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00:00Good morning once again people of Somerset. It's Daniel Mumby here, your local democracy reporter.
00:08A very happy St Andrew's Day to anyone listening from Scotland or any Scottish people who have
00:13come to settle in Somerset. You're very welcome. But we're not here to talk about Scotland today.
00:17We're here to talk about the Strawberry Line. You join me on the outskirts of Shepton Mallet.
00:21I'm standing on Ridge Road or Ridge Lane, depending on which side of this bridge you're
00:26standing on. This is Stump Cross Bridge. We're right at the edge of the parish of Shepton Mallet
00:31and that is the direction where we're heading in a few seconds. You might have seen our coverage
00:36earlier this month about the formal reopening of two new sections of the Strawberry Line. One
00:42just up the road there in Shepton Mallet with the new footbridge and cycle bridge being installed
00:47over the B31C6 West Shepton, if I can get my consonants and vowels in the right order, and the
00:53other out in that direction towards Dulcote. That's the one that we got to explore back in,
00:59I believe it was July or August. Now what we're going to be doing today is we're going to be
01:04talking about this stretch of the Strawberry Line which has been formally open to the public now for
01:10a few weeks. We let these cars go by. Ridge Road is surprisingly busy. We're going to be walking
01:19that in a second, so please do drop any comments or questions you may have. But just before we
01:23get underway I want to flag up what happens in the future because it's not just about showing
01:28what's already here but talking about the progress that's going on both at this end of the Strawberry
01:33Line and further out in the other direction towards Cheddar. You can see here there is still
01:38the regular green fencing that's been setting aside either side of the old railway line near
01:44this farm track. We're not going to walk down there today but essentially the Strawberry Line
01:48are currently working in the early stages with National Highways, formerly known as Highways
01:52England, to reopen these railway arches so that the Strawberry Line can go onto the former track
02:00bed and head out a certain stretch out towards Dulker. There's now only a small gap which would
02:06form a complete link when finished between Sheps and Mallet and Wells and hopefully with fair
02:12weather and enough grant funding and all the amazing volunteers they have it won't be long
02:18before this section of the Strawberry Line is completely finished. So now we're going to cross
02:21over Ridge Lane and begin our journey on the Strawberry Line proper. You might remember we
02:29were out on Ridge Lane earlier in the year because we were talking about the CG Fry development
02:36which is about a quarter of a mile or so in that direction of Sheps and we won't skirt past that
02:40site much today but certainly it will put it into context. So for those of you who have never had
02:47the pleasure of joining me on any previous section of the Strawberry Line, if you've never seen any of
02:51my previous live streams including the one I think it was in October or early November when the bridge
02:57was formally laid into place, let me give you a bit of vital background. So the Strawberry Line
03:04runs uninterrupted from Yatton Railway Station in North Somerset all the way to Station Road in
03:11Cheddar following to a large extent the former track bed of the Cheddar Valley Railway Line which
03:18was closed during the beaching cuts of the mid-1960s. Now since the 1980s there have been
03:25various attempts made to protect the land on which the railway sat rather than allowing it to be built
03:32on by housing and commercial development with a view to reopening it as a series of permissive
03:38paths that will eventually run all the way from Yatton through Cheddar through Wales and ending up
03:46at Collett Park in Shepton Mallet which is where our final destination will be today.
03:50And the section we're on at the moment is one of several little bits that have been delivered as a
03:56result of grant funding from local authorities, contributions from housing developers and various
04:02kind donations by local individuals and companies along with the brilliant work of Greenways and
04:08Cycle Routes to deliver relatively low cost relatively unobtrusive multi-user paths. There
04:15is a short section on the outskirts of Cheddar between Westbury, Sudmendip and Easton. Work has
04:23started on extending that out east towards the Haybridge area of Wales linking up with the
04:30stretch that runs all the way to the leisure centre. There is the long section along the A39
04:35and the A371 through the middle of Wales out towards Delcote that eventually becomes off-road
04:42but very much along the same lines as this and then there is this section that we're on at the
04:47moment which the priority for the Strawberry Line volunteers who work tirelessly to not only build
04:53the new paths but maintain the existing ones is to work west to join up with Wales and then they
05:00can turn their attention towards finishing off the links between Wales and Cheddar and tidying up any
05:06remaining little bits and pieces. So the section we're on today it'll take about 20-25 minutes to
05:13briskly walk and as I said earlier on it's been designed so that it meets Department for Transport
05:21guidelines under what's called the LTN120 essentially assuring that the path is wide
05:27enough for people on bicycles or with pushchairs or with wheelchairs and mobility scooters to pass
05:33each other in both directions and I have seen a couple of people with pushchairs using this route
05:40this morning. As you can see there are already plenty of dog walkers out as we get closer to
05:45Shepton you'll understand just how vital this new stretch has become in terms of
05:51linking up communities which were previously cut off unless you had a car or a motorbike.
