Hastings Old Town Photo Ramblers’ Association website
Hastings Old Town wins Ramblers Association vote!
HOT recently posted an article about the Ramblers Association search for Britain’s Best Walking Neighbourhood, ‘an urban area that is well designed for going about everyday life on foot’, urging you to vote for Hastings Old Town. And now we’ve learnt that Hastings Old Town has scooped the award. Well done to everyone who found the time to vote! Another well deserved accolade for our town. Zelly Restorick writes.
Hastings Old Town was one of ten areas to make the shortlist for Britain’s Best Walking Neighbourhood Award. Around 12,000 people voted – and the Old Town won with 21% of the vote.
“The streets of Hastings Old Town really were made for walking and several factors contribute to its win,” writes the Ramblers’ Association. “Developed before the advent of the car, it’s well designed for making short journeys on foot. The quaint streets are crisscrossed by narrow “twittens”, passages developed in Victorian times that today form charming pedestrian routes between the main streets.
“But new measures have also been implemented in efforts to prioritise pedestrians, including vehicle restrictions on some streets during certain times, installing and improving paving and widening footways, making the town even easier to navigate on foot.
“The awards sparked real pride from residents, with many sharing their love for walking in the town. Old town resident, Dean Parker said: “I’ve walked in Snowdonia, the lakes, the Scottish Highlands and almost everywhere in between, hankering for these places daily. Yet since living in the Old Town I have no desire to leave. It doesn’t have the drama of the mountains, or the beauty of the northern countryside, but with the sea, the sharp steep steps up into the country park and the wonderful views, I have all I need to fulfil my days.”
“We launched the award to celebrate areas that put pedestrians first and hope the awards will encourage more local authorities to think about how they could make small changes in design to improve walkability, to help improve the health and wellbeing of residents.”
Previous HOT article: Vote Hastings for ramblers’ prize.
Ramblers’ Association website.
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2 Comments
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Great news!
Comment by Ms.Doubtfire — Monday, Mar 19, 2018 @ 20:14
For the last few weeks Stocksbridge has been on the shortlist for the inaugural Ramblers Best Neighbourhood Walking Area Award. After making the shortlist, the football equivalent of SPS reaching the third round of the FA Cup, we were part of an online vote for the winner
We didn’t win, but we did make a major impact. Reaching the final ten has brought publicity: following from the TdF and the TdY for cycling, Stocksbridge is now firmly on the nationwide walking map.
In the vote, Hastings Old Town got 21% of the votes, Stocksbridge was a close second with 19.5%.
Thank you to all who voted.
Stocksbridge Walkers are Welcome
Comment by Dave Pickersgill — Monday, Mar 19, 2018 @ 14:46