My charity of the week is Friends of the Railway Path, a group of wonderful local people who work to promote, improve, and develop the Coate to Marlborough Railway Path.
Climbing from Coate to Chiseldon on a gentle slope, the Path then runs across the Lower Chalk and through the Og valley. The countryside on either side bears the imprint of the three thousand years of history since the Bronze Age, and from the Path there are magnificent views of the downs.
The Path supports the varied ecologies of the clay vale and chalk downland through which it passes. The Path is part of the National Cycle Network and connects with routes to Cirencester, Salisbury, Avebury and Hungerford. There are local circular routes accessible from the Path, on a variety of terrains.
The Friends of the Railway Path support the diversity of the area by maintaining and improving habitats along the path, and its surrounds, helping attract people to the area, and encouraging a fuller appreciation of its history, agriculture, ecology, culture, and geology.
You can find out more about this excellent local charity on their website here http://friendsofthepath.org.uk/about/index.html
Why not join them and help to make a difference to the path, which is a gateway to the Marlborough Downs, the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and to “Jefferies’ Land”.
