Community Rail Partnerships

As part of the Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership's Dementia-friendly Rail Project, the National Landscape Unit worked with the CRP and the Forestry Commission to develop a dementia-friendly route at Gisburn Forest & Stocks.  A new leaflet for the existing Birch Hills Trail Tramper route was produced, including additional information about the heritage and wildlife along the trail.  The Forestry Commission made and installed several new seats and a picnic bench along the length of the route, along with a number additonal waymarker posts, making the route easier to follow and also more accessible for visitors who are unable to walk long distances.

A group from Dementia-Friendly Keighley, along with members of the CRP and Northern, launched the route on Monday 4th September. They were accompanied by a representative from BBC Radio 5 Live who interviewed and filmed the participants as they followed the walk. The resulting film was then aired on the BBC.