How modern technology and techniques are helping keep open the Offa’s Dyke Trail (From Hereford Times)

How modern technology and techniques are helping keep open the Offa’s Dyke Trail

8:00am Sunday 31st January 2010

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HEREFORDSHIRE’S panoramic Offa’s Dyke Trail, an inspiration to authors and musicians and an attraction for about 10,000 walkers every year, is having running repairs because parts are becoming worn out.

Recognised as one of the most spectacular walking experiences in England, the massive earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales and dates back to the late 700s, is having a high-tech makeover with an ambitious programme of path improvements and repairs, downloadable circular walks and the very first podcasts on a public walking route in the West Midlands.

Recently rated as one of the top 10 long distance walks in England, work on the Offa’s Dyke Trail has been funded by Natural England, the Countryside Council for Wales and the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority to strengthen and enhance the paths and their signs.

Because of the remote nature of the route, a helicopter has been used to lift materials from the nearest road and this has already involved the transport of 281 tonnes of scalping, 15 tonnes of block stone and 22 tonnes of hardcore.

Much of the groundwork has been carried out by local graziers’ sons assisted by Brecon Beacons park staff.

Now, the jewel in the crown is to be podcasts and circular routes downloadable from the internet.

Ultimately the plan is for Bluetooth in the marker posts for onsite downloading.

Rob Dingle, Offa’s Dyke national trail officer, said: “New technology is key to the future of walking.

“We know that most visitors look at the internet before coming and possibly afterwards, too, so introducing podcasts, giving them on the spot information, history and routes is our way of responding.

“Heavy use of the trail has led to the need for path repairs at some locations.

The park authority is undertaking a programme of works on the Hatterall Ridge in the National Park and Herefordshire, for example.

“Repair works have involved airlifting in local stone across an area of special scientific interest, to avoid disturbing habitats, as well as transplanting peat and vegetation, using underlying stone and then replacing the peat, to provide a sustainable path surface preventing further erosion.

“New cross drains have also been laid and so far about 120 days’ work has been completed.

“Being a cross-border route gives the Offa’s Dyke Trail a special edge, as you crisscross back and forth following history,” said Rob.

The 177-mile Offa’s Dyke Trail runs from Sedbury Cliffs, near Chepstow in Monmouthshire, to Prestatyn, Denbighshire, on the north Wales coast, through some of the most dramatic and picturesque landscapes on the English- Welsh border.

The route passes through Radnor Forest and the Black Mountains and visits the market towns of Kington, Knighton and Hay-on-Wye. The trail is inspired by, and largely follows, the great frontier earthwork built by Offa, King of Mercia from 757 to 796 AD to protect the borders of his kingdom.

It is the longest scheduled ancient monument in the UK and includes a mosaic of upland heath, common grazing lands and lowland river valleys as well as a site of special scientific interest covering more than 30 square miles. In places the trail rises to more than 2,000 ft (610 metres).

Every year, about 10,000 walkers are believed to step it out along the Herefordshire stretch alone and in Shropshire, the section from Kington to Oswestry is becoming similarly popular for both walkers and birdwatcher and, eventually, it too will have improved hitech information.

The area is home to ravens, peregrine falcons, merlins and red grouse.

The Herefordshire section along Hergest Ridge near Kington is thought to have inspired Mike Oldfield’s legendary album Tubular Bells, as well as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.

The Offa’s Dyke National Trail opened almost 40 years ago in 1971 and after Hadrian’s Wall and the walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End, it is one of the most popular long-distance routes in Britain.

■ The trail is named after, and often follows, the spectacular Dyke which King Offa ordered to be constructed in the 8th century, probably to divide his Kingdom of Mercia from rival kingdoms in what is now Wales.

■ In its 177 miles it passes through eight different counties and crosses the border between England and Wales more than 20 times.

■ Day-to-day management of the path is undertaken by the National Trail Officer, who is based in Llandrindod Wells, in conjunction with the eight local authorities and one National Park Authority along the route.

■ Overall policy and marketing, and much of the funding, for this and other National Trails is the responsibility of the Countryside Council for Wales and Natural England.

■ The Offa’s Dyke Association is an independent voluntary organisation that provides information and other services to people who enjoy hiking and walking. It seeks to promote and protect the trail and manages the Offa's Dyke Centre at Knighton.

■ For more information, visit nationaltrail.co.uk/offasdyke, the ODA at offasdyke.demon.co.uk or ramblers.org.uk/info/paths/name/o/offasdyke.

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