04/06/2026
Mendip Hills National Landscape Access Funding for the Strawberry Line
The 🍓 Line Society has been able to improve access to the well-known, multi-user path thanks to a £30,000 grant from Mendip Hills National Landscape. The 🍓 Line path runs through the Mendip Hills and along its southern boundary and is the key link for a wide variety of people seeking to enjoy the area.
Opening up safe and easy access to our local countryside is central to the mission of The 🍓 Line Society which works to promote a level off-road route suitable for disabled and able-bodied users. The award was used to enhance the experience of the 🍓 Line, and thereby the experience of the Mendip Hills National Landscape, in the following ways;
1. Improved signage along the path to make access easier, safer and more enjoyable.
2. Publicising the route and potential connections within the Mendip Hills in a range of printed and electronic media.
3. Improving accessibility through repairing and upgrading the path surface with a particular focus on the needs of those with restricted mobility.
4. Working with schools, initially through the Wessex Learning Trust in Cheddar, to engage school pupils in activities linked to the path. Kings Academy and Sixth Form
5. New Interpretation boards with maps that encourage exploration of the Mendip landscape at key access points on the line.
Mick Fletcher, Chair of the 🍓 Line Society, said, ‘The Access for All funding has helped the 🍓 Line advance considerably this year. It has enabled us to make it easier and safer to use the path and encouraged a wider group of users to explore the countryside including many who may have struggled before. Supporting our volunteers and enabling us to upgrade our tools to low carbon rechargeable power tools and communications to the wider public has also helped hugely. We now have a membership of 450, and in the region 110 active volunteers, covering over 29 miles. I’d like to thank them all personally for delivering this project.’
Jim Hardcastle, manager of the Mendip Hills National Landscape team, said, ‘I’m really pleased we’ve now got the funds from Defra to support important initiatives like the 🍓 Line. It’s such a success story for the area, made even more impressive by the fact that so much of it is community driven. We can see how the money has made a real difference and look forward to supporting the Society with a similar grant this year as well.’
The National Landscape team have been awarded funds from Defra to make these nationally important landscapes accessible so that a wider variety of people can benefit from them.
Images by Aaron Geis Photography
