wife, Annelise, worked as a Special Needs Teaching Assistant. Having retired in 2023, Mike decided to “get serious" about walking again and joined LWR, his local Ramblers branch.

Mike said from his first walk with LWR he received a warm welcome and was delighted to now become the new chair.

"Over the last three years, Janet and Lesley, have done an excellent job leading the group through Covid, celebrating our 50th anniversary and adding new groups and social activities, designed to broaden our appeal," he said. "My aim is to build on this excellent legacy and successfully launch our next half-century. Offering six walks a week of varying lengths and challenge, LWR provides a walk for all levels of fitness and ability. Our members come from a wide range of backgrounds and the social interaction along the way is as important as the walks themselves.”

The Ramblers nationally have four strategic ambitions. One of these is improving barriers to the outdoors by improving the quality and provision of access to paths and rights of way, to enable more people to enjoy walking in nature. With his background in the water industry, Mike was asked if this gave him any particular skills to help achieve this ambition in the Wharfe valley.

Mike said: “What many people do not appreciate is the range of activities LWR undertake in the local community on behalf of all walkers. Our voluntary Footpath Officer regularly investigates problems reported to her regarding badly maintained and blocked footpaths, reporting these to the relevant local authority and pressing for resolution. Our voluntary Footpath Maintenance Team work with both North Yorkshire and Leeds City Council on footpath maintenance, stile repairs and gate replacements. Over the last few weeks we have worked in partnership with Burley Welcomes Walkers to install three new gates, designed to improve accessibility on the exciting new 200 acre Denton Reserve, which opens officially in January 2025.

“Working at the Environment Agency gave me extensive exposure to key issues such as flooding, water quality and bio-diversity, all of which are relevant locally. Working with our Footpath Officer and Footpath Maintenance Team, I hope to add some of this knowledge on the nature of relevant problems and the best approach to resolving them.”

For more information about walking with LWR, simply turn up for a walk or visit www.membership@lowerwharfedaleramblers.co.uk.

If you don’t want to walk but enjoy gardening, joinery or just getting your hands dirty, you can contact the footpath maintenance team at www.footpathmaintenance@lowerwharfedaleramblers.co.uk