Volunteers are being sought to help maintain the Yorkshire Coast's rural paths and bridleways.
As the largest and most rural county in England, North Yorkshire boasts a beautiful landscape with its footpaths, bridleways and views enjoyed by visitors from around the world. Maintaining those paths is a serious undertaking and is being supported by a team of over 100 volunteers across the county.
Arrietty Heath is Volunteer Co-ordinator for the Countryside Access Service.
Volunteers assist the service by inspecting issues that have been reported by the public – and they help out in a practical way with waymarking, surveys, and clearing vegetation from around stiles, gates, signposts and bridges.
As well as the volunteers, Arrietty says there are many groups across the county who also want to get involved, and in some cases are already taking a proactive approach to looking after their local paths.
There are 18 groups that have signed up including Parish Councils, the Rambling Association and Walkers are Welcome. The Probation Service has also signed up in the Scarborough area as part of the Community Payback scheme.
One group which has signed up for the "Path Keeper scheme" is the Ryedale Ramblers. Footpath Secretary Simon Lyle is fully supportive of the way volunteers are able to remedy issues in their local area.
“There is so much enthusiasm among the volunteers to play their part in maintaining the paths,”
“We are a small group in Ryedale and it’s mostly the older ones who get involved and they especially enjoy waymarking along the routes.
“We have seen an increase in issues reported to us over the last year or so and that’s where the volunteers come in to manage the workload. We look forward to working with the service in the future and love being part of the successful scheme.”
County Councillor Don Mackenzie, Executive Member for Access, said:
“Our dedicated volunteers play a huge part in maintaining our beautiful outdoor spaces. We receive over 2,000 reports every year regarding issues on the network, and volunteers have become an integral part in investigating and responding to these.
“The Path Keeper scheme is another great way to harness local enthusiasm and work in collaboration with the groups. Their work helps to keep our Rights of Way network accessible for residents and tourists alike to enjoy for years to come.”
More information about the scheme is available on the Country Side volunteers webpage at https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/countryside-volunteers
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