Footpath Maintenance
Volunteering
Keeping our wonderful footpaths and public rights of way in shape for everybody to use would not be possible without the dedication of the many volunteers who strive to cut vegetation, repair styles and gates, and clear ditches to keep our paths safe and navigable for all walkers. Why not consider volunteering? It’s a great opportunity to meet like-minded people, to learn new skills and to keep fit and healthy.
Hampshire Countryside Services work with volunteers to undertake specific projects such as renovation projects such as bridge work, board walks, vegetation clearance and removing invasive plant species, removing old fences, installing new fences, gates, signs and benches. Work is supervised and supported by well organised and highly trained engagement rangers. If you would like to volunteer, please visit the Hampshire County Council website below
Alton Ramblers Group have an active Footpath Maintenance Team who work with Hampshire Countryside Rangers all year round to help maintain the footpaths and byways in our local Parishes in and around Alton.
Our team volunteers for 3-4 hours a week on a Wednesday providing 600+ hours per year to undertake projects that benefit the communities in which we live and we take an active role in identifying projects. We work with our local Parishes to carry out surveys and construction projects including steps, stiles, gates and path clearance work.
We are always looking for new volunteers to join us to help keep the footpaths well maintained and fit for use. We are currently looking to reinforce and expand our team of volunteers so that we can continue to provide this valuable service to our community.
If you are interested and would like to learn more, please contact Paul Naish, Alton Ramblers Footpath Secretary, via the Contact us tab at the Alton Ramblers Website.
Many of our local parish councils also have their own active volunteer groups, so why not reach out to your parish clerk and offer to help?
CASE STUDY
Binsted Parish Council Rights of Way Group, by Alan Melvin
Our local rights of way are a fantastic asset that offer many ways for people to get out and enjoy the great outdoors, whether walking, cycling or on horseback. But this big network does need regular maintenance – just in the parish of Binsted alone there are 44 miles of footpaths and bridleways to care for.
County councils have the lead responsibility for maintaining Rights of Way – for managing their routes and signposts; maintaining their surfaces, steps and bridges; and for ensuring the paths don’t get blocked by fallen trees or swamped with vegetation. But landowners, parish councils and volunteers also make a vital contribution to keeping them in good order.
Not all parishes have volunteer Rights of Way teams, but in the parishes that do, the volunteers make a massive difference. Having volunteers who know the paths well and have the tools, training and contacts to fix problems means that problems reported by local residents and by other users of the Rights of Way network get fixed much more speedily and that we can more easily identify any required improvements.
Binsted Parish Council Rights of Way team
In Binsted, we have a team of seven volunteers who take care of the Parish Rights of Way. We have all received Path Warden training from Hampshire County Council Countryside Services and our main contact there is our designated Community Engagement Ranger. We are a varied bunch with a wide range of ages and occupations but are all active users of the footpaths and bridleways of Binsted as walkers, runners, cyclists or horse riders.
We have the required tools provided – from manual secateurs, loppers and saws to electric brushcutters and hedgecutters. Our main regular activity is keeping overgrown vegetation under control – anything that restricts access to a path, really. But we are also prepared to join larger work parties in coordination with our Community Ranger and groups such as Alton Ramblers to tackle larger projects such as the construction or repair of steps, footbridges and gates, as well as conducting path surveys and waymarking initiatives. We particularly enjoy these group activities which are sociable team affairs where we can also learn some new skills – all deeply satisfying!
