Community Rail Lancashire (CRL) is very pleased to announce that they have been successful in securing a grant from the Community Rail Development Fund for a project called Track to Trail – Wellbeing walks from the Clitheroe Line into the Forest of Bowland National Landscape.
Tracks to Trails plans to develop two new sustainable travel and tourism itineraries focused on the Clitheroe Line including onward public transport connections into the Forest of Bowland National Landscape.
CRL and the Clitheroe Line CRP have been developing ideas for links from Clitheroe Interchange into the Forest of Bowland National Landscape and Pendleside. Using funding from its BSIP (Bus Service Improvement Plan), Lancashire County Council has been able to introduce the service 11 from Clitheroe Interchange to Settle that goes through the heart of the Forest of Bowland National Landscape see https://www.dalesbus.org/uploads/1/1/3/9/113919127/11.pdf . The service has been designed to make good connections in both directions with the Manchester to Clitheroe rail service. This enables car free journeys into this area for leisure purposes. Using this CRL and the CLCRP have been working with the Forest of Bowland National Landscape to develop two active travel itineraries that can be accessed using train and bus.
The Forest of Bowland National Landscape has been of promoting sustainable forms of tourism encouraging visitors to arrive in and explore the Forest of Bowland via public transport and active travel. With funding following the pandemic it has invested in the EcoEscapes initiative which is a coordinated sustainable tourism strategy in collaboration with local businesses in the Forest of Bowland. – see https://communityraillancashire.co.uk/ecoescapes/ .
This project will support the local economy and support the EcoEscapes initiative through actively promoting car free journeys to this area for day trips or for longer stays.
The Community Rail Development Fund is a source of funding from the Department for Transport and managed by the Community Rail Network and is available to accredited CRPs to further develop community rail across the country.