National Trails eNewsletter

Newsletter August 2009 enews July 2009

Fridaythorpe, Yorkshire Wolds Way © Natural England

In this issue:

Hello Trail users,

I hope you have been making the most of the long summer days to explore the countryside. For me it is a real treat to be able to go out for a 3 or 4 mile walk after work and not have to wait until the weekend. The funny thing is I usually seem to have the place to myself, so I'm obviously missing something gripping on TV! To be honest though, some evenings it has been like taking part in Springwatch.

On one particularly beautiful summer evening I was walking the Cotswold Way near Stanway and I saw a deer, a fox and a badger all within the space of about half an hour. There were wild flowers in profusion and green woodpeckers and buzzards flying overhead. I know I am lucky to live in the Cotswolds, but there are green spaces close to where everyone lives and it is surprising what you can see just strolling through the local park or along by the canal. So go on, leave the TV switched off this evening and instead go out and explore your neighbourhood. You will be surprised what's out there and the quiet of the evening is often the best time to spot shy nocturnal animals.

In every edition of the Newsletter we feature a different National Trail and this time it is the turn of Glyndŵr's Way. Helen Tatchell, the Glyndŵr's Way National Trail Officer has provided an insight into the hard work that is carried out on all the National Trails by volunteers. I am always amazed at the range of skills the volunteers possess and the way they are willing to turn out in all weathers and cheerfully get the job done. Without volunteer help it would be difficult to keep the Trails in the best condition with the limited budget we have. Of course, with the threat of government cuts looming, the help of volunteers may become even more important in the future.  

We are still noticing an increase in the number of people requesting information about National Trails this year and speaking to contacts in other 'walking / countryside' organisations, this seems to be the trend everywhere. The interest is not only from the UK, but from overseas as well, especially the USA, Canada and Europe.

Recently I promoted the Long Distance Walkers Association scheme to award Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum certificates to walkers who had completed, 5, 10, 15 and all 18 National Trails in England, Wales and Scotland. Hats off to Alan Castle who is the first person to register for the Platinum award. He started his National Trail walks in 1979 by completing the South Downs Way and notched up his 18th Trail 30 years later by completing the Speyside Way in May 2009. Well done Alan. Now I am interested to find out who has completed them all in the quickest time, so if you can beat Alan, get your achievement registered!

On a more serious note, there have been a few incidents in the news this year involving cows and walkers. Please take great care in the vicinity of all farm animals, even the most placid looking can become aggressive if they feel threatened. Most animals are particularly nervous around dogs, so the advice to dog owners is to stay clear of fields where there are animals, especially cows with calves, if possible. Of course, this isn't always possible, so if there is no other way round, keep your dog on a short lead and as much out of view as possible (keep it tucked in behind your legs). If cows get too close or charge at you, it is best to put your safety first by letting go of the dog and allowing the cows to chase it. You should make for safety then call the dog, most dogs can easily out-run a cow and will return unharmed. 

It is good to hear that some ugly power lines are to be removed from a site within view of the South Downs Way in the vicinity of Upper Beeding. EDF Energy networks is investing almost half a million pounds in the scheme to replace the overhead power lines with underground cables. The corridor that the National Trails pass through is as important as the Trail itself, so this is welcome news.

The Pembrokeshire Coast Path has been more like Hollywood this year, with filming taking part for 3 new blockbusters. First it was Harry Potter, then Robin Hood at Freshwater West beach. Later they started filming Round Ireland with a Fridge in the north of the county. Although there was some disruption to traffic, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path remained open, locals and visitors enjoyed looking at the film sets and local businesses enjoyed the influx of film crews and stars who contributed to the local economy.

There seems to be even more fund raising events than ever taking place on the National Trails this year. While most of the time this isn't too much of a problem, there are occasions when events clash or the time of year chosen is unsuitable for one reason or another. If you are hoping to organise an event on a National Trail please get in touch with the Trail Officer first to discuss your plans. They will be able to offer help and advice to ensure it goes ahead without any hitches. It is also a good idea to visit the Best of Both Worlds website where there are some good tips on managing events without damaging the natural environment.

Well that's all from me for now, I'll hand you over to Helen Tatchell for some news from mid Wales.  I apologise for the lack of photographs at the moment, there is a technical hitch that we are working on.

Sheila Talbot

News from Glyndŵr's Way

It's now almost four years since I moved to Wales to take up the position of National Trail Officer for Glyndŵr's Way. My first walk along the Trail showed that it still needed some essential bridges and boardwalks installed if users were not to get very wet feet in some places. It is lucky then, that I have a fantastic resource available to me - the Powys County Council Countryside Volunteers. The team is led by Volunteer Coordinator Phil Stallard who works with groups of volunteers around Powys on different days of the week on all kinds of projects.

The volunteers carry out very high quality works which range from the installation of a pedestrian gate to the building of 12 metre bridges. I often ask them to do works in areas that are hard to access and which would be both difficult and costly for a contractor to take on. Another advantage of getting the volunteers to work for me is that I can have a day out with them, but I do have to provide some very good cake in return.

I asked the volunteers to help me build a bridleway bridge over a stream on Glyndŵr's Way far up above the Clywedog Reservoir. Our first problem was getting the materials, including the four large bridge beams to the site which is a kilometre and a half from the nearest road.  Before we could go ahead some initial surface and drainage work had to be done by a contractor with a digger to improve the very boggy track and then the landowner took all our materials to the stream on his tractor and trailer. It wasn't possible to drive our fully loaded Landrover over the wet fields so we had to approach through the adjacent forestry and walk all our tools down the hill before we could start work.

The first job was to dig in a bridge bearer on each side of the stream to give us a good stable surface to fix the main beams to. Then the beams went across and were all tied together with steel rods. After that we bolted on the handrail supports and nailed on the decking and the structure really started to look like a bridge. Next came the handrails, finishing the approaches to the bridge and generally tidying up.

We took two days to complete the bridge but it was well worth it. Walkers and riders no longer have to wade the stream and the landowner likes it too as he can get his quad bike over it. As for me, it saves my budget as I only have to buy the materials and the cake!

The volunteers have now completed many projects for me but I still have a few up my sleeve for this year and the next so I am going to have to make sure there is still a goodly sum in the cake budget!

Helen Tatchell, National Trail Officer, Glyndŵr's Way

 

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