Despite being one of Britain’s most popular walking destinations, Cornwall is stuck at the bottom England's league table when it comes to the ease of use of its rights of way.
The benefits of investing in rights of way are there for all to see in Cornwall; the South West Coast Path is worth a massive £307 million a year to the local economy. But away from the flagship national trails less than half of rights of way are open and usable.
The Ramblers started its Cornwall 'big hit' campaign in 2003 after local members decided something had to be done about the lack of resources Cornwall County Council was putting into its rights of way network. The Cornwall Campaign Working Group (made up of Ramblers' staff and local volunteers) lobbies councillors and collaborates with the county's rights of way officers, complementing these activities with media work.
In 2005, the Ramblers Association was delighted when the Council committed £2.01million to the path network over three-years, but many problems remain. The aim is to secure long term funding for Cornwall's paths so that the improvements which have been made so far can replicated across the whole network.
Contact Sarah Perry to find out more.
More about walking in Cornwall
