Millennium path, Bilton

Image: © Derek Harper Taken: 5 Apr 2015

Running at the back of Tennyson Avenue, but a little south of the mapped route of footpath 15 54/98/1. "In 1999 the {Bilton} conservation group decided to celebrate the new millennium by creating a 220 metre permissive footpath from Willow Wood, behind Tennyson Avenue, Bilton to link with the old abandoned mainline railway (now the ‘Nidderdale Greenway’). This short route followed the exact alignment of a section of the former narrow gauge railway – The Barber Line ... Unfortunately the last 15 years have seen the once-distant willows and shrubs gradually encroach and overshadow the path rendering it in unusable ... Harrogate Borough Council Parks Department came to the rescue in early January 2015 by mechanically cutting back the thick branches and bringing in a JCB to re-cut the slot" http://biltonconservationgroup.co.uk/millennium-path-1999-2015 . Hence the situation visible here. "Our ambition now is to reconstruct the path to 1.5 metres, with wooden, shuttered sides and a fresh layer of compacted gravel or road planings to create a sound footpath for the next 20 years".

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