05:59One of my favourite things to do is to come out on multi-user paths like this which
06:06when they're being planned you might question the thinking in terms of the route you know
06:11why is it following this meandering path as though going in a straight line
06:16and then you see it open through the tireless work of volunteers and local contractors
06:22and people of all ages and backgrounds enjoying it in all manner of ways. What I'm going to do
06:29is just briskly pass these people and their dogs so we don't ruin their day.
06:49In fact we'll just turn back for a second.
06:53If you haven't just joined me here it's Daniel Mumby your local democracy reporter. We're back
06:57on the Strawberry Line this time on the outskirts of Shepton Mallet. We started our journey on Ridge
07:03Road right at the southwestern edge of the parish more or less in the neighbouring parish of Croscombe
07:10if memory serves and we are now on our way in to Shepton proper via this extended link. Now
07:19I should point out the section that we're on at the moment was actually delivered
07:24about a year ago this part from Ridge Lane up towards the West Shepton playing fields. This
07:30was put in around the same time as the link under the A371 at Cannard's Grave Road
07:38near the Shape Mendip campus where the former Mendip District Council offices are.
07:43So the bridge that was put in earlier this year has essentially been
07:49able to facilitate that connection between this path that is nicely bedded in and well
07:53maintained. You can see that there's been efforts to let the vegetation regrow without it encroaching
08:00too much onto the the actual route and the bridge now means that you can get all the way from the
08:06outskirts of here into the town centre in a matter of minutes. Someone's left a hippo on there.
08:13I don't know why that's rather adorable and it's also worth pointing out at this juncture because
08:17this is a permissive path. You know sometimes the Strawberry Line follows public rights of way that
08:22are enshrined in law but a lot of the time it's at the discretion of the local landowner through
08:26a long-term lease or access agreement and you can see here they've left the hard standing in
08:32for the farmer so that as and when they need to access their land they can. And you'll see many
08:38more little links along those lines as we go through along with little bits of what I suppose
08:45we call street furniture. Someone's made a nice bench with leftover stones from what I'm assuming
08:53are dry stone walls although I can see bits of mortar floating along here. Dry stone walls are
08:59often something we associate with Yorkshire but there's loads of it in Gloucestershire as well
09:02so I'd be surprised if we didn't have at least a little bit down here. Do let me know in the
09:06comments if I'm talking absolute nonsense. Why change now I suppose. So just again to put
09:14today's walk in a bit of context we went up on the Dolcote extension through the kind invitation
09:21of Richard Jones I believe his name was back in late July early August to explore that section
09:27before it was officially opened. That section that runs from the Charlie Bigham complex past
09:33Dolcote recycling centre out towards Churchill Batch lane
09:38and then that had its formal opening together with the West Shepton stretch
09:45earlier in the month I think it was around November the 8th or something along those
09:49lines. It was around the time that I was at a conference in Manchester so I couldn't pretend
09:53personally. Great to see so many people out enjoying the air with their dogs. There was
09:58just a little bit of drizzle in the air as we came closer to Shepton. I'm hoping that's going
10:02to hold off for the time being but fingers crossed we will get through this unscathed.
10:13So Llamaset council which has been supporting the project through the advice of its officers and
10:21trying to set aside some funding where it can. I'm just going to get past these people.
10:24Hey there. Thanks a lot.
