Sunday, 26 August 2007
nsl4u: First time for everything
nsl4u: First time for everything
My good Wife and I were over in South Lanarkshire a couple of weeks ago to see friends and I did some multi-mapping to find Rights of Way and pathways. There's a surprisingly good amount of choices and a couple of options were easy. Mostly it was good fun on a very bright airy day and the paths and B / unclassified roads were fine for doing circulars.
Some of the paths were decent and signed, other parts were in very unused and/ or of poor maintenance...and 'exploring taught us a fair bit'....
The upshot was that I started dialoguing with Scottish Rights of Way, Sustrans and Sth Lanarkshire council....all of whom 'were interested' in my comments.
I also started to talk to a contact in East Dunbartonshire council ref. my commonly used local paths around here at Torrance (and he seemed pretty switched on too) -- 'good excuse to get out the office'!
So all in all, I'd encourage anyone at all to take note of paths and by-ways and make a case with whoever you can, to influence change for the better. All Councils have to deliver a Core Paths Plan by 2008 and now is the time to press for favourites or indeed propose new access routes.
Sco. RoW are interested in reports of any paths under their durisdiction so they can ongoing, monitor what's happening out there.
Sutrans work on sustainable transport routes and are a charity org., I suppose eased by public funding and other contributions; I think their main thrust is cycling to remove carbon footprinting and encourage bikes (routes like A7 no doubt).
Anyway, all bright ideas welcome and I exhort you to report on any issues for example -blocked routes?!!, damage, and litter or worse, fly-tipping, degrading paths, drainage choked, etc. etc.
Enjoy the outdoors and given all the Green agendas, now is the time to keep at it and encourage those with the power and means to keep our pathways in decent order and allow easier access into our great countryside. I have to say that in my limited area of experience in England (Midlands, South Derbyshire) they are years ahead of up here - their push seems to have started 10 years ago; never mind our Scottish 'Core Path Plans' (of which I'm sure that John Muir would have approved....ahem!!).
My good Wife and I were over in South Lanarkshire a couple of weeks ago to see friends and I did some multi-mapping to find Rights of Way and pathways. There's a surprisingly good amount of choices and a couple of options were easy. Mostly it was good fun on a very bright airy day and the paths and B / unclassified roads were fine for doing circulars.
Some of the paths were decent and signed, other parts were in very unused and/ or of poor maintenance...and 'exploring taught us a fair bit'....
The upshot was that I started dialoguing with Scottish Rights of Way, Sustrans and Sth Lanarkshire council....all of whom 'were interested' in my comments.
I also started to talk to a contact in East Dunbartonshire council ref. my commonly used local paths around here at Torrance (and he seemed pretty switched on too) -- 'good excuse to get out the office'!
So all in all, I'd encourage anyone at all to take note of paths and by-ways and make a case with whoever you can, to influence change for the better. All Councils have to deliver a Core Paths Plan by 2008 and now is the time to press for favourites or indeed propose new access routes.
Sco. RoW are interested in reports of any paths under their durisdiction so they can ongoing, monitor what's happening out there.
Sutrans work on sustainable transport routes and are a charity org., I suppose eased by public funding and other contributions; I think their main thrust is cycling to remove carbon footprinting and encourage bikes (routes like A7 no doubt).
Anyway, all bright ideas welcome and I exhort you to report on any issues for example -blocked routes?!!, damage, and litter or worse, fly-tipping, degrading paths, drainage choked, etc. etc.
Enjoy the outdoors and given all the Green agendas, now is the time to keep at it and encourage those with the power and means to keep our pathways in decent order and allow easier access into our great countryside. I have to say that in my limited area of experience in England (Midlands, South Derbyshire) they are years ahead of up here - their push seems to have started 10 years ago; never mind our Scottish 'Core Path Plans' (of which I'm sure that John Muir would have approved....ahem!!).
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