Testing, testing, testing! Two New Footpaths are Tried Out by Local Ramblers

Getting exercise and keeping fit is an excellent way to maintain good health - and the photographs show a group of local residents doing just that.

They were taking part in a walk organised by the Tring & District Local History and Museum Society last month to celebrate the opening two new footpaths designated as Tring Town Footpaths 87 and 88.

These are now showing on Hertfordshire's Definitive Map of Rights of Way.

Tring has been fortunate that a group of longterm walkers, ramblers and dog-walkers led by the local footpath and environmental activist, John Savage, recently succeeded in establishing the new Tring Town Footpath 87 based on 20 years continuous use.

This required a great deal of research and evidence of continuous use, but a number of people were willing and able to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate to the adjudicating Planning Inspector that such use had indeed established a public right of way.

Congratulations are due to the local people for their effective community action in achieving this result and to John Savage for having co-ordinated the campaign.

Even better, however, during the research and investigation into the land use along and nearby to the route of the path, it was discovered that there was an already existing public footpath running in a different direction from New Mill to Little Tring.

Although unused for a century or more it had been established by the 1799 Tring Inclosure Act, in connection with the enclosure of the Tring common fields. As such it remained a public footpath whether it had ever been used or not. So the establishment of one footpath led to the unexpected discovery of a second one. Two for the price of one!