A Harrogate disability charity has launched a range of accessible route packs to help more people to access the outdoors.
Open Country has produced a range of ‘breakfree’ packs offering inspiration on great places to walk, wheel, stroll, or cycle, covering the Harrogate district.
The charity helps people with disabilities to access the countryside. It offers daily activities for disabled people, including walks, conservation projects, allotment clubs, tandems clubs and adventure clubs.
The packs have been launched to celebrate National Walking Month, which takes place in May.
The Harrogate routes include the Beryl Burton cycleway, Staveley Nature Reserve, Pateley Bridge Glasshouses and the Valley Gardens.
A spokesperson for Open Country said:
“The free packs have been specially developed with wheelchair users in mind, but they could also support anyone who might struggle with exercise, limited mobility or even families with pushchairs.”
“Each trail features clear, colour maps for each location, with all the information needed to help plan a trip out, including access to facilities and points of interest.”
Open Country walks
The ‘breakfree packs’ also cover Leeds, Wakefield, Wharfedale and York. A range of audio walks are also available on the Open Country website or on their YouTube channel, so that people can enjoy fully descriptive walks from the comfort of their own home.
The charity also provides advice for landowners and organisations on accessibility issues through its Countryside Advice Service.
Packs are available to download here or the charity can to deliver or post packs in bulk to organisations. To request packs contact community@opencountry.org
An available breakfree map from Open Country, the Beryl Burton cycleway
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Readers’ Letters: Bins weren’t overflowing when Harrogate Borough Council existed
Readers’ Letters is a weekly column giving you the chance to have your say on issues affecting the Harrogate district. It is an opinion column and does not reflect the views of the Stray Ferret. Send your views to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.
This letter follows an article about overflowing bins in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens. Many readers were upset about the state of the bins over the Easter bank holiday weekend.
The problem of overflowing waste bins in Harrogate is a recent problem.
We often commented on overflowing bins when visiting other towns, as it was so rare here. How lucky we were to have Harrogate Borough Council in charge, which took pride in this town.
But it all changed a year ago after our local council disappeared and we had North Yorkshire Council inflicted on us – a change that none of us voted for.
Anne Boodt, Harrogate
More grammatical errors on road signs in Harrogate
This letter is in response to a story about North Yorkshire Council eliminating apostrophes from road signs. The new format will be adopted when signs are replaced.
Regarding the missing apostrophe on St Mary’s Walk, there also should not be a full stop after St (as per one of the signs).
So, vigilantes looking to insert an apostrophe with their marker pens should also paint out the full stop.
Michael Clarke, Harrogate
Are we really planting trees as a tick box exercise?
This letter follows a story about 29,000 trees being planted in Masham to create new woodlands.
I am the last person on earth to criticise a tree planting initiative, as exemplified at Swinton Estate in Masham.
But what drives me to utter distraction is the wholly unnatural and mechanical way in which trees are planted in perfectly straight lines.
Are we seriously doing this as a box ticking exercise or trying to create new natural habitats?
Think about when these trees have matured. It will look ludicrously unnatural and probably end up serving as a sustainable source of wood or paper – NOT a habitat for wildlife or a place for people to enjoy the benefits of nature.
Trees do not grow in straight lines.
You might as well be part of a planting scheme along a motorway verge if that’s the approach you condone. Totally ignorant of natural habitats, but nonetheless giving oneself a pat on the back.
I am so frustrated by these examples of mass tree planting…
Mark Fuller, Harrogate
Do you have an opinion on the Harrogate district? Email us at letters@thestrayferret.co.uk. Please include your name and approximate location details. Limit your letters to 350 words. We reserve the right to edit letters.
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Overflowing bins in Valley Gardens prompt summer fears
A resident has raised concerns about litter in Valley Gardens in Harrogate after bins overflowed at Easter.
North Yorkshire Council has been criticised for its decision to reduce the number of litter bins to save money.
It is spending £478,000 on replacing about 1,500 litter bins in the former Harrogate district with 775 larger bins.
The Stray Ferret has covered the issue extensively, with the council saying in January it would review the policy after complaints.
Eileen Dockray, who took the photos accompanying this article on Sunday morning, raised concerns about the impact of the new approach on Valley Gardens.
She said:
“More than half of the bins in the gardens have been removed.
“I am not sure when they had last been emptied but they were not like that on Saturday morning. Monday was very similar after the good weather and families taking advantage of it.”
Ms Dockray added she feared the situation would get worse as summer approaches and visitor numbers increase.
A North Yorkshire Council spokesman denied there was a problem. They said:
“There was not a reduced service over Easter. The bins were emptied as normal with no overflowing bins reported.”
The spokesperson did not respond to our request for details about the number of bins that have been removed from Valley Gardens.
In 2022, smart bins were trialled in the town as a joint venture between the now defunct Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire Council.
According to a Harrogate borough councillor at the time, the bins used sensors to send alerts when they need emptying to avoid overflowing. Later the same year Harrogate Borough Council installed six smart bins, costing a total of £26,100, in Valley Gardens.
Last year a May bank holiday gathering required a major clean-up operation the following day.
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Valley Gardens pump track could open next winter
North Yorkshire Council has said it will move forward with proposals to create a pump track for bikes in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens.
In an update, the council said the new facility, which would replace the pitch and putt course, could open next winter.
A pump track is a circular loop that consists of slopes and bumps. The tracks have been described as being like a small rollercoaster for riders of bikes such as BMXs.
They are designed to maximise momentum and encourage movement with minimal pedalling.
The council took over the running of the park last year from Harrogate Borough Council and launched a public consultation on the potential move in November.
It previously said the track would be small and much of the pitch and putt course would be returned to grassland.
The council said it had received support from the public during the consultation and will move forward with them later this year.
The track would be accessible all year round, unlike the golf course which closes during wet weather.
It would be free-of-charge and would complement the skate park, which opened in 2011.
It is expected the pump track would cost around £2,000 to install by its in-house parks team.
Karl Battersby, the council’s corporate director of environment, said:
“We carried out a consultation exercise towards the end of last year to ask people for their thoughts on the potential to replace the existing nine-hole pitch and putt golf course in the Valley Gardens with a beginners’ pump track.
“We are grateful for the helpful feedback and the support for the project from the public. The intention is that once the summer season is over, we will be taking the project forward and looking to have it in place over the winter.”
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