The All-Party Parliamentary Mountaineering Group with Alan Hinks on the summit of Snowdon
Nia Griffith MP joined the All-Party Parliamentary Mountaineering Group walking up Snowdon together with mountaineer Alan Hinks, the first Brtion who has scaled all 14 of the world’s mountains over 8,000 metres. The walk was an opportunity for MPs to discuss a whole range of issues, such as coastal access, tourism, conservation and leadership training with staff from the British Mountaineering Council and Plas y Brenin Mountain training centre.
Nia Griffith MP said
“People of all ages can enjoy walking at a whole range of levels, and it is an excellent way of keeping healthy as well as enjoying the outdoors. With our climate, Wales will always have a better chance of attracting tourists who enjoy an active holiday, rather than those who just want hot sun, and so it is important for our economy that we promote the outdoors and deal with problems like access. I was very concerned to hear that cuts in local authority funding in England mean that not only are local authorities closing their own outdoor centres, but they are now finding it harder to fund teachers and youth leaders to attend courses at centres like Plas y Brenin. This has serious implications for the opportunities for young people to take up outdoor activities, and could mean a downturn in the numbers of tourists coming to enjoy our mountains and waterways in the future.”