Walking enthusiasts have made substantial improvements to part of a 60-mile footpath which runs through the Oswestry area.
Oswestry Ramblers together with the Oswestry Parish Paths Partnership (P3) group, working with Shropshire Council’s Outdoor Partnership, have re-routed the section of Wat’s Dyke Way from the Montgomeryshire Canal in Maesbury to the A483 near Weston.
This part of the way is notoriously boggy and has been re-aligned with gates replacing stiles in most cases to provide a more enjoyable experience and to make a safer crossing of the major trunk road
where there is still a need to cross (but not walk alongside, as on the old route). This is an interim solution with plans in place for an underpass alongside the River Morda under the A483.
The work on Wat’s Dyke Way is part of the continuing efforts of both the Ramblers and the P3 Group to improve the local footpath network to make it more accessible and easy for walkers of any ability to use and enjoy.
The improvements to the route which runs from Holywell in Flintshire to Llanymynech, have been made possible by generous grants from Ramblers Holidays Charitable Trust
https://www.ramblersholidays.co.uk/ramblers-holidays-charitable-trust
and from Oswestry Borderland Rotary Club https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.php?ClubID=1699.
For more information on the Wat’s Dyke Way long distance path see
https://wats-dyke-way.weebly.com/ and details of the new route are https://wats-dyke-way.weebly.com/news.html
Members of the P3 team working on the new route. From the left Peter Carr, Steve Hill and Colin Chandler.
Pointing the way. Part of the newly signed route at Maesbury.