'Trailblazers' improve long-distance path

Charles Edwards and Gwyneth Bowyer have been helping to improve the 30-mile Mortimer Trail

Improvements have been made to a long-distance path linking Shropshire and Herefordshire.

Volunteers from several groups worked on the plan for the Mortimer Trail between Kington and Ludlow.

A team of "trailblazers" are improving the path in stages, clearing obstructions and checking stiles and signs.

A new guide book and signs have also been produced.

The partnership has worked on new guides and signage for the route

The group was brought together in remote meetings during the coronavirus pandemic to come up with a way to "reinvigorate" the Mortimer Trail.

It operates under the auspices of Herefordshire Ramblers, but also includes Mortimer and South Shropshire Ramblers Association groups, Kington Walks, Walkers are Welcome and individuals.

Volunteers surveyed the trail early in 2022 to assess what needed clearing and fixing.

The 12-strong group of "trailblazers" have since been clearing undergrowth, refreshing waymarking signs and reporting major issues to landowners and local authorities.

Trailblazers like Gwyneth Bowyer and Jason Philips are tackling undergrowth and improving signage along the route

Volunteer group leader Gwyneth Bowyer said: "Just as you clear a fallen tree here, downpours elsewhere flatten the bracken across the path, or a stile starts wobbling - but sorting them gets us out enjoying the trail in all seasons."

A new guidebook and online guide to the route have also been produced, and new interpretative signs are being placed at both ends of the trail.

The 30-mile Mortimer Trail is named after the medieval Mortimer family who played a prominent role in the area from the 11th to 15th Centuries.

It was founded in the 1990s by local walking enthusiasts, who produced the original guidebook to the path.