AN easy-going mountain bike trail is to be created in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.

The Swale Trail will cover he length of Swaledale, between Reeth and Keld, and is aimed at aspiring young mountain bikers and families who want to ride together.

It will be a unique facility in the Yorkshire Dales National Park – a valley bottom route, 12 miles in length, of which 75 per cent will be on traffic-free tracks.

Access rights for the trail already exist, as it brings together sections of bridleway and unsurfaced, unclassified roads.

Turning it into the Swale Trail will include upgrading the surfaces, improving drainage and protecting sections which have suffered from river bank erosion and flooding. The work will take place in stages through the rest of 2017, with the official opening planned for Easter next year.

The project, to be managed by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, will cost £221,000 and funding has come from a variety of sources, including £98,000 from the Yorkshire Dales LEADER programme; £50,000 from Richmondshire District Council; £60,000 from the park authority and £13,000 from the Pennine Trails National Trails Partnership.

The idea is that people will be able to complete as much or as little as they want, as it divides into three sections with various options to visit villages, pubs, cafes, accommodation and other tourism businesses.

It will also be a "multi-user trail" that can be used by all, including walkers and horse riders and will be promoted to people with mobility difficulties and families with buggies.

Area ranger Michael Briggs said: “We have been preparing for this project for the last year and it is something that the local people and businesses I have talked to are keen to see. I am really looking forward to getting on with the work so that the Swale Trail is available for the 2018 season.”

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