Our ethical initiatives
In the UK, through the Ramblers Holidays Charitable Trust, RWH Travels’ profits are channelled back into a variety of outdoor, walking-related or environmental conservation projects. The focus of the trust’s financial support is Britain’s leading walking charity, The Ramblers, and its role in promoting the benefits and importance of walking to the British public.
The Ramblers has achieved a huge amount over many years of campaigning for walkers’ access rights. We’re proud to have stood alongside them in this work and given many millions of pounds to assist with their valuable achievements. Our current support, to the value of £400,000, is focused on the Ramblers 'Don't Lose Your Way' campaign, the UK’s biggest ever footpath survey.
The trustees are also keenly aware of the trust’s objectives to help all people gain a greater knowledge, love and care of the countryside. In acknowledgement of this, the trust has recently expanded its grant allocation policy to include a small grants scheme.
Small grants made recently to support the footpath network in the UK include signage for heritage walks in the Vale of Snaith and footpath improvements along the Stour Valley Way near Gillingham, Dorset. Other grants awarded recently are funds to support a website for the Cotswold Way Association and woodland exploration weekends in Scotland.
We also offer direct financial support to walking groups through The Walking Partnership, which we created in 2011. Through this initiative, we channel funds to support the UK walking community and directly fund grassroots walking groups throughout the UK. The scheme quickly proved popular with local groups and provides a welcome income boost to support their work.
In order to aid our sustainable tourism ethos, we run a staff-managed initiative called Heart & Sole, which directly supports communities in the destinations we visit. For many years, our clients have made informal donations to places they visit with us. Now, through Heart & Sole, we hope to make more of a long-term, positive impact on these communities, particularly in less developed countries where even a small amount goes a long way. Heart & Sole offers direct financial aid and support to projects and charities in the UK and overseas. Some deal with large issues such as animal welfare, while others are smaller projects, such as providing school equipment to the communities we visit.
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