WALKING and cycling right across the Somerset Levels could soon get a whole lot easier, thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of local parish councils.
When Somerset Council assumed control in April 2023, a number of local community networks (LCNs) were set up, bringing together town and parish councils, community groups and voluntary organisations to spearhead projects at a local level.
The Levels and Moors LCN represents a population of more than 68,000 people across more than 30 parishes, stretching from the eastern fringes of Bridgwater to just north of the A303 at South Petherton.
Gerard Tucker, chairman of Aller Parish Council, has been pushing to create unbroken walking and cycling links right across this area, chairing the LCN’s active travel group and meeting regularly with Somerset Council’s transport team and local landowners.
Now rapid progress is being made on Mr Tucker’s own doorstep, with new paths being delivered to make it easier for Aller residents to walk to and from local facilities in the neighbouring town of Langport.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service was given a tour of the existing paths on Saturday morning (July 20), beginning at Aller Recreation Ground on the western edge of the village.
Mr Tucker said: “The wonderful town of Langport is only about two-and-a-half miles way, but to access it on the A372 is an absolute nonsense.
“That ridge that takes us up over Combe is hard work on a bicycle, and you certainly wouldn’t want to walk it – it’s dangerous.
“We’re constantly looking at how we can improve the access to Langport.
“What we’re talking about is a footpath that is already there in being, but which gets incredibly muddy in the winter – from November through to about April it’s almost inaccessible, and we’re making moves to improve that.
“The gateways do get very wet and muddy, and that prevent people from walking along here, and we’re talking to the landowners about that.
“We’ve been quite welcomed by the landowners in what we’re trying to achieve here.”
A footpath to the south of Aller recreation ground. (Image: Daniel Mumby)
The route runs on existing public rights of way along the Middle Moor Rhyne and heads south to the River Sowy, which takes excess water off the Levels and out of the River Parrett during periods of heavy rainfall.
At this point, the path passes two willow trees planted nearly two decades ago by Mr Tucker and a bench in the memory of his daughter Tori, who died in 2007 aged just nine.
From there, the route connects up with the River Parrett Trail – a long-distance walking route which runs from the source of the river in Cheddington all the way to its mouth near Burnham-on-Sea.
At Monk’s Leaze Clyse (where the River Sowy begins), Aller Parish Council has installed new hard-standing around a particularly muddy section where cattle regularly graze – allowing pedestrians to safely get through and travel on towards Langport without disrupting the local animals.
In the future, a hard-standing cycle route will run from this point to the Combe fishing lake, providing a safe cycling connection over the Levels.
A wooded section of the current footpath between Aller and Langport. (Image: Daniel Mumby)
Mr Tucker said: “In a rural community, there isn’t an expectation that other people will do things for us.
“It’s a case of: ‘what can we do to help ourselves?’. It’s about drivers like me who can pull the community together and recognise that if we did these things, the outcome would be better for everybody.”
Competition for central government grants for walking and cycling infrastructure has been fierce, with many schemes in Somerset relying on either funding within larger regeneration project (such as the Glastonbury town deal) or legacy funding put in place before the new unitary authority was created (including sections of the Strawberry Line).
Mr Tucker’s improvements to date have been funded by the local councils in Aller and Langport, the Langport Commoners (a local charitable organisation) and the Somerset Community Foundation – with the latter providing £1,650 for projects specifically geared towards improving health and well-being.
Aller Parish Council has tidied key sections of the route, replacing the colourful finger-posts to advertise both this route and the other paths which cross it, forming a loop of the village.
In addition to providing a safe walking route to local shops or other facilities, Mr Tucker hopes that the path will provide numerous health and well-being benefits, keeping people fitter and happier for longer and in doing so relieving pressure on local health services.
He said: “We’re trying to provide the opportunity for people to access the moor from a health and well-being point of view.
“I’ve had so many comments from people saying that they’ve walked as far as the bench and how great it’s been to sit down and take in the river.
“I had one particular comment from a gentleman whose wife doesn’t walk the dog so much any more because she gets too tired. But now there’s somewhere where they can sit and take stock, and she can walk the dog with him again.
“The bench is such a simple thing to have done, and yet it makes a big difference.
“We’re trying to provide support for our community so they can live in an improved environment, be enhanced by it, and by living in a place that’s more conducive to their needs, they’ll use these facilities more.”
Much of the route lies onwards into Langport lies on land owned by either of the local councils or the Environment Agency, with around 100 acres being owned by any of the three most local parishes.
While the route will make a huge difference to Aller and Langport residents, it does not represent the limit of Mr Tucker’s ambition, or those of his neighbouring councils.
He said: “The long-term aspiration is to have a cycleway from Aller to Langport on roads which are less dangerous.
“There is an ambition within the Levels and Moors LCN to connect Bridgwater right through the Levels through to South Petherton via a ‘quiet lane’ cycle route.
“There are two significant pinch points in that programme. One is here in Aller, the other is at Westonzoyland, where there’s a very fast, dangerous corner at Rugg’s Drove, near the turning for Chedzoy.
“Individually, each parish doesn’t carry much weight. By working collaboratively, we have an opportunity to influence things.
“Curry Rivel Parish Council is in the process of securing land to make a cycle route from Curry Rivel into Langport – what a great opportunity to get people off the
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