Walking and cycling trails should allow people to feel safe from traffic volumes, speed and other threats whether ‘real’ or ‘perceived’ as well as providing opportunities for healthy lifestyle activities. Walking and cycling trails therefore should provide an attractive and viable alternative to private car travel.

Multi-Use Trails

• The Cornish Way

“Imagine for a moment all that Cornwall has to offer. Majestic cliffs and Atlantic breakers, rolling countryside and breath-taking views, picturesque villages and historic towns, an ancient and industrial past, distinctive flora and fauna, and a host of different visitor attractions and a wealth of arts, crafts and cottage industries.

Now imagine travelling, not by car, but by bicycle or on foot and all these images form the back-drop to the Cornish Way”.

The Cornish Way was officially opened on June 21st 2000 as Cornwall’s 180 mile/288 km contribution to the National Cycle Network (NCN) developed by Sustrans. The Cornish Way is a countywide network of trails for cyclists, walkers and, wherever possible, the mobility impaired and horse riders.

The Cornish Way comprises largely of minor roads and traffic free off-road sections, with small sections on urban roads.

Six interlinking and signposted trails, including the very popular Camel Trail stretch between the county border near Bude through to Land’s End, providing access to the countryside and principal towns for all. The trails pass though many of the county’s distinctive landscapes and links to public transport facilities and popular visitor attractions where possible.

The Cornish Way is used for utility (everyday) journeys, leisure trips and by those wishing to improve their fitness and health. However, the Cornish Way is also used by several initiatives largely devised through partnerships to promote healthy lifestyles and social inclusion.

• The Mineral Tramways

The Mineral Tramways are key strategic walking, cycling and equestrian routes linking Portreath on the north coast and Devoran fourteen miles south and the villages around Carn Brea.

The ‘Coast to Coast’ route follows the old Portreath Tramroad and the Redruth and Chacewater railway line providing a safe environment for leisure and utility trips alike due to the path passing close by numerous residential areas including Scorrier, Porthreath and Devoran.

The newly developed ‘Great Flat Lode’ follows a 7.5 mile route around Carn Brea encompassing many areas of environmental and historical significance as well as passing close by to residential areas.

The Mineral Tramways will be extended as funding allows over forthcoming years and four new routes have been identified by the Mineral Tramways Strategy (1998). However, before new routes can be added, funding needs to be secured to provide for the necessary maintenance of the path.

Initiatives Utilising the Cornish Way and Mineral Tramways

• ‘Pedal Back the Years’

The first 'Pedal Back the Years' (PBTY) scheme was piloted in Dorset in 1999. The aim of the scheme is to identify people who have not cycled, or taken any regular exercise for a long time and help them regain confidence, widen their social network, learn new skills, increase employability, and develop healthy lifestyle habits. In 2001, the Central Cornwall Primary Care Trust identified the project as being particularly suitable to Cornwall, and funding was approved for a scheme to be launched in 2002 as a three-year pilot. Partners include the County and District Councils, local cycle hire firms, employment agencies and other health organisations. The people taking part in the scheme are identified through GPs, Social Workers, Health Visitors and employment groups.

Cycle hire businesses are a small but rapidly growing business sector in Cornwall, however trade is strongly linked to the tourist season. PBTY ideally fits in the quieter months allowing the local population to gain confidence on quiet leisure routes, and enables local hire businesses to employ staff on a more permanent basis. The scheme also intends to develop recruitment and training of community members to lead rides.

• ‘Mobilise!’

The PBTY partnership felt that members of every disadvantaged community in the county should be offered the opportunity to try sustainable, healthy, active travel, in a supportive environment. The project Mobilise!, proposed by Sustrans and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Health Action Zone, sets out to do just that.

Between September 2002 and March 2006, Mobilise! will establish and manage a system of guided rides and walks reaching every disadvantaged community in Cornwall, over 150 locations. Clients will be referred by GPs and other front-line health professionals, youth workers, community workers and others. The wider community will be informed via the print and broadcast media, community groups and other organisations, including the existing PBTY partners and those in the Walking for Health initiative.

This intensive geographical coverage has not been attempted before in the United Kingdom and Cornwall will therefore serve as a ‘test-bed’ and reference point for the development of projects all over the country. The partners also plan to support the establishment of parallel projects in other areas, for example in a metropolitan area, and are in discussion with appropriate authorities on this.

Walking Trails

• The South West Coast Path

The South West Coast Path (SWCP) stretches 630 miles from Minehead in Somerset, east to Land’s End and west to Pool in Dorset making it the longest National Trail in the Country. Incredibly, nearly half (268 miles) of the path is in Cornwall following the entire Cornish coast. Unfortunately due to the paths popularity as a leisure and recreational route a great number of people access the path by private car which in turn can cause increased levels of congestion along the smaller, quieter coastal lanes.

South West Coast Path Initiatives

• ‘Explore the Far West By Boot, Bus and Branch Line’.

Cornwall County Council in partnership with the West Cornwall Rural Transport Partnership and Penwith District Council have put a package of measures together in West Penwith to encourage access to the coast path by public transport. The package consists of a leaflet showing four suggested graded linear walks, a comprehensive map, bus timetables and attraction locations. Many attractions have also agreed to give a 10% discount to those who have arrived by public transport as an incentive.

Waymark signs to and from the path will be installed during summer 2003 to guide walkers to the bus stops and on disembarkation of the bus which direction to follow to locate the coast path. Bus stop infrastructure e.g. timetable cases and bus stop flags will also be improved and installed where necessary.

Finally, familiarisation tours with the local accommodation providers and Tourists Information Centres took place over Easter 2003 so they can advise visitors and locals alike, that the best way to access the SWCP is by bus or branch line. The project went live Easter 2003 and it is hoped that the scheme may be ‘rolled-out’ throughout the County if it proves to be successful.

Issues and Solutions

In the early stages of developing trails, problems have occurred in acquiring land. Land owners have been reluctant to release land for fear of what has become known as ‘the Camel Trail effect’, where very large user numbers have occurred. This has meant that negotiations have been drawn out and more costly than originally anticipated. However, these worries have proved to be unfounded and the fear of a dramatic concentration of user numbers has not occurred. This can be partly attributed to the fact that the number of trails and length of safe usable pathways that are available now has increased, thus reducing the impact on any one single location.

Providing and developing a network of trails throughout the County suitable for walkers, cyclists, wheelchairs and equestrians is only part of the process. The securing of maintenance money and successful promotion can be a problem but is a necessary requirement of providing safe, attractive and useable networks that will encourage the public to engage in non-car means of travel. Partnerships have been formed between the County and District Councils, Sustrans, the Countryside Agency and various health agency’s and organisations allowing a variety of financial resources to be drawn upon as well as promotional usage of the paths.

For further information please contact rjackson@cornwall.gov.uk

Last revised - 22nd July 2003