Kington Walks Annual Report
Charity Commission Number: 1172022
Email: info@kingtonwalks.org Website: www.kingtonwalks.org.uk Period: 1[st] November 2023 to 31[st] October 2024
Charity Trustees:
| Charity Trustees: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Trustee Name | Ofce | Dates |
| Ms Sarah Lee | Fullperiod | |
| Mr. Adrian Wilcox | Fullperiod | |
| Mr Paul Finch | Full Period | |
Management
This was the organisation’s eighth period as a charity where we continued to build a sustainable volunteer community and establish a base of funds to enable us to pursue the objectives of the charity.
The overarching governance document of the charity is the “CONSTITUTION OF A CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION WITH VOTING MEMBERS OTHER THAN ITS CHARITY TRUSTEES” that is an edited and approved version of the Charity Commission’s standard document. A copy of this is available on request. The Constitution defines most of our processes including the appointment and election of Trustees.
The day to day running of Kington Walks is managed by our Committee of Members that meets on at least a monthly basis and has the remit to manage most decision making within the terms of the Constitution. Decisions required outside those terms are referred back to the Trustees. In addition, one or more sub-committees manage specific activities or events e.g. our annual walking festival. These sub-committees report back to the main committee on a monthly basis and in effect are concerned with organisational matters with all decisions effecting the charity passed back for approval by the main Committee of Members. There are Terms of Reference for these Committees. The Committees have returned to meeting in person during this period, with some exceptions, where subcommittees have met virtually for purposes of convenience.
Kington Walks has no formal relationship with any related parties.
Our risk management system is focused on the risks associated with walking activities and are governed by a risk management system that requires completion by all walk leaders and includes a safeguarding policy.
Objectives
Kington Walks is a Charitable incorporated Organisation (CIO) with the following objectives:
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(1) to provide education on the benefits of walking on health and unity within a community;
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(2) to promote a healthy lifestyle by encouraging and enabling people to partake in regular walks as a form of exercise;
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(3) to advance the development of the community in Kington through organising and facilitating regular group walks in the area including but not limited to an annual walking festival; and
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(4) to promote the protection of the environment through use of sustainable methods of transport (such as buses and trains) to and from group walks
Primary Activities and Achievements for Period
The primary activity of Kington Walks to date has been the establishment and development of two annual Kington Walking Festivals, taking place in April and September. The festivals continue to be a major priority but with our now sustainable group of volunteers and base of funds our focus is turning to widening our walking activities and the promotion of healthy lifestyles within our local community and improving the local footpath network.
Kington Walks, a registered charity, comprises a group of charity trustees, a ‘Main Committee’ of volunteers that steers its work, and several groups of volunteers that either lead and back mark festival walks, lead and back mark Walking 4 health walks, carry out footpath maintenance or assist at activities and events, for example stewarding or staffing the pop-up walking festival office. Often individual volunteers are involved in more than one of these areas. The following report seeks to cover our main areas of activity as well as recognising and celebrating the contributions made over the year
Walking Festivals
Both spring and autumn walking festivals were well supported. In the Autumn Festival, 29 walks were offered and there were 300 bookings overall. In the Spring Festival there were 14 walks and 111 bookings.
A very popular Spring Festival quiz night was held in Kington at The Swan Hotel. Participants were a mix of local people and visitors brought to Kington by the walking festival. The Autumn Festival events comprised the Goulash Evening in the Kington Market Hall, catered by local butcher and deli, Fork and Chicken; Aberystwyth-based band The Hicksters performing at Kington’s Burton Hotel; a talk, ‘Another Man’s Shoes,’ by Ellie Somme and a map interpretation workshop by Kevin Walker. All were held at Kington venues and were
well attended by a mix of locals and visitors to the town, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback. As in 2023, the photography competition, inviting entries from both festivals, was very well supported, the winner receiving a jacket donated by Paramo.
Kington Walks continues to be very appreciative of the crucial contribution made by volunteer walk leaders. New walk leaders, from all walks of life, are welcomed and are offered training and support to undertake the role. In September 2024, a new travel expenses policy was introduced to reimburse walk leaders for travel expenses they may incur in planning, risk-assessing and leading their walks. Kington Walks was successful in applying for a grant from Kington Town Council to purchase first aid kits to issue to all walk leaders to carry during festival walks. Previously they were asked to supply their own kits. Kington Walks continues to review and seek to improve the ways in which walk leaders and backmarkers are supported and valued.
Website, Marketing and Sponsorship
The current Kington Walks website, launched early in 2023, has undergone further improvements in 2024 and is the means by which most walk and event bookings are made, with the Kington Tourist Information Centre and the Festival Office, which runs during the Autumn Festival, providing local in-person bookings.
The Walk Sponsorship Scheme has now run since September 2023 and is very well subscribed, mainly by local businesses. Walks are sponsored for a fee of £25.00, enabling Kington Walks to maintain the basic cost for a walk booking at £5.00. As well as supporting the festival financially, walk sponsorship strengthens local partnerships and gives sponsors the opportunity to publicise and get involved with their particular walk. The photography competition prize was sponsored by Paramo, and the Goulash Evening by Tarmac.
