SHARED USE CASE STUDIES: INVOLVING VOLUNTEERS
Haddington Longniddry Railway Walk
Given the long association between horses and the branch railway line
between Haddington and Longniddry in East Lothian, it is entirely fitting that it
is open to all non-motorised users, and is now probably the most popular
horse riding route in the area. During the 19th and early 20th century, this
railway carried passengers from Haddington and the surrounding area into
Edinburgh, and transported horse dung from the Edinburgh carriage horses
back out to East Lothian to fertilise the fields.
The last train ran along this track in
1968, since when the rails have
been removed and it’s been
developed as a multi-use path. As
the route was long ago named the
railway
“walk”,
symbols
on
signboards at entry and exit points
and where the route intersects with
roads confirm that the disused
railway is now open to all users
rather than restricted to pedestrian
only. Running through an area of
intensively managed farmland, the
railway walk provides much valued
access for walkers, cyclists and
horse riders, allowing people to
enjoy an area which is more difficult
to appreciate by car. The hedgerows and woodland which have grown up alongside the old
railway also provide valuable wildlife habitat, in turn enhancing enjoyment of the route by
everyone who uses it.
Most of the barriers which were originally installed to restrict illegal vehicular access along
the railway walk have now been removed, so that there are no physical restrictions whether
you are a wheelchair user or riding a horse. Increased use of the path is self-policing.
Different surfacing techniques have been used for different sections of the route, in some
places experimental to see what works best for everyone.
Volunteer involvement
Most of the bridges along the railway walk have been in place for some time. Although they
may not meet the standards recommended by British Horse Society for rights of way south
of the border, on the whole they do the job they need to. However, local riders raised
concerns with East Lothian Council (the local access authority) that the wooden decking of
two of the bridges became slippery when wet, which was putting some riders off using the
route.
East Lothian Council’s solution to the problem was to attach Dino Grip strips to the decking.
These strips have already proved very effective elsewhere – including on one of the bridges
on the Path Demonstration Site at Oatridge College (www.pathsforall.org.uk/pfa/creatingpaths/oatridge-college.html) – but they are not cheap. The material cost of the strips for the
two bridges was £600. Successful application to the BHS Paths for Communities Fund for
50% of the funding acted as pump-priming to attract the remainder from Paths for All
Partnership.
Building on the success of their voluntary
path warden scheme, East Lothian Council
organised two volunteer sessions which
BHS helped promote amongst local riders.
Despite appalling weather, four BHS
volunteers and a Sustrans volunteer turned
up on the day to help screw the strips in
place across the bridge. The following day,
East Lothian Council received a phone call
from an elderly lady saying how relieved
she was that the bridges were now so much
easier to cross, demonstrating how valuable
this project was for all users, not just for
horse riders.
Key learning points
 Finding a solution to management issues such as slippery bridges is far more
positive than closing a route or restricting use.
 Involving local riders or other volunteers often takes longer than getting contractors to
do the work, or doing the work in-house, but volunteer involvement has many other
benefits, including developing a sense of ownership and pride in the local area which
helps encourage more responsible behaviour.
 Although laying non-slip strips centrally looks really good and is the most logical
option, setting the strips to one side will leave a clear through-way for cyclists or
wheelchair users, and gives walkers option to hold on to side rails when walking on
the strips, if they so choose.
VWG
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