Our Story: 80 Years of Walking the World

FOn 28 March 1946, Ramblers Association Services was founded at 20 Buckingham Street, just off the Strand in London, in a room shared with the formidable ladies of the Married Women's Association. Ernest Welsman and his field man Noel Vincent set about building something remarkable: the first affordable, accessible adventure walking holidays in the world.

Ernest, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and author of travel guides to Greece, Austria and Yugoslavia, had walked extensively across Europe and North Africa. Vincent spent his early days based in Paris, meeting groups off trains and reconnoitring new routes across a continent still emerging from war.

The programme grew quickly, and the spirit of adventure grew with it. A 28-day trek through the Norwegian and Swedish wilderness included nights in mountain huts and encounters with Sami families and their reindeer. A 1949 tour to Portugal warned: "you should be capable of entering trains by the window." Another brochure observed that "much of the fun of going abroad is lost if you try to take Britain with you."

By 1951, 4,000 clients were travelling with us each year. Eighty leaders gathered for the second annual Leaders Conference, and a new Individual Holidays programme was launched, offering all-inclusive stays at inspected hotels across Europe. It was, in effect, the birth of self-guided walking.

We leased Hassness House on the shore of Buttermere in the Lake District, a beautiful and often wild base for walking adventures in the high fells. It would remain part of our story for more than six decades.

Welsman and Vincent's ingenuity was in full flow. The programme introduced Sketching Tours in Provence, pony trekking through the Austrian Tyrol, flower-lovers' photography holidays in the Dolomites, railway enthusiast tours of Switzerland and, briefly and brilliantly, scuba diving lessons off the Costa Brava. Between 1957 and 1958, the programme doubled in size. A fortnight in Austria and Switzerland cost 36 guineas. Regional departures from Manchester appeared for the first time.

The walking holiday company was registered as its own entity: Ramblers Holidays Limited. A cleaner identity for one of Britain's most experienced walking holiday operators.

The company's first website launched, opening a much-loved programme to a new generation of walkers. By the turn of the millennium, we were licensed to carry more than 17,000 passengers a year.

In partnership with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, we launched Cruise & Walk, combining guided walking at every port of call with the freedom of a small ship. Destinations ranged from the Norwegian fjords and Svalbard's polar wilderness (where local guides carried rifles to discourage polar bears) to South Africa, the Amazon and the Indian Ocean. Two departures in year one. A full programme today.

Explore the world gently. The Adagio brand launched with 14 European holidays blending gentle walking, culture and quality accommodation. A natural evolution from those early Grade E sightseeing tours. It was a winner from day one and remains a bestseller.

After a period of careful review, we rebranded as Ramble Worldwide in November 2023. Four Collections, one brochure: Classic, Discover, Adagio and Self-Guided. Something for every walker, at every pace.

Eighty years to the day since Ernest and Vincent sat down in that cramped London office and started planning holidays into the unknown. Eighty years of extraordinary walks, remarkable leaders and travellers who believed, as we always have, that the world is more beautiful on foot.

Here's to the next 80 years, and every mile in between.