On 10th March, Keith Wilkinson MBE gave us a fascinating talk on the work of the Bilton Conservation Society, particularly in respect of the Nidd Gorge and the extension of the existing Greenway.
The old railway ran from Bilton to Starbeck across the Harrogate Ripon viaduct in the 1920s/30s but by the 1960s it was abandoned and full of debris and had to be cleared. For instance, five cars and forty tons of rubble had to be removed. Luckily there was help from soldiers and many volunteers. A £25,000 grant from the Woodland Trust in 1985 began the process, and consciousness-raising with open days with “celebrities” such as Carol Vorderman helped to cement the idea which eventually led to the 1999 Harrogate District’s Award for Environmental Excellence for the “Nidd Gorge Project”.
Wildlife surveys and Local Heritage initiatives led to more volunteers and more donations and, despite the problems of the Foot and Mouth epidemic in 2001, they were awarded Volunteers of the Year for
Yorkshire and the North of England 2002, runners up in the National award scheme 2003 and Winners the following year.
From the surveys it was discovered that there were 239 types of Fungi in the Nidd Gorge and 20 different fish species, along with kingfishers, slow-worms, badgers, foxes, bats and many types of plants, and in 2012 a European otter was spotted.
A further 200 acres of woodland was acquired and cared for, walkways were laid, and Sustrans brought the “Connect 12” project for the cycleway to Hampsthwaite and with plans eventually to take it to Pateley Bridge.
The Army Foundation College and the Scouts helped to lay gravel for the car park, information boards and seats have been installed, and the Nidd Gorge Project is now seen an excellent example of ommunity involvement, for which Keith was awarded an MBE in 2014.