Thursday, 2 September 2021

Column 2 September 2021 - Walking for wildlife

 

Last Monday saw me successfully complete my charity Coast to Coast walk across our constituency for the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

We walked from West Portholland to Perranporth, 25.5 miles, 77,454 steps.

It was a fine day and took just over 13 hours, starting at 6am and finishing just after 7pm. We raised over £1,000 for this excellent local charity.

Along the way we passed through many different communities and spoke to local people and businesses about a wide variety of issues. It was really useful to get a snapshot of issues relevant to the area as we progressed.

We walked from Truro to Shortlanesend through Idless Woods and it was interesting to see the signage for Cornwall Council’s Quiet Lanes project, which is a trial taking place on these narrow rural lanes to discourage traffic other than for residents and deliveries. These roads certainly are currently used as rat-runs from our experience, and it will be interesting to see the results of the trial which will run for six months through the autumn, and what residents think of it.

Just outside of Shortlanesend we were welcomed by Marte and the team at Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s lovely HQ. Cornwall Wildlife Trust are beneficiaries of funding from the A30 dualling work and it was good to talk to them about their plans for this site in the future. It was also good to talk to their team about the work I do on the Environment Audit Committee in Parliament, particularly around working to improve the quality of river water - which I was able to see was of varying quality at different places throughout my walk.

After that, we were over 20 miles in and near the A30. It was good to see the work being done to dual the A30, of which the need to do so has never been more apparent, with the unprecedented busy-ness of the current summer season. Thank you to Alister and the team for guiding us through some of the works, which saved us having to go on a long diversion on a busy road that would have been really difficult.

I also visited two pubs along the way, the Heron in Malpas and the Watering Hole in Perranporth where we finished, as well as speaking to the landlord from the Plume of Feathers in Portscatho, who we saw near Truro enjoying a well earned day off! What was really apparent across all three businesses and indeed is reflected in correspondence and conversations I have every day at the moment is just how busy our hospitality sector is at the moment, and the herculean efforts those who work in this sector are putting in to ensure those visiting have the best possible experience.

All in all, it was a challenging day but an excellent experience and it was good to see so many people and places over the course of the walk, while raising money for an excellent local charity. A Member of Parliament is always supported by their team and I must also give credit to Jordan for joining me on the walk and James for organising it and completing the whole route with me. Thanks also to Toni for getting us to the start early this morning, and Susan, Barnaby and Reuben for joining us for part of the route.

As ever, if you need my assistance with anything then my team and I are here to help. Please get in touch with me by email at Cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk , or by telephone on 01872 229698. I have now restarted my regular constituency advice surgeries, held in a covid-safe environment at my office, so please do get in touch should you wish to meet me about any matters that I can be of assistance with.

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