The Outdoor Recreation Service currently has a number of projects which officers are working on.
To find out more about any of these projects please follow the links on the page.
Shropshire Way North
A project is in the planning stage to extend the successful upgrade of the Southern sections of the Shropshire Way long distance footpath into the north of the county.
New routes will be added to take the trail around Oswestry and Much Wenlock linking the north and west of the county for the first time. To see the proposed new routing, follow the link on this page.
Parish Access Project (PAP)
The PAP has been extended for a further five years with the project now running until April 2015. Follow the link on this page to find out more about the project.
Parks and Countryside Sites
Snailbeach Lead Mine Heritage Project, Stipertones
The Outdoor Recreation Service, along with The Shropshire Mines Trusts Ltd, have applied for and been successful in obtaining a £50,000 Your Heritage Lottery Grant. This project will help visitors of all ages and abilities to fully explore and experience the historical lead mining works at the Snailbeach site. This will be achieved through the development of educational materials to increase primary school visits, and the provision of a new changing facility for children and other visitors to undertake guided underground tours.
The project will provide opportunities for more people to get actively involved, participating in volunteering activities to conserve the historical built heritage. The project will also provide training to increase volunteer skills and expertise.
Walkmill Meadows: Market Drayton
Project funding is also being used to deliver access improvements at Walkmill Meadows. This includes the installation of a new boardwalk, steps and additional seating, and has been carried out by local volunteer groups.
Rea Brook Valley: Shrewsbury
Improvements are ongoing as part of the Shropshire Outdoors project. A number of new benches have been installed along the brook, steps have been replaced and new handrails erected. This has been done with the help of local volunteers.
Colemere
Colemere is a hive of activity at the moment, with lots of improvements for access and wildlife being implemented.
A number of trees and bushes around the northern edge of the mere are being removed to benefit the growing requirements for the Least Waterlily. Colemere is the only site in England where this plant grows. In addition, more of the invasive rhododendron is being controlled in the woodland.
Work has begun to create a new path along the foot of the canal bank in Yell Wood. Once completed, this will enable wheelchair users and other less mobile people to complete the circular route around the mere without having to negotiate the obstacle of using the path along the canal bank.
Two new information panels have also been installed. Most of this work has been funded by Natural England. In addition to all of this, adults with learning disabilities from Hartley’s Day Centre and Greenacres Farm have been learning, through the Shropshire Outdoors Project, how to lay a hedge and clear rhododendron.
Rectory Wood and Field
The Heritage Lottery Fund-supported project is complete!
The project was successfully completed at the end of June 2010. For more information on the outcomes from the project click on the link.
Lyth Hill
A new information panel has been installed towards the Bayston Hill end of the site, and construction of the new toposcope at the viewpoint has begun.
Nesscliffe
Five new information panels have now been installed at the main entrances to Nesscliffe Hill, Hopton Hill and The Cliffe. The local volunteer group are continuing their work in controlling the ever-spreading rhododendron on Nesscliffe Hill.