Forestry Commission - News - safer to school cycle route opens in speyside

A Badenoch community is celebrating the completion of the first phase of a new cycle path that will ultimately provide a safer and healthier route to their local primary school.

The first 2.2km section of the path has now been completed and goes some way to linking the small community of Laggan Bridge to the forestry houses at Achduchil.

Previously the 'school run' option was along the busy A86 trunk road. Now pupils at Gergask Primary School, as well as other local residents, can benefit from the new track which has been built by Forestry Commission Scotland in partnership with Laggan Forest Trust and financial support from Sustrans' 'Safer Route to Schools' initiative.

The path is about 3 metres wide and has purposely been constructed to accommodate a wide variety of user requirements. The surface is pram-friendly so is ideal for families with children too young to ride, while a separate running surface has been laid alongside for ponies from the Haflinger Pony Trekking Centre (at Laggan) to use. The path will also act as part of a forest walk to a viewpoint overlooking Dun da Lamh hill fort and a Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit historic site.

In addition, the path will double as an easier 'green grade' singletrack route as part of the Laggan Wolftrax mountain bike trails - making the popular mountain bike facility even more accessible to families, and those who want to try singletrack mountain biking at the entry level of the sport.

Jack Mackay, Forestry Commission Scotland, said;

"The completion of this project demonstrates the Laggan Forest Trust/Forestry Commission Scotland partnership delivering yet another benefit for the local community. We are grateful to Sustrans for seeing the merits in this important community link path, and agreeing to award the project 100% funding. This is such a generous amount of cash. We are confident that path will prove popular with the wide variety of users we believe will use it, particularly during term-time, holiday periods and at weekends."

Funding for the route was boosted by a Ł94,000 grant from Sustrans through the Scottish Executive's 'Tackling the School Run' grant scheme. Paul Ruffles from Sustrans commented;

"The building of this route begins the process of giving the young people of Laggan a real opportunity to travel to their school in a safer and healthier way. This project also demonstrates how Sustans, through the 'Tackling the School Run' initiative, can meaningfully make a genuine impact on the travel choices young people have in rural areas."

Laggan Forest Trust are planning to extend the route to enable the local schoolchildren to cycle between the forestry houses at Achduchil and Gergask Primary School completely avoiding the main road.

Notes to Editors:
1) Photo opportunity - Monday 4 June at 1030hrs. Schoolchildren from Gergask Primary School will be the first to ride the new path during an official opening event. Please meet at Laggan Wolftrax Car park (opposite the Strathmashie Forestry Houses on A86). Representatives from Forestry Commission Scotland, Laggan Forest Trust and Sustrans will be present at the event.

2) The Laggan Forest Trust and Laggan Forest Trust Company have their routes in the local community, and jointly manage the forests of Strathmashie in a formal, 25 year partnership agreement with Forestry Commission Scotland. The partnership is an example of a range of methods by which the Scottish Executive encourages community involvement in the management of local forests to provide the full range of potential benefits from them.

3) The Laggan Wolftrax trails are part of a cluster of challenging mountain biking routes in national forests in northern Scotland to complement the famous 7stanes cluster in the south of the country.

4) In September (3-9), Forestry Commission Scotland's Leanachan Forest, Fort William, will be the venue of the first ever UCI Mountain Bike & Trails World Championships to be staged in the UK. More than 700 of the World's top riders from more than 50 nations will descend upon Scotland to compete across the four mountain bike disciplines of Cross-country, Downhill, 4-Cross and Trails for a total of 19 World Championship titles. For the latest Championship news and information as well as advance ticket sales, visit www.fortwilliamworldchamps.co.uk

Media enquiries to:
Diana McGowan, Forestry Commission Scotland, press office, tel: 0131 314 6507