Arctic weather forces cancellation of guided tour of 'ancient Royal Forest of Knaresborough' for second time in a row

Volunteers in Harrogate’s Long Lands Common team have been forced to postpone for the second weekend running after last Sunday’s heavy snow was followed by stubbornly freezing temperatures as the cold front failed to ease in the Harrogate area.

A community benefit society, Long Lands Common, has raised about £900,000 through a mix of grants and loans to buy nine fields to create a green corridor stretching from the River Nidd in Knaresborough to Nidderdale Greenway near Bilton.

The most recent addition, 60 acres of land which was once part of the ancient Royal Forest of Knaresborough, was to have been the subject of a guided tour last Saturday, before being rescheduled for this Saturday, January 11.

But the Board of Long Lands Common has now written to supporters of the major community woodland project, letting them know that they have “reluctantly decided to cancel this Saturday’s Guided Walk.”

“We had been approached by a few supporters about the state of the roads and the pavements for people attempting to reach us, and were not sure whether the route itself would be walkable.

"One of our team valiantly walked the route today, and while the Beryl Burton cycleway is 90% clear, the footpath from Bilton Hall Drive is uneven and difficult, and the return journey from the farm buildings down the pavement bordering the A59 still extremely treacherous.

"Apart from that, we know that pavements around Starbeck and Knaresborough are very slippery and some people have not taken their cars out since the snow fell.

"So we have taken the decision to cancel and not set a new date until the weather settles down.

"We are very disappointed, as we know many of you were making plans to join us and we were very much looking forward to it.

"But the temperature is not forecast to rise above freezing before Saturday, so this is the wisest course.”