Back the Track - the McClean Way

Here is a very worthwhile project which is progressing in the West Midlands, the details of which have been sent to me by Bob Cooper who, many of you will remember, has worked with us on some of our workdays. It is a greenway which, when complete, will replace a stretch of National Route 5 which currently goes mostly over minor roads. It uses the track bed of an old railway line between Brownhills and Pelsall Common. A lot of work needs to be done to clear and drain the site, and this is already well advanced. The remarkable thing is that all the work which has been carried out so far has been achieved by volunteers, and materials and equipment have been bought from funding which has been won from successful bids made by the group. On one occasion, a JCB was used to do some clearing and earth moving; even this was paid for at a discounted price and the driver was a friend of one of the volunteers! 

When complete, this path will join with another greenway at Pelsall, a continuation of the same railway track bed, giving a traffic-free trail all the way from Brownhills to Walsall. I have ridden this path as part of the West Midlands Cycle Route from Derby to Birmingham and Oxford (NCR54/5) several times in the past, and can recommend it as a route which includes many types of surface and which passes through a range of landscapes. You will find a link to the Back the Track website in our list to the right of this post and there is a mass of detail about the project. Please could you also give a 'Like' to the project on its Facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/SupportBackTheTrack/?fref=ts . Thanks!

Workday on Route 680 with Groundwork

Maldwyn and I met with Marion Farrell of the environmental charity, Groundwork, at Harrison Way, Darley Dale on Monday. After giving us a few safety tips concerning saws, loppers and rakes, which she supplied, Marion showed us an area where recent tree shoots, nettles and brambles have already encroached onto the Matlock to Rowsley multi-user path which, readers will recall, is still less than 3 years old. Together, we cleared a 100-metre swathe of trail alongside Peak Rail's Rowsley South station car park. 

Marion also did some litter-picking. We look forward to returning to this section of path in the not too distant future, to clear some more vegetation, improve visibility and make the cycleway look tidier. In the meantime, it would be great if we can interest users of the trail in forming a local group which can continue this work. Look how the three silver birch trees stand out in the picture (right), after trimming back a number of small branches.

If you know of anyone who would like to take part in this sort of venture along this path (or any other trail in our area), please let me know and I will pass the information on to Marion. To remind you, my mobile is 07855 804451.