10:34So we're just coming up now to the West Shepton playing fields. You can see here that they've left
10:40connections with the existing paths leading down towards the skate park, the pump track I suppose
10:47you'd call it. We're not going to get too close because there are children playing. We don't want
10:50to run into any safeguarding issues and you'll see as we go along there are various other little
10:56links to existing footpaths, existing agricultural accesses and to the residential streets that,
11:04as we get closer to the sidings area, spin off from that so that you don't have to go the long
11:09way around and only be able to access the path from one of two ends. You can actually jump on
11:13it at any point. So as I was saying before those dogs got in the way, bless them, love dogs,
11:21Lupin would absolutely love this place, we had a statement through from Somerset council
11:26when this newest section of the path that we're coming on to now, you can just see the blue foot
11:31bridge in the distance, when this was officially commemorated earlier this month and here is what
11:37Councillor Richard Wilkins, the lead member for transport and waste services, who we interviewed
11:42when the bridge was being loaded into place, here's what he had to say. The grand opening
11:47event went really well and showcases the importance of the local community and volunteers.
11:53Your efforts have transformed this disused railway into a vibrant pathway for everyone to use.
11:59This triumph gives more people the opportunity to leave their cars at home
12:03and get into active travel which is great for health, well-being and the environment.
12:13Apologies for that, I had to change hands so I could get my other phone in my pocket
12:19and my thumb ended up on the lens, of course it does, these things happen. So that was Richard
12:25Wilkins there, a great proponent of active travel, represents the Currie Rival and Langport division
12:31where there's lots of work going on behind the scenes to make it easier to get between those
12:36two settlements without using the main roads and now we are coming over this amazing new footbridge
12:45and cycle bridge built in Huddersfield and lowered into place over the B3136 West Shepton. You've got
12:55the West Shepton playing fields just below us there with an existing right-of-way and then
13:03that road stretching out eventually to the 361 and the back roads to Glastonbury. So this bridge
13:09that we're standing on at the moment was put in place several weeks ago and it means that if
13:14you're coming from the villages west of Shepton Mallet and eventually from Dulcote and Wells,
13:20you can now safely cross this really busy road, this gets a lot of freight traffic
13:26without having to rely on that existing outlet down there or without having to go the long way
13:34around out of the playing fields at the back towards Old Wells Road. This makes it a lot
13:40safer and a lot more attractive for everyone and the bridge is designed so that in warm weather,
13:47if we get another heat wave this summer, it will actually adapt to the size of things so
13:52that it will be a long-lasting bridge. There's a certain amount of tolerance in it so that it
13:56will flex but walking on it I can testify it's very stable and incredibly safe. I definitely
14:02recommend checking it out. I should also note that these boulders that have been installed
14:07along various sections of the route, they're partly there for decoration but they are also
14:11there to discourage people using the Strawberry Line in quad bikes and other motorized vehicles.
14:17Mobility scooters are allowed but anything larger than that with a petrol engine or any
14:23other internal combustion engine is discouraged and it's designed to ensure that you can enjoy
14:30this path in peace. You can just see we're coming into the boundary of Shepton Mallet now, you can
14:34see the Kent Lane junction with the entrance sign just over in the distance through the trees
14:40and this path now gently slopes down towards the town centre. Every little incline or gradient,
14:50whether up or down, is within the DFT guidelines. It's no more than a 1 in 20 slope which means you
14:56can get a wheelchair or a mobility scooter up here without too much difficulty.
15:03Everything's been thought through and done, not just according to legal guidelines
15:08but to meet the needs of the local community. And to that end, let me point out the first of
15:15these little spurs that have been put in along with this lovely landscaping and planting along
15:21the side which will eventually mature and provide a good amount of screening with these homes.
15:27You have a nice little hairpin that runs off into this residential area so that you can access it
15:33from these neighbouring houses without too much difficulty. It's little touches like that which
15:39don't take a lot of time but make so much difference when they're in place.
