NORTH LANARKSHIRE walking routes are being promoted by a group of local volunteers thanks to support from a Scottish walking charity.
Northern Corridor Community Volunteers (NCCV) were awarded more than £4,000 in funding from Paths for All, with support from NatureScot, to promote walking opportunities around the disused Strathkelvin Railway Path near Moodiesburn.
The promoted off-road routes benefit residents of the Northern Corridors’ eight villages which include Auchinloch, Stepps, Chryston, Muirhead, Moodiesburn, Mount Ellen, Gartcosh and Mollinsburn by providing people with wayfinding information and highlighting points of interest.
Financial support and training courses provided by Paths for All has enabled some restoration work on several local paths in the wider network that lead to the railway path.
This is as well as the installation of vandal-proof signs which have been designed by the local Moodiesburn Youth Club.
Claire Williams, Volunteer and Funding Officer at NCCV based in Chryston, said: “The work undertaken has played a major role in creating safe, accessible walking routes in the local area and we’re grateful to Paths for All for continuing to support the project.
“When we first started working on the path it was heavily littered and overgrown.
“We started with cleaning up bushes and boundaries, before moving onto installing clear signage to help people feel safer and more informed about the local area and its history.
“Throughout the project we’ve looked to get as many community members involved as possible – it’s a route for everyone so we wanted to make that clear from the outset.
“It’s been brilliant to work with the Moodiesburn Youth Club to include a younger perception. We’ve had some really creative ideas come from this collaboration.
“We have also recently worked with Paths for All on installing visitor counters to see just how many people benefit from the route.”
The Northern Corridor Community Volunteers have played a vital role in getting people active across the community.
On top of the path improvement work, the group run health walks in five of the eight villages they work in, helping to make walking accessible to all.
Claire added: “A few NCCV members undertook health walk training from Paths for All and we now have quite a few health walk leaders who run regular walks in the community. The walks are a great asset for people looking to socialise while keeping active.”
The short, volunteer-led health walks take place across Scotland and are one aspect of the work carried out by Paths for All in their bid to make the country greener and healthier.
Paths for All support a wide variety of projects across the country, awarding thousands of pounds worth of grants to promote the benefits of walking in Scotland
Richard Armstrong, Senior Development Officer at Paths for All, said: “Projects like this led by Northern Corridor Community Volunteers provide so much value to the community.
“We’ve already seen an incredible transformation at Strathkelvin railway path due to the group’s hard work and we’re excited to continue seeing the benefits it brings to the community.
“Improved paths really build on community spirit as they’re more frequently used by commuters, dog walkers, joggers, children playing and people enjoying the simple but very important pleasure of just going for a walk.”
Paths for All’s focus is clear: it wants to get Scotland walking: everyone, every day, everywhere, and it works with the Scottish Government and 30 partners to support and deliver national policies, such as the National Walking Strategy and other ‘active travel’ initiatives.
For more information on Paths for All, visit: https://www.pathsforall.org.uk
For more information on the Northern Corridor Community Volunteers, please visit: Northern Corridor Community Volunteers | Northern Corridor Community Volunteers (ourgreenspace.org)
