The country's newest long distance walking trail will be launched this weekend, on the first day of the National Forest Walking Festival. The 75-mile National Forest Way will be launched on Saturday 17 May, at Conkers Waterside on the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border.

The trail uses existing public and permissive footpaths to explore the length and breadth of the Forest, through parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire, linking the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire and Beacon Hill Country Park in Leicestershire.

Volunteers have been out testing and waymarking the route. “Walking the National Forest Way, you are constantly surprised by the variety of what you see. All England is here: coal and granite, heathland and hills, meadow and water – all framed by woodland.”

Sophie Churchill, Chief Executive of the National Forest Company, added: “This is a very special moment in the development of The National Forest.  The new National Forest Way is an expression of how far we have come over the last twenty years and the early days of the Forest. Creating habitats for wildlife, working with communities and our local landowners, building businesses that have grown out of the Forest – all this work is part of what we have achieved in the Forest so far.”

She continued: “The National Forest Way will take walkers through our new wooded landscapes, through ancient forest, the former industrial heritage, farmland, villages, rivers and reservoirs  - all framed by woodland.”

The launch event features walkers out on four different routes that will all return along stretches of the National Forest Way, and a celebratory tea party for volunteer ramblers and individuals who have helped route testing and waymarking. Fisher German's Ashby de la Zouch office is based at the heart of The National Forest and sponsors the National Forest Way. Partner Andrew Bridge, who has been involved in the project since it started, will speak at the launch event, along with James Berresford, Chief Executive of VisitEngland, and representatives of the three county councils who have supported the National Forest Company in planning and delivering the new trail. They will welcome the new trail and the impact it will have on the economy of the area, and the benefits for health and fitness it will offer walkers and those interested in exploring the countryside and aspects of England's heritage.

The event takes place just a month before the National Forest Company and its partners launch the strategy for the next decade for The National Forest, following extensive consultation which has revealed continuing enthusiasm for the forest and all it brings to the area.

The National Forest Way has been created by a partnership of the National Forest Company and Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire County Councils, with the generous support of Fisher German and the valuable contribution of local landowners.

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Media contact: Carol Rowntree Jones, Media Relations Officer, National Forest Company, 01283 551211 mob: 07870 568628 email: crowntreejones@nationalforest.org

For more information on The National Forest see www.nationalforest.org

Digital images are available. Contact media@nationalforest.org

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The National Forest area covers 200 square miles of the counties of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire.  Its objective is to increase woodland cover within its boundaries from an initial six per cent to about a third. No multi-purpose forest on this scale has been created in the UK for one thousand years. To date the proportion of woodland cover in the Forest has more than trebled to 19.5 per cent and in 2012 HRH the Duke of Cambridge planted the eight millionth tree in the Forest. 

2. Year by year, The National Forest has been steadily turning what was once one of the least wooded areas of England into a multi-purpose, sustainable forest.  The National Forest provides environmental, social and economic benefits, including landscape enhancement, creation of new wildlife habitats and major new access and leisure opportunities. It is an excellent example of sustainable development – with environmental improvement providing a stimulus both to economic regeneration and to community pride and activity.

3. To achieve these objectives, the National Forest Company leads the creation of The National Forest, working in partnership with landowners, local authorities, private business, voluntary organisations and local communities and has strong support from Government, politicians and the public.  The Company receives grant in aid from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

4. The Independent Panel on Forestry, in its final report published in July 2012, stated: 'The National Forest exemplifies how a long term, resourced and focused agenda can increase publicly accessible woodland in an area alongside other environmental and economic benefits.'

5. In 2008, the National Forest Company and partners won the inaugural Sustainable Development UK Award, for their work in Ashby Woulds, at the heart of The National Forest.