The completion of a three year project to improve local public walks in historic and beautiful parts of the West Lothian countryside will be marked at a joint celebration at Oatridge on Friday, March 18.

The event will not only recognise the efforts of Ecclesmachan and Threemiletown Community Council to renovate a series of four paths, 8.5 kilometres long, linking local communities and beauty spots, but will see the official opening of the National Path Demonstration Site on the College campus.

The demonstration site has been developed by Paths for All, in partnership with Oatridge and West Lothian Council, with funding from Scottish Natural Heritage and infrastructure support from a range of company. Paths for All was founded in 19996 and a Scottish charity and is a partnership of more than 20 national organisations all committed walking for health and the development of a multi-use path network in Scotland. The demonstration site showcases a wide range of approaches to building paths bridges and seats and the best gates and signposting available.  It runs for more than a kilometre and is designed to help community path groups, land managers and professional access staff to put the right paths in the right places.

Ecclesmachan and Threemiletown Community Council – one of West Lothian’s smallest Community Council wards which has only eight volunteer members – worked together throughout the lengthy campaign to turn its ideas into reality. That included identifying and surveying routes, bringing landowners on board, finding funding, appointing specialists contractors to bring the paths up to standard. Support came from Paths for All for the survey of the routes, drawing up detailed specifications for the work and training personnel to carry out essential maintenance.

The Community Council was spurred into action when the area was left out of the Core Paths Plan draft proposals but, impressed by the Ecclesmachan and Threemiletown project, West Lothian Council got behind it and the improved paths are likely to be included in future reviews of the core paths network.

The project cost £12,500 and funding came from the National Lottery’s Awards for All scheme and the West Lothian Council LEADER programme. The Community Council is now developing plans to extend the paths network.
www.ecclesmachan.org  www.pathsforall.org.uk