Walking Champion Urges Residents To Join Her
A Rhondda Cynon Taf resident is walking tall after being selected to become an Ordnance Survey Champion 2017.
Keen walker Tracy Purnell, of Newtown, Mountain Ash, beat almost 500 hopefuls to help lead the Get Outside Challenge throughout the year.
She will be using her time to encourage residents in Rhondda Cynon Taf, and indeed the whole of the UK, to get out and about. She will be also be inviting the public to join her on local walks in a bid to improve their physical and mental well-being.
When not working, Tracy spends her spare time walking with her dogs Asher and Marley along the picturesque mountainside around the County Borough as well as much further afield.
Ordnance Survey Champion, Tracy Purnell, said: “This is a huge honour for me – I have a huge passion for walking the outdoors. I live to be outside, whatever the weather, whatever the terrain and no matter how I am feeling.
“Whether it is up a mountain, in the depths of a forest or walking around reservoirs and lakes with my two dogs Asher and Marley, I absolutely love the wonderful structures that are Ordnance Survey Triangulation Pillars.
“Hunting down these pillars has taken me to some beautiful places, places within miles of my home town that I didn’t even know existed.
“Over the next 12 months I hope to encourage and to inspire people to get outdoors more, to experience the beauty that surrounds us that most of us just take for granted.
“Getting outdoors is so good for us, not only physically but also mentally. It takes us away from the stresses of the fast-paced, technology-driven world we live in and gets us back to simplicity and nature to give our brains that much-needed rest.”
As a resident of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Tracy lives on the outskirts of the world-famous Brecon Beacons National Park and is a regular walker up Pen Y Fan and surrounding areas.
Tracy said she is delighted to be an Ordnance Survey Champion for 2017, working alongside fellow champion, TV presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle.
Her planned adventures for the year include Mam Tor in the Peak District, Ben Nevis in Scotland, and the three highest peaks in the Yorkshire Dales.
Mayor of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Cllr Rhys Lewis, said: “It is wonderful news that we have a walking champion who is doing all she can to promote walks all around the country.
“We need look no further than Rhondda Cynon Taf for some of the most spectacular walks in the UK. Breathtaking scenery and of course the famous Taff Trail, which is also part of the National Cycle Network, which runs from the outskirts of the Brecon Beacons National Park all the way down to Cardiff.
“Walking helps promote a healthy lifestyle and I am delighted that Tracy is our champion and I look forward to walking alongside her.”
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