Luckington and Alderton
This
was Footpath 35, a
bridleway which links the hamlet of Brookend with the village of
Alderton in spring 2005. By 2005 the path had become inaccessible and almost invisible.
Deep wheel ruts had filled with water and mud. The odd trail bike
made a bad situation worse, then nature took over and as no one used
the path, trees fell across it, bushes grew over it, nettles and
brambles made it impossible for any but the most intrepid to use it.In 2005 villagers identified improvements to footpaths as a priority in the Community Strategy. The Parish Council backed this up by identifying footpath 35 in a request for improvement to the County Council.
The Cotswold Area of Natural Beauty Warden supported the request and later in the year workmen from the County started to cut back the trees and bushes so that the pathway could be seen. The final piece of the jigsaw happened when Ridgeway Parkman improved roads in the area of Luckington and Sherston. Instead of sending the spoil to landfill as they might have done a few years before, the used it to make up the pathway . The result is what you see here- believe it or not - this is the same view as the picture on the right.
Footpath 35 is now completely accessible to bicycle and pushchair and is used daily by local people and visitors to the area. This picture was taken in February 2007. By summer the lanes will be as lovely as any on the area and will stay that way for many years to come.
