News

A view of Shillingstone from the steps near White Pit quarry

This is our latest Newsletter: Trailway News July 2013 (Back copies here)

This is a short newsletter about Trailway walks, a new bench on the Trailway, Bank Holiday Monday at the Railway Arches and further developments.

Trailway Walks
Our first walk organised from Sturminster Newton to Fiddleford Mill went well. We tended to part company at the Mill as some stayed on for a cup of tea and a cake at the Lavender Farm Open Day and some continued on the walk. A happy afternoon was had by all.

Shillingstone Old Ox start at 2.30pm on 28^th July is our next walk. There are three possibilities:

i) If the weather is HOT we shall do a shortish flat walk in the shade. We shall start at the Old Ox go down the Trailway to Holloway Lane; follow the Wessex Ridgeway to the foot of Shillingstone Hill and the take the footpath around the bottom of the hill to the Quarry steps (view shown above) then back via Puzzle Drove to the village and the Old Ox.

ii) If the weather is cool we shall walk along the Trailway to Stourpaine; go round Hod Hill and back via Hod Drive to the Trailway. This is a much longer walk; it goes uphill therefore much better done on a cool day.

iii) If is it is raining all walks are cancelled for that day but we may find a later date for it.

 A new Bench on the Trailway
Blandford St. Mary village Council has generously donated a new bench to the Trailway to be sited on the Charlton Marshall side of the Trailway beyond Wards Drove where there is a view of the area. The Countryside Rangers will install it when it is delivered. This will be a welcome addition to our benches as there are very few on the southern side of Blandford.

Bank Holiday Monday Blandford Railway Arches
The Blandford Railway Arches Trust is having an event at the Railway Arches in the afternoon on Bank Holiday Monday. There will be an announcement about ideas for the Arches, Music and refreshments. It sounds like a pleasant place to spend an afternoon if you are in Blandford and want some entertainment.

Further Developments
We wait to hear more about superfast Broadband using the Trailway but Defra have not been clear about their ideas.
Work is starting on extending the Trailway towards Stalbridge; a slow process but worth it.
Finally more and more people are enjoying the Trailway from all over Dorset.

Lesley Gasson

News

Trailway News March 2013

New Section of the Trailway near Stourpaine

In this issue The new stretch of Trailway; Meeting with Dorset Councillors; Link between Durweston and Stourpaine; the Rural Enterprise connection; Trailway website; New leaflets to spread the message; Opening of the Two Tunnels Project.

The new stretch of Trailway will be the best yet. As you can see from the above photograph the surface is well designed for bicycles and runners; it is also designed for horse riders and mobility scooters. The whole width is more than 2.5m so it is easy for all these different users to pass one another. The slopes have been graded but there are a few climbs; one emerging from the tunnel under the A350 and the other from the tunnel under the Blandford Bye-pass on to the Milldown. In order to keep everyone, including farmers; happy the whole length has been fenced. I have no doubt in time Nature will soften all the hard edges and it will look as if it has always been there. The whole stretch has been largely financed by SUSTRANS to their standards of surfacing and Rights of Way. The Countryside rangers, particularly Giles Nicholson, have been largely responsible for all the negotiations and organisation of this next section. It has been hard going with terrible weather and tricky legal arrangements.

There will be a grand opening of this section of the Trailway on Sunday 19th May when we will ceremonially open the section at the Milldown then run, walk, cycle, ride to Stourpaine recreation ground for a celebration. Make sure you are there. The next newsletter will give you all the details.

Meeting with Dorset Councillors Just when everyone thought that was enough and there is no money for anything we met North Dorset District Councillors and Dorset County Councillors on 19th February to talk about the next stage of Trailway development. The Town Councillors, District Councillors and County Councillors were agreed that the link between Sturminster Newton and Stalbridge is the next most important section of the Trailway to work on. It is always a long, slow operation achieving the next major link but each bit creates its own momentum and gradually the Trailway expands. People are so enthusiastic about it; money is not always the most difficult hurdle.

As you can image people South of Blandford are also keen to see their end of the Trailway
reach Poole; that also has to be encouraged, negotiated and financed. We are hoping to link Durweston to the Trailway via the old Mill and improve the access for people living in Stourpaine and Durweston to reach each other more easily with a grant from Natural England entitled Paths for Communities. This will mean that people with pushchairs taking  children to school will find their journey smoother and cyclists will be able to reach the Trailway more easily if they want to cycle from these two villages to Blandford or Sturminster.
The Rural Enterprise Connection. Jo Rose has written the following The Economic Impact Assessment of the Trailway, undertaken by Bournemouth University in 2012, concluded that visitors and users of the Trailway were making a significant contribution to the local economies of the villages and businesses along the route. As the continuous length of the Trailway increases, the visitor numbers have risen considerably. With the official opening of the length from Blandford to Sturminster Newton a major section of the route in North Dorset will be complete.

The practical work to open up the Trailway will continue. However, the opportunity now arises for developing the Trailway as a place to visit in its own right through a sustainable tourism initiative that benefits the local economy and raises awareness of the special character and quality of the landscape and heritage of the North Dorset Trailway and the surrounding area.
Sustainable tourism is based on an area’s sense of place; that is to say what it is and what makes it special or its unique qualities. Tourism is a major economic driver in Dorset and encouraging people to explore, enjoy and the countryside in ways that help to conserve and enhance the environment and benefit the local economy is the primary purpose of sustainable tourism.
The NDTG hopes the initiative will:

• develop a Sense of Place for the Trailway – not just a route
• create a “Trailway Experience” for visitors and local people
• bring sustainable or green economic benefit

The NDTG are hoping to develop a number of “themes” for the Trailway tourism “offer”;
these include:
1. Taking the Trailway …. (Enjoying)
Boots, bikes and hoofs….. enjoying the Trailway, by all means.
2. Taste of the Trailway (local products, local producers)
Savour the flavour of the Trailway
3. Tradition of the Trailway (past, present, future)
Travelling through time…. rails, river and a rich landscape heritage…
4. Life Along the Trailway – a working landscape in harmony with nature understanding local farming and its special relationship with wildlife.

This will be a joint initiative between the North Dorset Trailway Network charity and local
business, landowners, farmers and communities, supported by the Rural Enterprise Partnership.

A New Leaflet for the Trailway. We have been donated £200 towards the creation of an up to date map and leaflet for the Trailway so that people in the area can find out more about what to see on the Trailway. It is being designed by Graham Rains and printed in time for the new section opening.
The Trailway web site is up and running with all sorts of useful information and pictures. It
has been produced by Dave Rivett over many hours. I hope you enjoy it on www.northdorsettrailway.org

Two Tunnels Opening is on 6th April. This is the Bath and Bristol end of the Trailway where the two tunnels which were derelict have been resurfaced and electrified so that they are available for multiuse traffic. Like us they have taken time and energy to lengthen the Trailway. Unlike us they have had to deal with an urban environment. If you are a long distance walker or cyclist make sure you are Broomfield Road Open Space, Broomfield Rd, Bath BA2 2AD at 12.30pm. This is another SUSTRANS financed project.

Lesley Gasson