Labour candidate Catherine Fookes pitched in to help Ramblers Cymru volunteers install a new kissing gate on the Three Castles Walk in Grosmont this week.

Joining the Path Maintenance Team Leader, Andrew Stumpf, and MonLife Community Links Officer, Tom Arnold, Ms Fookes, and Cllr Su McConnel spent the morning lending a hand to dig and remove an old wooden stile on the Three Castles Walk route in Grosmont, which needed upgrading.

Working in partnership with Ramblers Cymru, Britain's walking charity, and Monmouthshire County Council, Mon Life Countryside, volunteers have been busy repairing local rights of way and making footpaths more accessible by replacing old wooden stiles with new metal kissing gates. The group has already surveyed an incredible 198k of local paths in Monmouthshire.

Thanks to a three-year £5.6m grant from the Welsh Government to councils and national park authorities across Wales, Monmouthshire County Council pays for the kit and training, and volunteers provide the labour. The Service Level Agreement signed between the council and Ramblers Cymru is the first of its kind in England and Wales.

Andrew Stumpf said, "I was pleased to be able to show Catherine how the partnership between the community volunteers, Ramblers Cymru and Mon Life helps to improve access to the outdoors for locals and visitors alike and make best use of scarce resources.

Modest funding and support can make a big difference to what can be achieved with significant benefits for physical and mental well-being. Even 10% of active travel funding would make a huge difference."

Ms Fookes added, "We're incredibly lucky to have so many wonderful walking routes and a tremendous team of dedicated volunteers to look after them here in Monmouthshire. It was a pleasure to meet Andrew, and Tom Arnold from Mon Life and learn all about the partnership and the incredible work they are doing to improve access to the countryside. They are looking for volunteers to help clear footpaths and walkers to walk the Path to Wellbeing routes and report back any issues. If you're interested, details are posted on the Grosmont Town Hall and Ramblers Cymru website: https://pathstowellbeing.ramblers.org.uk/en/routes."