Marketing analysis based on information provided by online bookings for the Autumn 2024 Festival shows that festival-goers are reached via a range of communication and publicity, spread fairly evenly across word-of-mouth, Facebook, our emailed newsletter, and online listings, with 21% accounted for by ‘other’.
Footpaths
Kington Walks’ footpath work has developed considerably since it began in 2019. Its overall purpose is to promote and encourage walking locally, and so benefit health and wellbeing, in line with its charitable aims. Kington Walks seeks to do this by improving accessibility; addressing footpath and right of way problems; sharing information to celebrate, publicise and enable greater awareness of local walks. Accessibility is seen as not only a matter of addressing physical barriers, but also developing the confidence and knowledge that enable people to take part. Hence the footpath work is closely linked to other initiatives such as Walking for Health, the Free Walk at the start of each festival aimed at local people, and widely available information about local paths shared on the website, the Kington Town
Map, and via the Six Great Walks around Kington booklet, now available in mobile-friendly format.
In 2024 there were 9 footpath maintenance volunteers forming the Footpath Maintenance Team. In the course of the past year, the team installed 14 new metal kissing gates, repaired 12 damaged stiles and cleared over 20 miles of footpath undergrowth. Since 2022, when Kington Walks took on the role of Kington Footpaths Officer, the team has dealt with around 150 footpath issues.
The team covers Kington Town, Kington Rural, Titley Parish and, additionally from 2024, Huntington Parish. Kington Walks, in association with the Ramblers, has accepted responsibility for a third of the Mortimer Trail, running from Kington to Stansbach. The other two sections are covered by Ramblers groups from Mortimer Cross and Ludlow. The trail was re-opened in 2023 after several years of decline in relation to maintenance and signage. Work on the Kington Walks section of the trail has been ongoing in 2024 order to maintain the newly refurbished condition of the route.
Colour-coded way marker signs were obtained late in 2023 for the signposting of the Six Great Walks around Kington, as featured on the Kington Walks website, the Kington Town Map and the free booklet, in line with plans to promote further the Six Great Walks, and hence local walking. These have been installed in 2024 along all 30 miles of the six trails, all of which begin and end at the Town Map in the Place de Marines in Kington. Another initiative introduced this year is the Six Great Walks Challenge, a self-led challenge to complete all six walks, supported by clippers installed along the routes and a recording, reporting and certification system for those that complete it.
New Kington Walks stickers to attach to replaced and repaired gates, stiles and any other footpath furniture were obtained in autumn 2024. These feature the Kington Walks logo, a link to the website, and the information ‘Installed by volunteers from Kington Walks’. They will be in use by the Kington Walks Footpath Team in 2025.
Kington Walks has been fortunate over the last 3 years to receive grants from Kington Town Council for purchase of equipment to facilitate footpath maintenance. This has significantly improved and increased capacity to tackle most footpath issues. This in turn has resulted in a close working partnership with Hereford County Council Public Rights of Way (HCCPROW) Team, which has formally recognised that the Kington Walks footpath team’s ability is of a level that allows them to be provided by HCCPROW with the necessary structures for installation (stiles/kissing gates/signage).
As the Footpath Officer for Kington Town/Kington Rural, in 2024 Kington Walks prepared the applications for replacement kissing gates and self-closing gates linked to the Parish/Lengthsman scheme, which have been successful. Both councils have been granted around £1500 for the materials to be installed by the Kington Walks footpath team. This work, begun, in autumn 2024, is expected to carry on into 2025.
Walking for Health
The Kington Walking 4 health (W4h) scheme, set up and run by Kington Walks, has now been going for just over two years. It has been well supported by volunteer leaders and backmarkers, 10 in total, with more due to start in 2025. There are now 32 walkers plus the local Social Prescriber from Kington Medical centre and Occupational Therapist. As well as a weekly accessible walk on the Recreation Ground, there is a monthly social get-together for all involved held throughout 2024 at Kington’s Lion Café. CIC. Participants in W4h have given strong endorsement, describing in their feedback the benefits of the scheme to their overall wellbeing and social interaction, as well as to their physical health. The scheme is publicised locally and via Kington Medical Centre and is open to anyone who wishes to take part.
In addition to the weekly short walk on the Kington Recreation Ground, there is now a need for a regular longer walk for those in the W4h group who want to increase their level of challenge. The scheme takes a short break during the winter months, and returns in the spring of 2025, when it will offer two grades of walk, as above.
Kington Walks was fortunate enough to be selected as a chosen charity for our locality by the Co-Op community charity scheme, receiving a generous charitable grant of £4,583 in November 2023, specifically to support the W4h programme. This has been of great assistance in maintaining and expanding the scheme in 2024, for example to ensure safety through training, equipment and DBS checks, and funding the social events for participants.
