Local Walking Action Plan Consultation
The event was organised by Planning Aid Scotland, as part of the Sustaining Choices Project (https://www.pas.org.uk/what-we-do/sustaining-choices/ ) - in partnership with Eskdalemuir Community Hub. The purpose of the event was to gather local people's views on walking in the area to inform a Local Walking Action Plan which will be produced by March 2025.
Here's what we did:
10am | Gather at the Hub ( organised car-sharing to the start of the walk)
10am ⎯ 12pm | Archaeological Walk with Matt Ritchie, archaeologist from Forestry and Land Scotland (guided 2km walk up Bessie’s Hill, option to drive)
12pm ⎯ 1pm
· Soup and Sandwiches at the Hub
· Talk: “Time Travelling: the Search for a Creative Archaeological Narrative”
· Chat about local walking routes
1pm ⎯ 4pm | Pottery Session with Ruth Jones
· Learn about Eskdalemuir’s pottery heritage
· Make your own small vessels and figures from terracotta clay
· 3.15pm Schoolchildren joined in when they arrived by bus
Bessie’s Hill Fort
Focus of walking discussion: How do you find getting to the shops, schools or public transport in your community? Are there changes you would like to see? This is an opportunity to help make your local area safer, more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
We wanted to hear your thoughts on:
Areas that need improvement, such as poorly lit or overgrown paths.
Creating better signage or new routes where needed.
The barriers preventing people from walking/wheeling more in the area.
Responses to main questions
We got some great feedback from the discussions throughout the day. The information gathered from the event will be collated and added to the information gathered from the online survey which has just been released. We would also like to gather views from children and young people who were underrepresented at the event.
“Time Travelling: the Search for a Creative Archaeological Narrative” a talk by Matt Ritchie, archaeologist from Forestry and Land Scotland.
Link for the online survey which will be open until the end of December 2024: https://forms.office.com/e/HERi3s8LKu