The National Forest Way has been launched after 5 years of planning. It Links the National Arboretum at Alrewas Staffordshire with Beacon Hill at Woodhouse Eaves. The route is 75 miles and a bit like the Robin Hood Way in Nottinghamshire it twist and turns like a drunken sailor, with perhaps only one purpose, that of linking points of interest, it’s not a walk for getting somewhere. I know from bitter experience that the National Arboretum is not a walker friendly location. Being alongside the A38, railway and rivers Trent and Tame there are very limited access points. The Google map shows the route starts with a half mile walk along the A513 which was a dreary drag when I did it two years ago. Shame they haven’t been able to use the footbridge over the Trent (A walk using Mythaholme Bridge), it cost £130,000 in 2004 and still has no footpaths linking to it. I noted new waymarks recently on the Ivanhoe Way between Staunton Harold and Ashby de la Zouch and thought perhaps that route had been renamed ‘National Forest Way’ but it appears it uses the same paths, shame we can’t have waymarks showing both route. I’m not impressed – tell us your view.
Mythaholme bridge – spot the linking footpath
Here some links:-
http://www.nationalforestway.co.uk/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-27448465
http://www.nationalforest.org/newsroom/index.php?fuseaction=news.read&id=320
The website shows a group of walkers passing through a field of Oil Seed. I reproduce it here and hope it wasn’t on a path in Leicestershire.
The National Forest Way