Opening event held in South Clifton as Trent Vale Trail officially completed
A community-led project to develop an accessible walking, cycling, and horse-riding trail has been completed after 12 years.
The final section of the Trent Vale Trail was officially opened, by children from North Clifton Primary School, in South Clifton on June 28, at an event attended by nearly 100 people .
What began in 2012 as an idea for a “lasting legacy” for the people of the Trent Valley, has now come to fruition — with a seven-mile trail linking villages, nature reserves, and communities together.
It was inspired by the Newark to Collingham trail, opened in 2003 by Sustrans.
The first chairman of the Friends of the Trent Vale Trail — a group formed in 2017 as the idea really got off the ground — Alan Hudson, said: “I’m excited, proud, and amazed to see the trail completed.
“It was an idea, it was a dream, so to stand there on Saturday and look back was amazing. I’m chuffed at what we’ve achieved.
“It wasn’t easy, there’s been lots of setbacks and lots of rejections — but we persevered.”
The years-long project came at a cost of £746,000, which was all raised through funding bids, and was carried out entirely by a team of volunteers.
From 2012 to 2016, the Trent Vale Trail project began to gather support from residents, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, Newark Sustrans volunteers, late councillor Maureen Dobson, Nottinghamshire County Council’s rights of way team, and some key landowners.
Then, in 2017, the friends group was formed and funding and landowner approval began to be sought for the first section of the trail, connecting Collingham to Besthorpe.
Funding came from the county council leader, Gusto group, Lincolnshire Coop, and others, and the section was completed in 2020.
From 2020 to 2023 work got underway on the extension to Girton and improvements to Green Lane, Girton, with funding from the Tarmac Local Community Landfill Fund, the county’s local improvement scheme, and Newark and Sherwood District Council.
The final push came between 2023 and 2025, as volunteers worked to determine best route over Clifton Hill to link the trail to North and South Clifton, and the Dukeries Trail, as it currently formed a dead end except for the most able walkers over a rough path.
Sustrans were contracted to design the section over the hill, with the support of the landowners the Scott family, and CF Construction were ultimately awarded the construction contract.
Funding for the last section came from the Shared Prosperity and Rural Development funds distributed by the district council, as well as its local community fund.
“Our aim was to make something for everybody. There are significant sections of the trail you can ride horses on, and cycle too. We’re also going to look to install benches so people who can’t walk so far can still do a mile or so out, have a rest, then return,” Alan added.
“In time we hope it will also become a green corridor between the nature reserves.
“We we’re very determined, people with different interests — horses, disabled access, nature, wildlife — came together and that’s what made it successful.”