15:44If you've only just joined me, it's Daniel Mumby here, your local democracy reporter. I'm out in
15:48Shepton Mallet. So far the elements have been on our side. The drizzle that was threatening to turn
15:54into full-blown rain as I came into Shepton this morning has been in abeyance and let's hope it
15:59stays that way. We're on the Strawberry Line. We started our journey out at Stump Cross Bridge
16:05on Ridge Road or Ridge Lane. It changes names as you go over the bridge. We are walking into
16:12Shepton Mallet. We will finish our journey in about five to ten minutes time at Collet Park
16:17and I will tell you more about that in a little section. There's one thing I do want to point
16:23out though as we come into this part of the town. You can see the existing children's play
16:29area here. Again we won't get too close. It looks pretty deserted but just in case there are any
16:33children here. Now when this section was being delivered or planned there was discussion of
16:40are we going to go up onto the existing railway embankment here and actually go over
16:48the arch bridge that you'll see in a minute and it was decided that that would be
16:53a prohibitively expensive from an engineering point of view. It would have been very pretty to
16:58see people riding over the top of this arch but also it would mean that it would make it harder
17:05for people in these communities, the homes stretching beyond the sidings area here,
17:12to actually access the path and the whole point of multi-user paths like the Strawberry Line is
17:17that they encourage people, particularly those who either can't access public transport, haven't got
17:22their own cars or don't need to use cars for every journey. It is designed to encourage them to get
17:28on these routes as easily as possible and if you put a path up on that bridge, all right it'll look
17:34pretty and impressive but it means that you make it harder for people actually to get up there with
17:39their push chairs and therefore fewer people use it. Personally, I think it's really beautiful as
17:45it is and it also means that we snake through the existing properties and pass the allotments that
17:53we'll be coming up to in a second and again, although the surfacing feels like tarmac under
18:01the feet, it's actually not. It's sort of soft pressed stone chippings and bitumen rather like
18:05surface dressing and even though this landscaping at the moment looks quite harsh and fresh,
18:11eventually it will bed in. You can see some vegetation starting to poke through. If we get
18:17a lot of frost over the winter that will obviously break up the soil a little bit and we'll get more
18:22growth, not just brambles and everything else, and that will make this feel much more like a green
18:28corridor. So we are now coming up into the sidings residential area. We've got the allotments to our
18:38left which can be safely accessed from elsewhere. There's a couple of people already digging away
18:47as we head into the winter and this section then bends around and we move on to a quiet
18:56residential street. So I'm going to stick to the pavements as much as possible.
19:03I should point out, and I'm willing to be corrected on this, but the sidings is a
19:08privately owned road. It's not been adopted by Somerset Council Highways and therefore
19:14people who are using the Strawberry Line do so at the discretion of the homeowners. I believe that
19:20is true. In any case, if you are using this section, do treat the homeowners with the deepest respect.
19:30I don't think we're quite at the stage of having a Tour de Shepton of thousands of cyclists
19:36pouring down here on one day or over a weekend over the summer. Maybe we will eventually get
19:41that way, but for now we'll just keep the volume down a little and allow the homeowners to go
19:47around their business. It's part of the spirit of the Strawberry Line. These are permissive
19:54paths. We use them with the agreement of our neighbours. Everyone's respectful, everyone plays
19:59by the rules and therefore everyone gets to enjoy it equally. Just again sticking to the pavements
20:08you can see that there's a couple of other little footpaths that snake off the route that have
20:14been here for some time connecting up with other bits of the town centre
20:18and off into Stephens Terrace down that way.
20:27So from here we've only got a short distance to go before we go under the main road
20:34not far from the town centre shopping centre as I quickly cross over
20:38and then we head under the old railway arch past the Shaped Mendip campus and we will finish up
20:47in about five to ten minutes at Collett Park.
20:51So we've talked a lot about what's currently in place here in Shepton. I will talk about the
20:57future of the Shepton Stretch in just a moment because it ties in very much with our final
21:02destination. But let me just give you an idea of what the next 12 to 18 months might hold for this
21:09route. Now work has started, if you've been following their social media updates, on extending
21:19the section between Westbury-sub-Mendip and Easton out to the east past the village hall
21:26towards the Haybridge area of Wales near the St Cuthbert's paper mill.
21:32Work has started on that stretch and we understand it's proceeding at quite a rate.
