Praise for 'great bunch of volunteers' as Wick Paths Group looks ahead to South Head project
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Volunteers from Wick Paths Group are gearing up for their next big challenge – an ambitious plan to improve the route leading through the South Head quarries.
They hope to make a start as early as March, helped by a £1000 donation from the North Highland Initiative.
It follows on from the success of the latest work morning organised by the paths group. Thirteen volunteers turned out on Sunday and undertook a range of hands-on tasks.
Litter picks were carried out at the shore at Market Street and along parts of the riverside, resulting in a large trailer-load of rubbish.
The plinth at the north end of the Coghill Bridge was weeded, while stones were laid on the muddy ground surrounding the nearby information panel.
Litter, weeds and moss were cleared from inside the railings around the James T Calder statue above the riverside and the hedge was cut back on the top path, while a litter pick was undertaken on the old Claymore Creamery land and at the woodland area beside the caravan site.
Paths group secretary John Bogle said: "Once again I would like to thank the volunteers who gave up their Sunday morning to benefit the town by clearing such an amount of litter and also tidying up the ground around the interpretive panel and plaque at the north end of the Coghill Bridge.
"We really do have a great bunch of volunteers who are willing to do their bit to improve the town.
"Our next project is a much bigger one. We intend to upgrade the paths through the South Head quarries, refurbish the stone sculptures and provide more picnic benches. The community payback team has already removed a rotten picnic bench and refurbished another.
"The North Highland Initiative has very kindly given us a donation of £1000 towards the cost of quarry stone for the paths and we are hopeful of obtaining more funding from other bodies. We haven't yet set a date for this work but hopefully we might be able to make a start next month."
The route towards the South Head has a number of historic features, including the remains of the Stevenson breakwater, the Cairndhuna Well and the former Wick lifeboat station, now used by the Wick Society's boat section.
Wick Paths Group is a subcommittee of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council but operates independently.
