 |
Home
Pat Crabb - my LHI story
Daryl Jones - my LHI story
Swindon Rural Heritage Trails editorial
|
|
|
|
Pat Crabb - my LHI story
Location: Wiltshire
Pat Crabb is Chairman of the North East Wiltshire Group of the Ramblers’ Association. She has co-ordinated the volunteers who tested Swindon’s Rural Heritage Trails and wrote the scripts.
The first version of the trails was drawn up on a map by someone in the Borough Council, suggesting routes that led round heritage sites and seemed, in theory, to interlink quite nicely. But we had to revise the routes because some of the original trails were much too long for ordinary members of the public. I think anything up to five miles is reasonable, though two of our trails are still longer than that.
I’ve worked with the Borough Council Rights of Way Officer to improve the routes, and to decide which bits could be left out. It’s very important to involve the local Rights of Way Officers early on. They can help to avoid potential trouble spots, because they will know all the details of public access to paths and heritage sites, and they can decide, for example, about places where it would be a good idea to replace stiles with kissing gates.
All the volunteer route walkers are members of the Ramblers’ Association. I’m used to asking people to write and update scripts, because we’ve done that with our previous walks books. Our Ramblers’ walks do mention heritage features if they are nearby, but they were devised for their pleasant routes and scenic views rather than heritage interest.
Apart from the five new trails, this project has also provided the Ramblers with two useful items that will come in handy for future ventures - a strimmer for clearing the paths, and a digital camera that I’ve learnt how to use because of the LHI project.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
