![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Lucy-Wallace-800x600.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nShe will succeed countryside ranger Ben Dolphin as Ramblers Scotland\u2019s honorary figurehead, following the organisation\u2019s AGM in North Berwick this weekend. She follows in the footsteps of the late conservationist Dick Balharry, award-winning broadcaster Cameron McNeish and Dr Andrew Murray, who was the Scottish Government\u2019s first Physical Activity Champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lucy hopes to use her presidency to encourage even more people to appreciate Scotland\u2019s landscapes and world-class access rights – and to enjoy the health and social benefits of adventures on foot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lucy, who is 45 and lives on the Isle of Arran, said: \u201cIt will be a huge honour to become Ramblers Scotland\u2019s first female president, and I hope to be the first of many. So many women enjoy Scotland\u2019s outdoors, yet there is a distinct lack of female voices in prominent positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe number of people walking for fun is booming, and I want to use this role to encourage even more people to get outdoors and to build a stronger connection with the amazing natural environment we\u2019re so lucky to have on our doorsteps here in Scotland. I\u2019m also looking forward to meeting our members and joining them in the hills!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ramblers Scotland director Brendan Paddy was delighted to have Lucy on board but recognised the appointment of a female president was a \u201clong overdue\u201d step forward in the organisation\u2019s 35-year history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said: \u201cWe feel truly lucky to have Lucy on board. As a passionate advocate for the outdoors and a highly experienced mountain leader, she has introduced hundreds of people to the natural world, making her the ideal person to inspire even more people to enjoy our country on foot.
\u201cWomen have played a hugely-influential role in the history of Scottish outdoor pursuits, from pioneers like Jane Inglis Clark and Nan Shepherd, to more modern heroes like Muriel Gray, Heather Morning and Hazel Strachan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhile we are excited to welcome our first female president, we entirely recognise that this is a long overdue milestone, particularly as about two-thirds of Ramblers Scotland\u2019s members and more than half our volunteer walk leaders are female.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The voluntary position is elected on an annual basis, with presidents often serving for the maximum term of three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lucy Wallace grew up in southern England and initially trained as an archaeologist. She moved to Scotland in 2005 with her outdoor instructor husband Wally. She has previously worked at an outdoor centre on Arran and as RSPB Scotland\u2019s information officer for the island before setting up her own wildlife guiding and mountain leading business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well-known blogger and mountain leader Lucy Wallace will become the first woman president of Ramblers Scotland, the walking charity announced today. Lucy is a professional wildlife guide and outdoor instructor who holds the Winter, Summer and International Mountain Leader awards. She is an accredited Duke of Edinburgh\u2019s Award assessor, working with schools and young people on expeditions throughout Scotland. She will succeed countryside ranger Ben Dolphin as Ramblers Scotland\u2019s honorary figurehead, following the organisation\u2019s AGM in North Berwick this weekend. She follows in the footsteps of the late conservationist Dick Balharry, award-winning broadcaster Cameron McNeish and Dr Andrew Murray, who was the Scottish Government\u2019s…<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":20566,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine","category-walking-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20565"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20568,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20565\/revisions\/20568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}