Lover of the great outdoors, John Toland, enjoys a challenge.

Be it walking 25 kilometres in 10 hours over tough, mountainous terrain and with a total ascent of 2,336 metres (the Maamturks Challenge in County Galway), or leading 20 walkers across the Lake District’s famous ‘Striding Edge’, he is usually found outside “enjoying exercise outdoors.” Originally from Donegal and now living in Belturbet – working for Cavan-Monaghan LEADER project – John is the current Chairman of Fermanagh Ramblers.

For 23 years, Fermanagh Ramblers has traversed the mountains, hills, cliffs, forests and open country of the UK and Ireland. John intends to continue that tradition and wants to see new members, aged 18 plus, joining the group.

“We have our AGM in the Belmore Court on Tuesday, March 10 at 8pm and we are inviting anyone who is interested to come along and find out more about our walking and hiking club,” John states.

Active on twitter, John believes that social media is a great way to attract the attention of potential members from the younger generation. Using the twitter handle @Framblers, he regularly tweets photos of the stunning landscapes that the members witness on their treks.

He recently retweeted research by the University of East Anglia which shows that the risk of stroke, coronary heart disease, depression and other life-threatening conditions can be reduced through regular outdoor walking in groups.

As well as keeping you healthy, John cites the benefits of walking and hiking with a club as: “Going on regular walks; choosing from graded walks to suit all abilities; exercising in the outdoors; exploring new routes and scenic locations; having opportunities to develop your mountaineering skills and enjoying the comradeship of fellow walkers and walk leaders.” “There are three grades of walks to choose from: grade one is a two-to-three hour forest or beach walk; grade two is a minimum four hour walk involving some open mountain and with no marked trails; and grade three is minimum six hours on the open mountain,” John explains. “Culcaigh would be Fermanagh’s only grade three walk so we often go to Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim.” With 90 members, the group also has 10 leaders, who are all trained in Rescue Emergency Care (REC) grade two. “There are opportunities for members to improve their navigation skills or first aid,” John points out.

An annual trip is a feature enjoyed by members. “In May we are off for a walking weekend in the splendid mountains of Achill Island; imagine views on the ridge of Slievemore,” John states. Recent trips have included the Lake District and Brandon, County Kerry. Every November, they walk the Mourne mountains.

Asked to describe the attraction of walking for younger members, John replies: “Most of the grade threes are strenuous and are in scenic locations. There’s a certain element of risk which gets the adrenaline pumping. For example, Striding Edge in the Lake District involved some scrambling and hands on the rock; it’s a feat to get 20-odd people over it and there were some tears, but we all got there.” Fermanagh Ramblers includes marathon runners, who, John points out “will find a big walk difficult because they’re just not used to it.” “Quite a few members have done Kilimanjaro and would have used the club as a way of building strength and skills,” John adds.

The group works closely with Fermanagh District Council, advising it on matters such as installing the Cuilcagh boardwalk and helping out with guiding various walking festivals, such as the up-coming Fermanagh Walking Festival on March 14.

The check the group out on twitter, follow @Framblers, or for information, email secretary@fermanaghramblers.co.uk