Newly resurfaced bridleway to open

Denbighshire’s Countryside Services and Rights of Way departments are putting the finishing touches to a brand new all weather surface on the Bodelwyddan bridleway, which runs through the St Asaph Business Park.

Once finished, the bridleway will be a welcome route for walkers and horseriders to use and it is hoped staff from the nearby business park will be able to take advantage of lunch time walks without the need for special outdoor clothing. Katrina Day of Countryside Services hopes to promote health activity events such as Nordic walking sessions along the route.

The bridleway has had a long history of structural decay, bad drainage and ad-hoc resurfacing following utility works – all of which left the route unusable.

As part of the work to bring the bridleway up to standard, Countryside Services officers had to be on site first thing every day to ensure no Great Crested Newts were present as work began on each section. Special licenses were also required in order to carry out the work without harming the protected species. As part of mitigation measures a breeding pond together with associated foraging and hibernating areas has been created on land in the ownership of the Welsh Assembly Government.