Walking guide has 'no plans to stop' after 60 years
Ron WoodWhen Ron Wood first took a group of walkers into the hills and mountains near his home, Harold Wilson was prime minister, the average house price was £2,000 and England's men were about to win the World Cup.
Since then the 78-year-old volunteer has led "hundreds and hundreds" of walks in the Lake District National Park but says he has "no plans to stop".
It all began when Kendal-born Wood was playing with some friends and throwing stones and a warden from the Park came over to have a word.
"I thought to myself that sounds like a grand thing to do, so three weeks from my eighteenth birthday I volunteered."
At the time the Lake District National Park, England's largest, had only held that status for 15 years having been designated in May 1951, following the Peak District and alongside Eryri and Dartmoor.
LDNPA"We were quite independent from the park then, the wardens just organised themselves," Wood said.
"We got mileage of six old pence a mile and insurance, but that's about it."
During his 60 years as a volunteer walking guide, Wood has seen the park become "much busier" with approximately 18 million visitors each year, which can be "very challenging".
"There's plenty of space for people but too many people bring their cars," he said.
To mark its 75th birthday, the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) will be running more than 80 volunteer-led walks between May and August, with Wood among the guides.
"I just enjoy giving people all the information about the Lake District I hold in my head, I just wish I could give it to more people," he said.
"I think you just have to look at the National Park to see what makes it so special, it's just a beautiful place to be," he added.
