Outdoor Partnerships Autumn Newsletter

Shropshire Council banner logo

Shaping your outdoors

Shropshire Outdoor Partnerships Newsletter

Autumn 2014

Snailbeach buildings

The Snailbeach Lead Mine Project 2014

A project to restore and consolidate many of the buildings at Snailbeach Lead Mine will be commencing soon! Works on the mine buildings at Snailbeach are due to start at the beginning of September and continue through to December.

In 2013 Shropshire Council was successful in securing Higher Level Stewardship funding from Natural England to restore a series of buildings at Snailbeach Lead Mine.

The site is of national historic importance as it contains the most complete set of lead mine buildings in the UK. It is also protected as a scheduled ancient monument and many of the buildings are listed.

The funds will allow us to repair ten historic buildings to make them safe and accessible to the public. Unfortunately the work taking place will restrict access to some of the buildings and parts of the site but we will keep this disruption to a minimum.

There may be contractors’ vehicles in the area and parked on part of the dressing floor; we will endeavour to cause as little disruption as we can to local residents and traffic.

Find out more about Snailbeach Countryside Site

=============
Snailbeach

Volunteer led guided walks at Nesscliffe

On a warm sunny day in August 17 visitors were treated to a guided walk around Nesscliffe Hill.

There were two guided walks, each of approximately one and a half hours, which were led by members of the Nesscliffe Volunteer Group. Visitors were shown around the Hill and taken to areas where the Volunteer Group has worked over the last 20 years. There was information about the history, wildlife and habitats of the hill and explanations of the work the volunteers undertake and why.

Many of the areas on the guided walk have changed dramatically over twenty years with major improvements to the wildlife value of the site and better access and recreation opportunities for the public. Most recently some WWII trenches, dug by an artillery unit, were discovered during work carried out by the group.

Normally the Nesscliffe Volunteers would be carrying out practical work on the hill ranging from clearing rhododendron (an invasive non-native plant) to planting trees in order to manage and protect the hill and it’s habitats for the future. The volunteers meet on the first Sunday of every month to carry out some practical work and are always ready to welcome new members.

The Nesscliffe Volunteers hope to carry out more guided walks next year so that visitors and local people can find out more about how the hill is looked after and hopefully to recruit more active volunteers!

This is part of a wider initiative to increase the number of volunteers who work on sites and rights of way. To find out more, please email us.

=============
Nordic walking at Severn Valley Country Park

Keep healthy and active at Severn Valley Country Park

Severn Valley Country Park is located in the South Shropshire village of Alveley near Bridgnorth and is set in 126 acres of woodland, meadows and wetlands.

2014 has seen an increase of new events and activities at the site. These have included new active events for children, monthly guided walks and Nordic walking.

Guided Walks

Our monthly guided walks start from the Visitor Centre and Tearoom and vary in length from 6 to 12 miles. We go on a different route every time and try to incorporate places of interest along the way such as country estates, churches, villages and historic industrial sites.

This year we have worked in partnership with the Severn Valley Railway and walked from the Country Park upstream to Bridgnorth, caught the train back to the Country Park Halt and similarly walked downstream to Bewdley and back. These have proved to be very popular and we are planning more for next year.

Our other monthly walks tend to be on a Thursday and these have proved very popular with over 20 people wanting to come.

Nordic Walking

A new way of keeping fit and healthy is our brand new programme of Nordic walking. Local instructor, Sally Orton, is kindly running a five week beginners programme here at Severn Valley and they have proved so popular that the first two sessions, which are still two weeks away, are fully booked! Nordic walking originated in Norway when skiers wanted to keep their fitness up in the summer months. The sessions are aimed at beginners, and involve learning the nordic walking technique while walking at a moderate pace. In addition there will be mobility exercises and faster paced walking to improve fitness. It is hoped that further sessions of Nordic walking will be arranged in the near future.

Find out more

For an up to date list of our walks and events for children please click here. If you see a walk or event that interests you please book early to avoid disappointment by phoning 01746 781 192. Why not visit our Facebook page (search for Severn Valley Country Park) and like us!

=============
Oswald's Trail

The launch of Oswald's Trail

Oswald’s Trail was designed by the Oswestry Group of the Ramblers to commemorate the fact that last year was the 40th Anniversary of the group’s formation. The trail is a 21km walking route around Oswestry using existing footpaths which have been improved and in some cases opened up after years of being unusable. Starting at the bus station the route goes along the east side of the town and then heads out into open countryside, taking in Llanforda, the Old Racecourse, Brogyntyn Park, and Oswestry Old Hill Fort. The route encompasses many of the sites of interest around Oswestry and links in with the recently opened Oswestry Loop of the Shropshire Way, the Offa’s Dyke path and the Wat’s Dyke path.

The project was funded by the Oswestry Group of the Ramblers from profits from its two published books of local walks, a grant from Ramblers Holidays Charitable Trust and a small grant from Shropshire Council. Shropshire Council has project managed the improvement work to the route.

The walk was launched on Saturday 6th September by the Right Honourable Owen Paterson MP who unveiled a map board at the Wilfred Owen Green in Oswestry, alongside Pat La-Garde, Vice Chair of Oswestry Ramblers and Barry Southwell, Chairman of the Ramblers Holidays Charitable Trust.

You can download the different walk sections by searching for 'Oswald's Trail' on the Shropshire Walking website.

=============
Simon Brown

Introducing our Outdoors Development Officers and their roles

Hello there,

My name is Simon Brown and I am a Shropshire Outdoors Development Officer working within the team based at Shirehall. My role is to set up active volunteering groups around the county with people who may engage in little physical activity or be more socially isolated and lacking in confidence. Typically, but not exclusively, I will be working with people who have mental health or learning difficulties and encouraging them to be more active in an oudoor environment.

