Ramblers Worldwide Holidays celebrates 65 years
Ramblers Worldwide Holidays - a leader in guided walking holidays throughout the World - celebrates its 65th Anniversary in June this year.
Launched in the wake of the war in 1946, as the commercial arm of the Ramblers Association (with a modest £600!), Ramblers Worldwide Holidays is now one of the UK's most successful operators within its sphere, with a multi-million pound turnover.
The powerful 'partnership' with The Ramblers (formerly the Ramblers Association) has grown considerably over the decades and Ramblers Worldwide Holidays is proud of its official status as 'The recommended walking holiday provider of The Ramblers'.
Prime movers behind this success story were Alf Embleton and Ernest Welsman who launched the company in 1946 from a shared office with 'The Married Women's Association' at 20 Buckingham Street, London. Ramblers Worldwide Holidays is now headquartered in its own award-winning, converted watermill in leafy Lemsford, Hertfordshire.
The Company's first holiday programme was produced in 1947 and attracted 600 dedicated walkers. Early tours included, walking and canoeing in Denmark, Sweden, Lapland, the French Alps, Tunisia, Andorra, the Pyrenees, Corsica, Paris and the Ardennes. The company now has over 16,000 clients and operates to 250 destinations in 65 countries. Its current portfolio also includes, Ramblers Countrywide holidays, Ramblers Cruise & Walk in association with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines and Ramblers Family Adventures.
An early set of company accounts proclaimed, "The economic aspect is easy to summarise - steady growth, enormous success and, a strong financial position. The balance sheet is its own trumpeter !"
Ramblers Worldwide Holidays' Joint Managing Director Kathy Cook says, "Those pioneering days certainly created the bedrock for our success today - largely due to extremely loyal clients and the most exciting destinations throughout the World. We have also benefited greatly through our niche market with its growing emphasis on healthy outdoor pursuits, greater environmental awareness and the sheer pleasure of enjoying more of the world on foot !"
P.S. As one might expect the evolution of Ramblers Worldwide Holidays has spurned a plethora of anecdotes including this one from a tour leader in 1953.
"Mary X joined our tour with no tickets at all. I had some difficulty getting her to Paris without payment but the conductor on the train was busy and the boat so crowded that anything was possible. The long, overnight journey from Paris to Vallorbe was a different matter !
It was a sort of challenge and a game that helped pass the time. Mary was very small and we tried pushing her under the seat but she complained about heat from the pipes. So, we took down all the rucksacks from the luggage rack, put her up there and covered her in the replaced rucksacks to hide her from view. Fears that the conductor might comment on the precarious way the rucksacks bulged over the edge came to nought. His eyes didn't even glance upwards and, when he'd gone, down came Mary to my seat and now not having any seat at all I went back to the corridor."
For more information, visit: ramblersholidays.co.uk
