RURAL development charity The Southern Upland Partnership has appointed Richard Clarke as its new South West Scotland Coastal Trail development officer.
He will be working in partnership with the People’s Project and Dumfries and Galloway Council to push the idea for a continuous coastal trail along the Solway.
The People’s Project was set up in 2008 as a means to rekindle the meaning of community in Dumfries and Galloway and this project will strengthen the case of what the region has to offer.
The council will provide countryside and access knowledge and experience, while utilising the vast range of core paths that Dumfries has to offer.
Mr Clarke previously worked as a countryside ranger for both the National Trust for Scotland and Buccleuch Estates, working with the community, leading educational programmes and generally ensuring that the outdoors is accessible for all.
He said: “I am looking forward to leading this project enabling people to discover and enjoy the beauty of the Solway coast by linking together existing path networks to create one continuous trail from Gretna to Ayrshire.
“Uncovering Solway’s secrets and working alongside communities, stakeholders, the People’s Project and Dumfries and Galloway Council in helping to deliver this project.”
The Southern Uplands Partnership was started by local people who were keen to keep the communities and countryside of the south of Scotland alive and healthy, with the partnership representing all sorts of people, as well as government bodies, agencies and councils.
Since 1999 it has initiated over 60 significant socially and environmentally sustainable projects and secured and invested over £4 million of project funding.
