New trail for walkers in Fourlaws Forest
The Forestry Commission has linked up with the Corsenside Recreation Access Group (CRAG) to create a trail in the 1,077 acre Fourlaws Forest, off the A68 near Ridsdale in Northumberland.
The group started a year ago to help improve access to the little-known beauty spot.
To celebrate its first anniversary, children planted a sapling along the trail for each of the 34 youngsters living in the remote village.
The new trail means that walkers no longer have to negotiate a busy stretch of the A68 to enter the wood.
Forest chiefs have also given permission for a longer loop path to be built as part of a joint push with CRAG, supported by a local landowner, to create a network of trails in the wood and stage community events.
Mother of two Becky Saunders, from Ridsdale, who is a founder member of CRAG, said: "Access is an issue because we don't have the parks and public spaces of bigger villages. The forest is very much our backyard."
Meanwhile, the Forestry Commission is also aiming to boost the condition of the North East's ancient woodlands.
New grants have been targeted for Northumberland and the North Pennines AONB to encourage landowners and managers to restore and reinvigorate ancient woodland. Last year, a study in these areas revealed that action is urgently required to improve the condition of ancient woods after more than 60% were found to be in a poor state.
The study, the first of its kind in England, was undertaken by the Forestry Commission on behalf of the Northumberland Native Woodland Partnership, and assessed 665 sites in Northumberland, along with 45 ancient woodlands designated as sites of special scientific interest across the North East.
Richard Pow, from the Forestry Commission, said:
"Now we have compelling data on the condition of our ancient woods, we are determined to act. This new grant scheme offers a greater level of financial support than any offered previously and will deliver improvements where they are most needed."
Ancient woods are defined as those which have been continuously wooded since at least the 1600s, when the first reliable maps were published.
In reality, many date back much further.
Richard said: "These habitats take hundreds, or even thousands of years to develop, and have an astonishingly rich flora and wide variety of wildlife.
"They also possess great cultural and historic significance. We can't afford to sit back and watch their condition deteriorate
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