Six volunteers cleared 300 yards of a footpath to the north of Withington. This was a challenging task as the route runs up a steep slope and then along a narrow path with a significant drop hidden in the undergrowth on one side. We cleared undergrowth, nettles, brambles and long grass, cut back small trees and moved stones off the path.
Additionally, there is a history behind this work. Back in 2017 a member of the Footpath Committee came across this very difficult path, running through a short wood on a very steep bank, at one point a rope had been provided to assist walkers at the top of a precipitous and slippery slope.
The line of the path was unclear so meetings had to be arranged, firstly with a PROW Officer and then with the landowner. This all took more than two years and we were primed to start work at the end of 2019. However this had to be postponed at the request of the landowner as it coincided with the shooting season. For the past eighteen months we were restricted by coronavirus so I was very pleased that we have finally cleared the path and created an easier route for walkers.
Apart from the actual clearance this task included five site visits, two meetings with the landowner plus multiple email and phone calls. In all this has taken more than 50 hours of volunteer time.
