Sea wall sponsored walk a great success
The Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership organised a successful sponsored walk on Saturday 10th October to celebrate the reopening of the sea wall for walkers and raise around £1,000 for good causes in Teignmouth and Dawlish.
Teignmouth and Dawlish Ramblers led the 40 walkers who included local councillors, Dawlish and Teignmouth Walk this Way, the Friends of Dawlish and Teignmouth Stations, Dawlish Solidarity for Refugees and a representative of Network Rail’s ‘Orange Army’.
The walkers were welcomed at the Strand Centre in Dawlish by MP Anne Marie Morris, Howard Almond, Mayor of Dawlish, Emily Almond and Jackie Orme, Mayor of Teignmouth. Teignmouth & Dawlish Town Centre Development Manager Tracy Scranage organised excellent lunch celebrations at the Strand Centre provided by the Teignmouth and Dawlish CIC.
Anne Marie said: “The community in Dawlish and in Teignmouth celebrated the completion of repairs to the sea wall and its reopening with a walk along it! Both communities have been brilliant and demonstrated great spirit in walking and raising money for local charities.
It was my great pleasure to award the prize for most money raised to the Friends of Dawlish Station. Our community spirit is very special! Our railway is up and running and we are very definitely open for business!"
Tracy Scranage, Town Centre Development Manager said: “Thank you to all those who took part in the walk on Saturday. We can all now look forward to residents and visitors alike being able to enjoy our beautiful stretch of coastline. I am particularly pleased that Friends of Dawlish Station have officially adopted the station and look forward to working closely with them in the future.”
Readers can take their own sea wall walk with the free booklet “Walks from the Riviera Line”, produced by the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. The booklet brings together a selection of six self-guided walks, all starting from and ending at Riviera Line railway stations. Included are walks from Dawlish, Teignmouth, Torquay and Paignton.
Celia Minoughan, the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership’s Riviera Line Project Officer said “These sea wall walks are just a taster of what is out there and there are some fabulous walks to explore along the Riviera Line. The booklet is a great companion for people who like exploring South Devon and more walks can be found on our website www.therivieraline.com.”
The “Walks from the Riviera Line” booklet can be found at stations throughout the Great Western Railway network as well as at local tourist information centres. Copies can also be obtained by emailing railpart@plymouth.ac.uk.
The booklet was produced as part of the promotional campaign run for the line by the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership, funded by the Citizens’ Rail project, part of the EU Interreg IVB NWE programme.
More information about ‘Walks from the Riviera Line’ and the Citizens’ Rail project, including how to get involved, can be obtained from Celia Minoughan at the Devon & Cornwall Rail Partnership on 01752 584777, at celia@citizensrail.org or by visiting www.citizensrail.org
