Just before the freezing weather of ‘The Beast from the East’ struck, two teams from Shrewsbury P3 were tasked with installing steps through Goughs Coppice on the slope to Ragleth Hill, just south of Church Stretton. Luckily for this time of year the ground was relatively dry. This was just as well as the slope was long, steep and difficult to climb with armfuls of tools and wood. There were also roots and rock either on or just under the surface. This made for hard digging. Despite that, fifteen steps were dug out on the 21st February, twelve on the 26th and a further eight were installed on the 13th March.  The main task on the March date was to get the stone from the bottom of the stepps up to the newly installed steps at the top, this was a very challenging job and required all the manpower available to haul up wheelbarrows of stone.  We were all very tired by the end of each session, but despite icy winds and snow, we never got cold. There are still a few days work to be done to complete the job which will be carried out over the coming months but the work completed to date has already made a vast improvement to the route.

Since forming last September, Bridgnorth P3 group has gone from strength to strength with six working groups being held over the last six months.  The main focus for the last three working groups has been to improve access on a path from Oldbury through to Daniel's Mill.  The path here had been effected by the wet weather over the last few months which had made the camber of the original path dangerous to negotiate.  It was decided that the best option would be to move the path a few metres "up slope" by cutting through the overgrown vegetation. The work then required the installation of steps where needed, which turned out to be more than was first anticipated.  The hardest part of this process was getting the stone down to the path in order for the steps to be back-filled.  Many hands do indeed make light work and this project has moved on at great speed, there are a few more sessions planned to finish the route in the future.  If you are interested in joining the Bridgnorth group or you would like to find out more information please visit their website at Bridgnorth & District Rights of Way Association.  

Whittington P3 have been out on their second workday this time replacing a gate on a greenspace which backs onto Whittington Castle.  The path is well used by residents and it is a major link in the village for dog walkers and parents visiting the play park with their children.  The hanging post on the existing gate had rotted off resulting in the gate dragging on the ground and was difficult to use and open fully.  Negotiations were made to replace this and work took place on the 23rd of February with Sue and Phil attending along with Helen Beresford from Outdoor Partnerships.  What was not known before the day's work was that the existing post had been set in concrete so before the new post could be installed this needed to be removed with nothing but hand tools!  Between the three of them the concrete was eventually dug out with a great display of hard work and determination and a new hanging post and gate were put in allowing visitors to enjoy the route unimpeded in the future.    

If you are interested in finding out where your nearest P3 group is, or want to know how you can get involved with helping us maintain the Rights of Way network in Shropshire, please email Helen Beresford or call on 01743 255957.

A day of action in the Arboretum at The Mere in Ellesmere last month transformed the site and set a precedent for more improvements to create a new useable space at The Mere. Tescos Bags of Help have donated £12K to the project, The Lost Garden Terraces of Castlefields Arboretum. The site, as with much of The Mere, was formerly owned by the Brownlow Estate and donated to the public in the 50’s and lies below the old Motte & Bailey adjacent to The Mere..

The day of action involving local volunteers, two contractor teams from Country Gardens and Woodlands, and Outdoor Recreation staff is a continuation of work which is ongoing. The project aims to restore the Garden Terraces, respecting its former glory as an early Victorian garden terrace and telling the story of its use by the aristocracy, including King Edward VIII and Wallace Simpson.

Volunteers have also helped in the archaeological dig of the old ice house and revealed an elaborate and unusual design. Self-set trees have been removed from site and replaced with 20 trees selected for their form, colour, beauty and interest. New paths have been created and the site has been tidied up.  Five new benches are due to be installed offering new views across The Mere.

To find out what's happening in and around The Mere see The Mere Journal Facebook pages.

Local volunteer, Tim Blake, has single-handedly been keeping an eye on Merrington Green. Recently Tim has been looking to bring in new volunteers to help enhance the site for wildlife. He has been clearing encroaching scrub from the wildflower meadows, monitoring bird life and generally keeping an eye on the place. It is hoped we can build upon his work with regular volunteer tasks, involving new links with Countryside Management students at nearby Walford College and more proactive site management approach. 

FORCE – Friends of Oswestry Racecourse are an active group of volunteers helping to look after Oswestry Racecourse. Recently they have been clearing bracken for the bund around the old racecourse. This is a delicate task and not suitable to machinery as the figure of 8 bund is an historic feature of the site marking the boundary of the racetrack from the 18th century. Bracken is a particular problem on site, it’s eradication will enable the heather and bilberry to return to this recovering heathland.  To find out the latest news on what the FORCE are up to visit their Facebook page Friend of Oswestry Racecourse.

The Friends of Colemere are now established with a committee and positive aim to protect the sites important nature conservation status whilst allowing visitors to enjoy it’s natural beauty and circular walk around this internationally important Site of Special Scientific Interest. In recent months there has been much activity in the continued total eradication of Rhododendron from site together with continued litter picks and dead hedge creation to protect the populations of the extremely rare least water lily from visiting happy dogs, who just love to dive into the water from the banks, (can’t blame them really!)

