Lichfield’s Heritage Towpath Trail is to become part of the Heart of England Way.
The Trail, built by Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust volunteers and completed in Spring 2014, is a disabled-friendly path running alongside Lichfield Canal next to the A51 Tamworth Road.
Since its completion, the Trail has been enjoyed by families, walkers, joggers, cyclists and wheelchair-users, not only for its peaceful situation but also because it provides the perfect viewing platform to watch the Trust’s workforce carry out the restoration of the canal, which was abandoned in the 1950s.
Now many more walkers will use the Trail after the Heart of England Way Association proposed that the long distance route should be diverted on to the towpath.
From Lichfield down Quarry Hills Lane, the Heart of England Way will cross the A51 into Cricket Lane to join the 700 metre section of the Lichfield Canal Heritage Towpath Trail along Borrowcop Locks Canal Park and rejoin the A51 where the Trail emerges to rejoin the Heart of England Way at the Tamworth Road bridge over the A38.
The decision to divert the route on to the Trail was made after a visit by Brian Keates, warden co-ordinator for the Heart of England Way voluntary warden service, who said: “We are very impressed with the work being done to restore the canal and grateful for the insight into what it all involves.”
The 104-mile Heart of England Way runs from Milford Common on Cannock Chase to Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds and the new section will be officially opened later in the year.
