Long Distance Walkers Association

The Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) is a British not for profit, volunteer-led association whose aim is "to further the common interests of those who enjoy long distance walking".[3] The LDWA is an association of people with the common interest of walking long distances in rural, urban, mountainous, coastal or moorland areas.[4] The LDWA is recognised as the sports governing body for the discipline of "long distance walking" in England,[5] Wales[6] and Scotland.[7]

Long Distance Walkers Association
Founded1972 (1972)[1]
FounderChris Steer, Alan and Barbara Blatchford
TypeNot for profit, volunteer-led organisation
FocusLong distance walking
Area served
England, Wales and Scotland
Members
10,000+[2]
Chairperson
Julie Cribb
Websitewww.ldwa.org.uk

Activities
A walk around Farnham

The LDWA has over 40 local groups[8] which organise walks for their members, and publishes a journal Strider three times a year.[9]

Walks fall into two categories:

  1. Social walks (also referred to as group walks) are normally led walks of anything up to 30 miles in length and recorded on the social walk database available to members.[8]
  2. Challenge events are normally between 20 and 100 miles, self-led (participants navigate the route based on written instructions) and must generally be completed within a defined time limit. Challenge events are marshalled: participants must call in at clipper points or checkpoints to get a tally card punched to show they are following the route.[10]

The annual "Hundred" event,[11] is the LDWA's flagship event. Held every year in a different part of the country, to coincide with the late May bank holiday, up to 500 people gather to walk 100 miles in 48 hours. In order to enter all these people will have completed a qualifying event beforehand. The first 100-mile event held was the Downsman 100 in 1973. There have been two years without a hundred-mile event: 2001 when foot and mouth closed the countryside, and 2020 when COVID-19 prevented the event taking place. COVID-19 also affected the 2021 event which was run as the Sir Fynwy virtual 100.[2][12]

The LDWA has the most comprehensive database on long-distance paths is the UK.[13] Access is available to members and non-members alike, with members receiving additional benefits for example unlimited downloadable GPX files of routes.[14]

See also

References
The Devil's Staircase on the West Highland Way
  1. "The Story So Far 1972-2019: A collection of facts and figures relating to the LDWA's history" (PDF). ldwa.org.uk. Long Distance Walkers Association. 15 March 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  2. "2021 AGM Reports" (PDF). ldwa.org.uk. Long Distance Walkers Association. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  3. "Articles of Association" (PDF). ldwa.org.uk. Long Distance Walkers Association. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  4. "Long Distance Walkers Association". ldwa.org.uk. Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  5. "National governing bodies - The recognition process - Sports and governing bodies that we recognise". sportengland.org. Sport England. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  6. "Recognition of sports and National Governing Bodies - Which sports and governing bodies do we currently recognise?". sport.wales. Sport Wales. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  7. "Recognition of governing bodies - Recognised governing bodies for Scotland and the UK". sportscotland.org.uk. Sport Scotland. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  8. "LDWA Local Groups". ldwa.org.uk. Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  9. "LDWA Publications". ldwa.org.uk. Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  10. "LDWA Challenge Events". ldwa.org.uk. Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  11. "Annual 100 mile Challenge". ldwa.org.uk. Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  12. "Y 100 Sir Fynwy - 29th to 31st May 2021". ldwa.org.uk. Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  13. Williams, Lesley (24 October 2020). "A list of the long-distance walks in the UK". cicerone.co.uk. Cicerone Press. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  14. "Long Distance Paths". ldwa.org.uk. Long Distance Walkers Association. Retrieved 21 September 2021.


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