First Kington Scouts
Kington Walks was fortunate to receive a donation from local author Andy Johnson and from Kingspan Insulation UK. The conditions were that the money should be used locally to encourage young people to walk in our beautiful open spaces, connected to an aspect of education.
These donations will fund equipment to be used by 1st Kington Scout Group during local expeditions and whilst undertaking their proficiency badges. It will include compasses, emergency survival shelters, head torches, OS maps and a set of two-way radios for the adult leaders. Also included is the hire of a minibus from Kington’s Lady Hawkins School to facilitate travel to locations identified by the Scout Group from November 2024 onwards.
The Scouts were very enthusiastic about the equipment to be donated to their group and were keen to explain how it would be used. One of the adult leaders, said, 'This is a great opportunity for our Scout Group to improve their map reading skills and to use the new equipment when undertaking hiking and overnight proficiency badge activities. We are very grateful to Kington Walks for this equipment and hope to team up with Kington Walks during the Walking Festivals'.
Thanks
Thanks go to all who contributed to Kington Walks activities in the year ending October 2024. Kington Walks continues to depend on the willingness of its volunteers and local supporters and is extremely grateful to all of them for their commitment and generosity.
Financial Review
The accounts are available on the Charity Commission website.
For the period of this report the top level financial figures were:
| Income | Expenditure | Surplus (defcits) for 2024 |
Surplus (defcits) overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15,340 | 8,819 | 6,521 | 25,006 |
The higher than usual surplus in 2024 is accounted for by ring-fenced grants and donations, in particular the Co-op grant of £4,583 and also the donations to fund the scouts’ expeditions, where the expenditure was undertaken from November 2024 onwards. Our policy is to maintain a reserve that covers the entire cost of our Annual Festival in case extreme weather conditions lead to us having to refund all walk related income. This is approximately £7,500.
Our principal sources of income are:
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Payment for walks at our walking festivals
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Sponsors
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Grants
Declaration
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees:
Sarah Lee, Chair of Trustees 21st August 2025
RECEIPT AND PAYMENT ACCOUNTS for the year ended 31st October 2024
AND
BALANCE SHEET as at 31st October 2024
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Kington Walks - Receipt and Payment Account for the year ended 31st October 2024
| RECEIPTS | 2023-24 |
|---|---|
| Spring Walks & Events (PayPal) | 1,606.20 |
| Spring Walks & Events (cash, cheques, card) | 98.00 |
| Autumn Walks & Events (PayPal) | 3,632.08 |
| Autumn Walks & Events (cash, cheques, card) | 1,059.30 |
| Sponsors (Casserole Evening & Walk Sponsors) | 875.00 |
| Kington Town Council Grants (Website & Mortimer Trail Board) |
360 |
| Donation from Co-Op | 4583.35 |
| Donation Kingspan for Scouts (ring fenced) | 500.00 |
| Donations | 700.00 |
| Community Shop | 1,357.00 |
| T Shirt Sales | 36.00 |
| Float repayments | 150.00 |
| Sundry Income | 0.00 |
| Savings Account Interest | 383.21 |
| Total Income | 15,340.14 |
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Kington Walks - Receipt and Payment Account for the year ended 31st October 2024
| PAYMENTS | 2023-24 |
|---|---|
| General Admin | 1,203.49 |
| Sundry Expenses | 627.74 |
| Floats (Festivals, Community Shop) | 170.00 |
| Promotion & Advertising (Spring Festival) | 123.90 |
| Promotion & Advertising (Autumn Festival) | 470.57 |
| Spring Walks 2023 Expenses | 624.06 |
| Autumn Walks 2023 Expenses (General) | 1,762.91 |
| Autumn Events 2023 Expenses (Meal) | 1090.82 |
| Autumn Events 2023 Expenses (Talk) | 176.00 |
| Autumn Events 2023 Expenses (Band) | 350.00 |
| Website Expenses | 546.45 |
| Footpath Maintenance | 317.97 |
| Walking for Health | 686.18 |
| Donations Given (Heartstart) | 150.00 |
| Donation to Scouts | 493.96 |
| Other Donations | 25.00 |
| Total Payments | 8819.05 |
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Kington Walks - Balance Sheet as at 31st October 2024
| For Financial Year 01/11/2023 to 31/10/2024 | For Financial Year 01/11/2023 to 31/10/2024 | For Financial Year 01/11/2023 to 31/10/2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Total Income | 15,340.14 | |
| Total Expenditure | 8,819.05 | |
| Surplus/(Defcit) of Receipts over Payments | 6,521.09 | |
| Carried over from last year | 18,485.25 | |
| TOTAL at year end | 25,006.34 | |
| Transferred to Savings Account | 6000.00 | |
| Portfolio consists of: | ||
| Bank Account | 8364.26 | |
| Savings Account | 16,642.08 | |
| TOTALS | 25,006.34 | |
| of which the following is ring-fenced | ||
| Andy Johnson Gift | 6.04 | |
| Kingspan (for Scouts) | 500.00 | |
| Co-op (for Walking for Health) | 3,897.17 |
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