COMMUNITY BROUGHT UP TO SPEED WITH KINTYRE WAY

[Kintyre Forum News]

A conference to boost the profile of the Kintyre Way with the local community and discuss proposals for the future will take place on Wednesday (Nov 3) in Tarbert.

The day will kick off with a photocall at Tarbert Castle at 9.30am with the three man team (Karen Ross, Neil McMillan and Campbell Maguire) employed by the council over the summer to maintain and improve paths between Tarbert and the Mull of Kintyre.

The works done at the castle is in addition to the upgrading of the access steps by Tarbert Harbour Authority and Argyll and Bute Council as part of the joint town centre improvements.

The team has provided much needed support to the Long & Winding Way Company, which manages the Kintyre Way which attracted around 1,500 walkers this year.

It has drained and rerouted sections of path south of Machrihanish, strimmed the vegetation from many sections of the Kintyre Way, improved the path to Columba’s Footprint at Keils Point as well as painting way markers and reconstructing a short length of badly eroded path at Tarbert Castle on behalf of the Tarbert & Skipness Community Trust.

Sheila Campbell, chair of the Trust, said: “The most important issue for the trust was the prevention of erosion and underlying archaeology which the team resolved admirably to the specifications agreed by Historic Scotland.”

Owen Paisley, Kintyre Way route manager, said: “The team has been a great asset to the Kintyre Way and I am extremely grateful for all their hard work.

"I recently received an e-mail from a walker who completed the Kintyre Way in October. In it she praises the way marking, views and varied scenery along the path.

“Summing up, she commented that the most special thing about the Way is the sense that it's ‘owned’ by the community. The hard work put in by the path team has gone a long way to ensuring that the Kintyre Way is a long distance route that the community can be proud of now and into the future.”

Following the success of this pilot a new team is being recruited to continue their work over this winter, again with funding from Argyll and Bute Council and the Future Jobs Fund.

The Kintyre Way Conference will be held in the Templars Hall in Tarbert on Wednesday, November 3.

The people available at the photocall will be the Kintyre Path Maintenance Team, Owen Paisley, Sheila Campbell, chair of the Long & Winding Way Company Alan Minshaw and Argyll and Bute Council’s access manager Jolyon Gritten.