Our Community Footpaths Group says of funding, ‘A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!’

Our Community Footpath Group is one step further forward!  We recently received the news that we have been awarded a grant of £10,000 from the Walking Scotland’s Strathclyde Transport Community Path Fund 2025/2026.

Field route uphill

Source: Our Community Footpaths Group

The Local Place Plan consultations identified that the need for more and better paths was a high priority for local residents with routes on and around the Green Isle being amongst the most popular choices.

The aim of the Our Community Footpath Group is to work with land owners  to improve our footpath network and enhance connectivity between our scattered communities and village facilities, and to improve our walking options for health and leisure.

We are currently looking at the link between the start of the Green Isle Path up the fields to join the track into Portkil. However, Walking Scotland wanted us to get the ground properly surveyed and professional plans drawn up before constructing anything. This funding will allow us to get the necessary land surveys, constructions drawings, specifications and costings carried out, which in turn will enable us to make a fully informed application to funders for the construction phase. We already have funding for directional signage and way-markers which we hope to purchase and erect in the near future.

This is a Core Path and will provide a safe link between Kilcreggan and Portkil, avoiding the dangerous B833. It will also be the start of a route which will join with a footpath to be developed by Tilhill Forestry linking with the route to Rosneath. The work has to be completed by the end of February 2026.

We are grateful to Walking Scotland SPT Community Path Fund and Transport Scotland for this grant and also grateful to local farmer, Matthew Caldwell for his co-operation on this project.

Source: Our Community Footpaths Group