Round-Britain runner to design Wicksteed Park trails

Elise Downing was the first woman and youngest person ever to walk the coast of Great Britain unsupported

The first woman to run round the British coast has said she is "excited" to be designing walking trails at a new wildlife haven.

Elise Downing's trails will be set up on land owned by Wicksteed Park near Kettering, Northamptonshire.

They will cross a water meadow made available by reinstating the original alignment of a brook.

Ms Downing said the trails would help people engage with the environment.

In November 2015, Ms Downing set off to run 5,000 miles self-supported round the coast of Great Britain.

Ten months later, she became the youngest person and the first woman to complete the journey.

The water meadow has been made available by reinstating the original alignment of a brook

Ms Downing said the new trails may be less adventurous, but they are important.

"Giving people access to outdoor space is the most valuable thing we can do when it comes to reaping the physical and mental health benefits of spending time outside."

There will be two trails crossing the water meadow, which will also have viewing platforms

Ms Downing grew up in Northamptonshire and is "really excited to be involved in a local project".

"There'll be a couple of trails - one about a kilometre, and one a little longer, with information boards highlighting the diversity of habitats," she added.

Andy Sadler, from the Environment Agency, said the project would create new habitats for fish and wildlife

Andy Sadler, from the Environment Agency, said the project was designed to reverse man-made changes to Slade Brook, which flows into the River Ise.

He said: "This bit of river is as straight as a die and that's a result of the railway line that went in about 150 years ago.

"It meant that the river was widened [and] deepened and didn't function naturally as a river. We're trying to realign it so it connects more readily and that creates that nice habitat for fish and wildlife."

Major earthworks were needed as part of the project

The land is also a floodplain and the Environment Agency said that lowering the surface will draw the water away from nearby houses and may prevent some smaller flooding events.

Kelly Richardson, from Wicksteed Park, said the trails would offer people a different way of enjoying the park

Wicksteed Park's Kelly Richardson said: "It was a bit of an unloved triangle of land, but, with the works that the Environment Agency and the Nene Rivers Trust have done, [the trails] are a nice way to visit the park without necessarily using the fairground that people might associate with Wicksteed."