
Our MP Tim Farron is onto it and doing all he can to find a safe and speedy resolution. This week, one of the Lib Dems election aspirations is to create more National Parks. First, find walkers and runners a safe and direct way to reach the one on our doorstep. For many of us in this community walking is what we do, it's a way of life. It's about independence and the freedom to head for the countryside. We choose to live here for this amenity.
There is a Scout Scar community and I'm a part of it. For locals, Scout Scar is the air we breathe, inspirational. We share a delight in the place, an enjoyment of a spectacular cloudscape, the vistas. Away from the town, we seek peace and solitude. I meet my neighbours up there, we all take that same initial route. I've got to know not only neighbours but visitors from out of area. Some of us take on a stewardship, helping protect ground-nesting birds, reporting on unusual flora and fauna, sharing what we know and love. Being a nature writer that's my specific focus.
'You have Scout Scar on your doorstep and can go there whenever you like,' said a friend two days before this shock bridge closure on 12th June. Ironic, isn't it. We can't even get to Kendal Race Course and for some that's as far as they can walk. It's an open landscape, familiar and safe. I have a neighbour whose sight is severely impaired and it's the way he knows. It's useless to suggest he takes a diversionary route of an additional 3.4 miles before he even reaches the start. We seek the countryside on our doorstep. To set off in the opposite direction, to walk down into town, along a busy road, beneath an underpass to finish up with a section of road-walking to reach Kendal Race Course, an additional 1.6 miles each way. It's unappealing and unrealistic.
We understand the bridges need to be safe. We also know that the freedom to walk the route we've walked for years is essential to us. If the bridge really isn't safe even for walkers and cyclists we' d like a Bailey Bridge over the A 591. As soon as possible. For walkers and runners, Scout Scar is our destination. It's an SSS (so not for cyclists.) The Brigsteer Road gives cyclists access to a range of locations, with vistas along the way.
It could be good news for wildlife on Scout Scar as it will be quieter, less disturbance. Walkers can't get there, drivers may choose somewhere easier to reach. Last week, I found a wheatear on Kendal Race Course. It should have a quieter life during the breeding season. Good luck to it.
The closure of these two bridges is causing a range of difficulties, for businesses, for communities in the Lyth Valley who now find their journeys are longer and indirect. We're all suddenly having to rethink how we live our lives from day to day. My concern is that walkers will be abandoned and all thought focused on motorists. That was the Highwayman's suggestion, get in your car and drive where you want to go.