The volunteering activities will primarily be around environmental conservation work and improving access for all. The main goals will be to support people to become more active, join in with others and enjoy themselves in an outdoors setting.

I don’t come from an environmental background but luckily for me, there are some very experienced people in the service who are kindly going to work with me to get some projects started on our sites. For around 16 years I’ve worked in mental health services for the NHS in London.

So, for the past three weeks I’ve travelled around Shropshire, said hello and introduced myself to colleagues from within the Council and other organisations we hope to work with. Everyone has been very encouraging and helpful. I’m now pulling all the ideas together and getting my plans on paper. It is such an amazing and beautiful place to be in I am determined to get my boots on the ground as soon as possible.

If you know anyone who might like to get involved or have contacts in relevant organisations, please let me know.

If you’d like to know a bit more you can email me or telephone me on 01743 255 055.

=============
P3 group

Supporting Parish Paths Partnership volunteers

Hi, my name is Helen Beresford and I am the other Outdoors Development Officer. My role is to promote the benefits of volunteering and increase the number of active volunteers throughout Shropshire in Parish Paths Partnership schemes and on Countryside Sites.

The Parish Paths Partnership (P3) has continued to go from strength to strength over the last 22 years and remain a vital part of our service delivery. The P3 initiative is a way for communities to set their local priorities and contribute to the upkeep and enhancement of their rights of way. At present there are 58 groups across the county and in the first quarter of this year they have already achieved an incredible 1,729 hours of volunteering. The work ranges from small scale clearance of vegetation around stiles or gates to heavy clearance of full paths and installation and repair of countryside furniture. 

Some of the larger projects successfully completed this year have been surface improvements, gate installation and vegetation clearance along the Severn Way in Shrewsbury; and reinstating a large length of the Shropshire Way at Darnford by the Shrewsbury Ramblers P3 in partnership with the Probation Trust. Without the continued commitment of our dedicated P3 volunteers easy access to Shropshire’s countryside and greenspaces would be significantly reduced limiting the opportunities for Shropshire's rights of way to be enjoyed by all.

If you are interested in any aspect of volunteering with Outdoor Partnerships please contact Helen Beresford on 01743 255 957 or by email.

=============
Gate

Eardington Parish Gets Gated!

The Rights of Way team has succeeded in creating a haven for gated access in the parish of Eardington alongside the River Severn in South Shropshire. Tim Simmons (South East Shropshire Area Officer) has negotiated the removal of 43 stiles and their replacement with pedestrian or kissing gates with the help of local landowners. To date 34 have been replaced with a few left to do. This work is improving the accessibility of most of the paths in the parish which link in with the Severn Way and circular walks coming out of Bridgnorth. The routes also link in with the site at Eardington Quarry which the service has recently adopted with local volunteers.

This work has great local support and the Parish Paths Partnership group will maintain the new gates and ensure their continued ease of use by removing overgrowth. Already there has been a significant increase in the usage of local routes according to locals, with many more people out and about in the evenings taking advantage of the recent good weather.

It doesn’t end there. So far 20 stiles in disrepair have been earmarked for replacement with gates in the neighbouring parish of Chelmarsh, again with the support of landowners. This will link in with the work already done and also support the needs of the local Walking for Health group who are keen for more gated access to enable a wider choice of local walks.

=============
Walking for health

Walking for Health in Shropshire

Almost 550 people per week are striding out as part of the Walking for Health Schemes across Shropshire!

In England, half of all adults are not active enough to benefit their health. This means that they are at risk of developing serious illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The aim of Walking for Health is to get these sedentary people active, thus improving fitness and making people happier. In Shropshire, with the support of Public Health and the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, 48 different walks take place throughout the month from our market towns and some villages. This will be making a significant difference to the people of Shropshire.

Walking for Health is run nationally by the Ramblers and Macmillan Cancer Support. To find out if there is a walk close to you, visit the Walking for Health website.

=============
Fingerpost

Forthcoming public inquiries

The Mapping & Enforcement Team are responsible for ensuring the Definitive Map - the legal record of public rights of way - is up to date and accurate. Any changes to this map can only be made by a legal order which can result in a public inquiry being held if objections are received.

Pontesbury

As a result of an application by local people an order was made in August 2013 to add four unrecorded public footpaths to the map in the vicinity of Pontesford and Earl’s Hill. Two of these paths were subsequently confirmed and are now recorded on the definitive map. These are;

  • a path up the western flank of Earl’s Hill known locally as The Craft
  • an extension of the above, up to the summit of Earl’s Hill and south towards Habberley.

Objections have been made to the addition of two further paths;

  • from the car park, over Lower Camp, then up through forestry, following a line of larches to a stile at the edge of the woodland.
  • a path known locally as The Bulldozer Track, from the car park and along a forestry track around the western side of the hill

A public inquiry is to be held on 11 November at Pontesbury Public Hall commencing at 10.00am. An independent Inspector will hear the evidence from supporters and objectors and issue a decision on the matter at a later date.

Llanyblodwel

On 16th December 2014 a public inquiry will be held at Llanyblodwel and Porth y Waen Institute commencing at 10.00 am.

There are three issues to be considered by the Inspector;

  • A public footpath from Porth y Waen, along the driveway to Blodwel Hall and south to meet Footpath 29 Llanyblodwel.
  • A public footpath linking Footpath  25 Llanyblodwel at Rhyd -meredydd Bridge east  to a public footpath on the Powys Boundary in Carreghofa.
  • A public bridleway running from The Horseshoe Inn at Llanyblodwel to the A495 south of Rhyd-meredydd Bridge.

Please email us for more information.

=============

Contact us

If you would like to contact us about any of the articles in the newsletter, then please send us an email.

<<Back to top>>