THIS weekend should have seen 20 or so people raking leaves off the Sandford to Crediton Millennium Footpath and Cyclepath.

Sadly, this was not possible because of the current Lockdown.

Instead, several folk from Sandford are using their daily exercise session during the next week or so to go to Crediton and rake leaves from the path.

It is not as much fun as the group work day but the leaves need to be cleared before they turn to mud.

Accessed from Alexandra Road, the path winds down through the wood at the top of Jockey Hill.  There are several bends and a sharp turn at the bottom so decomposing leaves make the path very slippery and they must be cleared each year.  The footfall on the path has been much greater this year as many of us are going for more walks locally.  

What was surprising on Sunday and Monday while volunteers were doing some leaf clearing was the number of walkers (and runners) who were not aware that the path is maintained by volunteers.

Although this is a Permissive Path through a privately owned wood, Sandford Millennium Green Trust is responsible for the upkeep of the path and the fences along the path.

Devon County Council has now taken responsibility for the rest of the footpath from the bottom end of the wood into Sandford, which is a huge help.

However, there is still a need for funds to support the work needed to be done and also a need for volunteers to help with the maintenance work.

Work sessions are held on The Millennium Green once each month on a Sunday (pandemic permitting) and everyone is welcome to go along.

The work sessions usually last from 10am to 12 noon and are good fun. Dates are displayed on the noticeboard on the Green.

Volunteers raise funds for the running of the Green as the group has costs such as public liability insurance, servicing the mower, and replacing tools, repairing fences, paying for specialist services such as hedge laying and path maintenance.

Luckily several kind people make an annual donation for the upkeep of the Green but the group still has to hold fundraising events to raise additional funds.

One event this year should have been an Easter Bingo Session in Sandford Parish Hall.

The group is now holding this online on Saturday, December 5 using Zoom.

Bingo books are on sale in Sandford Stores if you wish to play and more details can be obtained by emailing: [email protected] .

If you use the path regularly and would like to contribute to the group costs, please consider making a one-off donation (or even a regular donation!) to Sandford Millennium Green Trust at Santander Bank, Sort code: 09 01 53 Account Number: 50483280 or go to: www.justgiving.com/sandfordmillenniumgreentrust .