VOLUNTEERS from Burley-in-Wharfedale’s Walkers are Welcome group spent a day constructing two sets of steps on a footpath in Stead under the supervision of Richard Perham from Bradford Council’s Countryside Service team.
The group have been working over the past few years to improve access to footpaths in and around Burley, and this latest project had been planned for a year.
David Asher, chairman of Burley Walkers are Welcome said: "Building these two sets of steps has been our most challenging footpath improvement project yet. None of the eleven volunteers had done anything like this previously, so it is a tribute to Richard Perham’s excellent oversight and the enthusiasm of the group that we successfully completed what was potentially a complex technical project. We re-opened the path last year after years of neglect and it has subsequently become an increasingly popular route for walkers and runners accessing Burley Moor. However, the two steep banks that had to be crossed were not easy to scale and potentially hazardous. We now have a path fit for purpose again!"
As well as working on the steps, the group also strimmed nearby paths and installed a support post at a nearby step stile. Further drainage work to improve a section of path is planned shortly by officers from Countryside Services.
Mr Asher added: "Walkers are Welcome is also pleased to confirm that £107 was raised recently at our Annual General Meeting at Burley Community Library in aid of Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue. David Dennis, MBE, from the group was an excellent speaker who kept us entertained for over an hour with stories of rescues above and below ground involving people and animals alike. We are very lucky to have such a first class organisation with skilled and committed volunteers providing such a highly regarded rescue service locally."
For more information about Walkers are Welcome working parties or their regular monthly walks, contact the group at burleywalkersarewelcome@gmail.com or via their website www.waw-burleyinwharfedale.org/
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