If you are interesting on volunteering on any of our Shropshire Council's parks and sites across the County, or to find out more information, email Lee Fraser or call on 01743 255956.

The Oswestry Tigers have braved the snow several times since Christmas to continue with the clearance work across several sites, including Shropshire Wildlife Trust Llanymynech Rocks, Llanymynech Limeworks Heritage Area and the Canal and River Trust managed Montgomery Canal. The group has been felling small trees to allow more light into sites such as Llanymynech Limeworks and have further developed their fire building skills to burn the brash at many of the sites.

The Craven Arms Alpacas have undertaken several tasks for the Shropshire Wildlife Trust site Catherton Common, the group have been removing Birch saplings to prevent them encroaching onto the Heathland. As well as, helping to remove and burn the gorse in another area to clear around the bell pits to encourage a more diverse range of flora. As well as burning the brash at some sites the group have also been adding to dead hedges, which act as barriers but are also important habitats for wildlife.

The Bridgnorth Zombies have been busy across multiple sites such as Eardington Nature Reserve, where the group have removed Birch saplings from around the pond and cleared Willow and Birch from another area of the site. At Nesscliffe the group have been working to add and extend a dead hedge barrier to prevent the public from getting too close to the steep drops found at the site. Recently the team have also worked at Wyldwoods, helping with general clearance tasks around the site.

If you are interested in joining any of our Shropshire Wild Teams, or you know someone who may benefit from helping out with any of their activities please email Simon Brown or Hannah Langford-Rhodes or call 01743 255055.

After nearly seven years of service as our Walking For Health Coordinator for the North (and latterly Shrewsbury), Liz Evans is moving on to pastures new.  Liz has been a huge asset to our delivery of the Walking For Health scheme delivering training for walks leaders, leading walks, supporting groups to be self sustaining and all the behind the scenes data input and administration which keeps the initiative running smoothly.  Liz has also been involved with helping volunteers in towns like Oswestry to gain their Walkers are Welcome accreditation and has contributed to many walking festivals over the years.  Pilot projects such as the work with health professionals at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt hospital to set up work place walking and the World War 1 walks project are amongst other work Liz has been heavily involved with. 

Liz's work with all her volunteers has been invaluable and she will be missed by all who have had the pleasure of working with her over the years.  Mark Cuthbert-Brown, Walk Leader for Kinnerley, commented:

"Liz will leave a huge hole when she goes and, for us, I’m sorry she’s doing so.  For her, though, there’s a fresh start I’m sure she’s set to embrace.

Wishing you the very best of luck, Liz: you go with the thanks of all of those you’ve been helping and the many, many more to whom help has been cascaded.  You’re going to be missed!"

Clare Fildes, Outdoor Partnerships Enterprise Manager, speaks for all of our department in recognising her work over the years:

"I will be very sorry to see Liz go. She has been a tireless supporter of Walking for Health, extremely well thought of by her volunteers and a real asset to the team. Liz’s work on Walkers Are Welcome, Workplace Walking and the World War1 walks has also been exceptional and she will leave a big gap.  I, and the whole team at Outdoor Partnerships, would like to wish her every success in the future."

Thank you, Liz!

We held our latest training session for new walk leaders, 15 attended, 3 of which were from outside the County!  Two very experienced volunteer walk leaders attended as a refresher which was really helpful for the other attendees as they could share their experiences with the new volunteers.  So, a reminder to you all - this is an opportunity open to any of you if who would like to come along to future sessions.

The dates for our next volunteer walk leader session are yet to be confirmed, but we are aiming to hold one in the South of the county in late April/May, and one in Shrewsbury in June. Thank you to those volunteers from the Walking for Health forum who have kindly offered their help to support in delivering future training sessions as the second person to assist us at these, thus releasing one of us to enable us to focus our time on other activities such as promoting WFH to health professionals and working with our developing groups.

We would also like to give a huge thank you to all of the volunteers who are helping us to input their group's data onto the national Walking For Health database. for their groups, this is of great help to us as recording this information is of huge importance for us to prove outcomes to our funders and show how great the WFH scheme is and how many people are benefitting from it on a weekly basis.

If you would like to join one of our many groups around the County, or if you are interesting in becoming a Walk Leader please email Helen Foxall or call on 01743 255059.

Shropshire Council owns and manages some of Shropshire’s most iconic, accessible and interesting countryside sites and the extensive network of footpaths, bridleways and other Rights of Way, providing so many beautiful places to walk, cycle, ride and enjoy the great outdoors.  Government funding for Country Parks, Heritage Sites and Rights of Way management has recently halved and is under further pressure over the next few years. In response, Shropshire Council has put an ambitious plan together to raise income to help ensure that the future of these wonderful sites, and one of the largest Rights of Way networks in the UK, is safeguarded for everyone’s enjoyment.

You can join Shropshire’s Great Outdoors for just £3/month.  To find out more, how to join and the benefits just click on the image.