21:37However, let's let these people pass and then I'll finish that sentence.
21:46However, that short phase is not currently open to the public and when it does open it will be
21:53for pedestrians only for the time being. They've designed it so that they can link up with the
22:00existing footpaths going through the landowner's land which provides a more circuitous route
22:08to Wales through Ebbor Lane and you can still pick up the Strawberry Line section
22:14past the Priory Fields route in that manner. But it's a case of because negotiations with
22:21the remaining landowners are still ongoing they're asking people to be very careful
22:28in terms of waiting to use the path until it's opened and then doing so with respect because
22:36any unwarranted behaviour could lead to other landowners pulling out and then you end up with
22:42a path to nowhere which would be greatly disappointing. So I would just sound a note
22:46of caution on that but to put on a more optimistic spin of it it's great to see work starting at that
22:52end and like I say there is negotiations currently ongoing of the remaining landowners between
22:59Churchillbatch Lane and Ridge Road about filling in that missing link between Wales and Shepton.
23:07We understand that National Highways are still in the early stages of planning to unlock Stumpcross
23:14Bridge and allow that route to go through one of the arches allowing the Strawberry Line to come
23:20west. There's a gap of I would say no more than two miles now between Dulcus and Shepton and
23:28hopefully that can be shrunk further once National Highways move things along at their end and then
23:36the section under the bridge or from the bridge can be extended out. But it will be a case of once
23:43that missing link has been completed and then the full stretch from Easton to Haybridge is in place
23:51that's when attention will be turning full-blown to completing the link between Wales and Shedder
23:56which has numerous challenges and there are discussions going on with landowners to move
24:02things forward but a lot of that we can't speculate about for commercial reasons.
24:07So we are now coming along the section we're under the A371
24:14Kennardsgrave Road. This is a section that opened in March 2023 around the same time as the Ridge
24:21Road section. This was one of the last achievements of Mendip District Council before it was abolished
24:27and this section goes right past their front door. The buildings behind us or to the left of us are
24:35to the left of us are still used for public meetings including the Planning Committee East
24:41meeting that's taking place next week to discuss the Selwood Garden community development that's
24:48planned on the southern edge of Froome. I'll be covering that virtually in due course but
24:56unfortunately it's quite quiet today so I don't think we're on the risk of
25:01getting into trouble either parking here or or just milling around on these paths.
25:08This stretch I should point out is tarmac rather than the traditional
25:14slightly looser surface that we've seen before but it's perfectly safe.
25:21And again we'll just just pause here look both ways and we'll get across.
25:31So we are now sticking on this dedicated lane within the staff parking area at the
25:50Shape Mendip campus. This is off limits to the public during the week. You can see the barriers
25:54that were in place when we came in and we are now reaching the eastern terminus of the
26:02Strawberry Line at one of the entrances to Collett Park, the jewel in the crown of Shepton Mallet's
26:10green spaces and if you've been following our coverage about it in the last few months you'll
26:15know that the Town Council here are setting ambitious plans in motion to completely refurbish
26:22the park including an improved link in there tidying up this section of the Millennium Way
26:30which heads out towards Tadley Acres, improving the cafe space that's often operating here you
26:38can see it's open now so I might get myself a cup of tea in a minute, looking at ways to enhance
26:42the play facilities including the outdoor gym equipment that's down there and just generally
26:47making this a better place for all concerned and we will be following how that takes shape
26:52over the next 12 to 18 months and beyond. So there we have it we have made it to our final
26:58destination at the end of the Strawberry Line you hopefully have got a very good idea of
27:03how this is all taking shape. If you've missed any part of our live stream and you want to
27:08do some virtual reconnaissance to plan a trip for yourself and I thoroughly recommend you do
27:12this will be available indefinitely on our Facebook page and I shall be back next weekend
27:17where I'm intending to be in Elminster talking about the Stop Line Way and the persimmon
27:22development that's planned up in that direction but in the meantime this is Daniel Mumby your
27:26local democracy reporter from Collett Park in Shepton Mallet have a fantastic weekend
27:31and tomorrow is the start of Advent it'll soon be Christmas. Bye for now.