Community Engagement Summer Update

Our walking groups set up as part of the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Coast Path Connectors project are still going strong this summer. As you can see from the hub updates below, we deliver a mixture of walks; some walks specifically for a health or community group, and other walks which can be accessed by anyone in the community. We spend much time adapting walks to the weather conditions and the group’s abilities and feedback. We are looking to offer some more weekend walks in the autumn to reach a wider audience, so watch this space for more information.

Torbay

This lovely weather has meant lots of interest in the coast path, linking in with other organisations for bug walks and flora and fauna walks, along with our regular walking groups for Brixham Theatre Volunteers, Live Longer Better open walks, Fatigue Management, and The Lodge.

We had a lovely inland history walk up to St Michael’s Chapel in Torre, walking past Agatha Christie’s birthplace, seeing the Church she was christened in and where her sister got married, and at the 13^th Century Chapel hearing about the remains of the Borough Meteorological Observatory… although this was all uphill from Torquay Station, everyone agreed it was well worth the view and hearing about it once there! Coming up we have more history walks taking in Kingswear and Dartmouth Castle, Coleton Camp & Battery Garrison, and various social evening walks during August.

Find out more and get involved in Torbay here.

North Devon

The glorious weather recently has brought out the walkers with maybe a little help from a certain film everyone is talking about. The Ilfracombe Friendship and Social Group have had some lovely walks on the Exmoor Coast, they weren’t tempted to climb Great Hangman so we headed east over Holdstone Down to Trentishoe. The Ilfracombe group was recently joined by members of Man Down, a men’s mental health charity on walk through Braunton Burrows.

The Bude Wellbeing walks are recruiting well with great help from new volunteer Chris. Walk This Way (cancer recovery group) recently met with the Fern Centre prostate cancer group and had an excellent walk around Isley Marsh near Instow. North Devon Carers is a new group that started this year, their most recent walk at Crow Point coincided with large scale NATO manoeuvres in Bideford Bay and the walkers were lucky enough to chat with the Dutch Officer in charge.

_{Photo: The Fern Centre}

Find out more and get involved in North Devon here.

Dorset

We have had some beautiful sunny days in Dorset recently which has led to some wonderful walks. We have been able to spot some of the fantastic butterflies that are on the wing at this time of year, including small and large skipper, marbled white and ringlet. The warm weather has also meant that some of our walkers have chosen to go for a sea swim together after our wellbeing walks. While not an official part of our walk, it is a lovely outcome that participants have been able to enjoy this together.

We are also excited to be partnering with the Dorset National Landscape to offer Nature Buddies for local people who may need extra help to access the coast path walks. The training for this is beginning now and we will be offering this service to local social prescribers over the next few months.

Find out more and get involved in Dorset here.

Plymouth

In Plymouth, we continue to collaborate closely with a variety of community organisations to promote our regular social walking groups. One of our key partners is Devon Mind, with whom we’ve developed a strong and supportive relationship. Through a combination of promoting the walks on their website and social media platforms, as well as direct referrals from their staff, we’ve been able to engage a diverse range of participants in our walking programme, which includes weekday, weekend, and evening outings.

To further support participants, a member of the Devon Mind team attends each walk, offering additional guidance and sharing information about the wider services available. Recently, we also delivered walk leader training to several of their staff members, helping to embed walking as a meaningful and accessible way to connect with their service users in the future.

Find out more and get involved in Plymouth here.

Cornwall

Walking the Cornish Coast in the summer, it can be easy to put off heading out of your home when you live in a tourist hotspot. That is why it’s as important as ever to get out onto the path in the summer months. The long days allow earlier or later starts, beating the traffic and parking mayhem. It’s a great time to explore those lesser-known gems, and with added bus routes it makes ticking off some more of the coast path possible. Creek walks, such as around Helford, can offer you more tree cover and shade.

You can also beat the traffic by using the train, and here in Cornwall we have 7 seaside stations, all of which have fantastic walks on their doorstep. Over the past 2 years I have been leading walks with a group from Redruth, linking the town with the coast. Using public transport, the group has travelled the coast from Penzance to Par and Newquay. It been great to show, with a bit of planning, how accessible Cornwall can be.

Find out more and get involved in Cornwall here.