Available: a long green trail

by Simon Wilson, North Pennines AONB Partnership

I wonder what Tom Stephenson the architect of the Pennine Way would think if he could see it now. One of the family of National Trails, to be expanded next year with the formal launch of the English Coast Path, the Pennine Way is arguably the most well-known walking route in the UK. The organisations involved in looking after the Pennine Way are certainly different than in the 1930s when Tom wrote his Wanted: A Long Green Trail call to arms article for the Daily Herald, inspired by the Appalachian Trail in the USA. The Pennine Way is now managed by a partnership involving Natural England, all the local authorities through whose area the route passes and protected landscape organisations including the North Pennines AONB Partnership. For our part, for the past few years, we have worked with others in the trail partnership to deliver the Pennine Way People project, which involves volunteer Champions in looking after the route from Tan Hill to Hadrian’s Wall. The Champions each have an adopted section of trail that they survey, report on and engage in supported maintenance works. The length of Pennine Way that the volunteers collectively champion is similar to the Middleton-in-Teesdale to Hadrian’s Wall section that Tom walked with MPs including Barbara Castle and Arthur Blenkinsop in 1948 to gain support for the trail.

Tom was a great advocate for access to our finest landscapes and we can assume that his motivation was to establish rights for all to discover and make an emotional connection with nature. To create an opportunity for people to make a pilgrimage on foot through stunning countryside, where the journey is as important as the destination. If I were to ask any of the volunteers we work with why they give their time to this cause, the answer would not be too different I suspect, they are drawn to these places and are making the way better for others. For me, I think of the many people who take short walks on the Pennine Way every year, who gain inspiration and well-being from their journey, without having to worry about whether the way is open or passable, they rightly assume it is and can just get on and enjoy it. Our need to spend time outdoors accessing our National Trails, other Public Rights of Way and Access Land is as strong now as it was when Tom wrote his article, and I hope he would be reassured that we have made progress with much still to do.

Published on International Trails Day, 6 June 2020