NUMEROUS villages near the Mendip Hills could soon be better connected to Wells as work begins on the latest section of a car-free active travel route.

The Strawberry Line currently runs uninterrupted between Yatton railway station and Station Road in Cheddar, and will eventually stretch all the way to the eastern edge of Shepton Mallet.

Numerous short extensions have recently been delivered over the last few years, with Greenway and Cycle Routes working with local contractors and armies of willing volunteers to close the gap between different settlements near the Mendip Hills national landscape.

Following the recent completion of the Dulcote extension to the east of Wells, the Strawberry Line Society is turning its attention to the west and linking the city up with two small villages on the way to Cheddar.

The villages of Westbury-sub-Mendip and Easton were once connected by the Cheddar Valley railway line, which was dismantled in the mid-1960s as part of the infamous Beeching cuts.

Since this time, anyone wishing to walk or cycle between the two settlements had to rely on the A371, which is exceptionally busy, has little to no pavements and a number of fast blind bends.

Updated map showing the route of the Strawberry Line (Image: The Strawberry Line Society)
Updated map showing the route of the Strawberry Line (Image: The Strawberry Line Society) (Updated map showing the route of the Strawberry Line (Image: The Strawberry Line Society))

The two villages were reconnected through a new section of the Strawberry Line which was opened in two phases – the section from Station Road in Westbury-sub-Mendip to Erlon Lane and the extension from Erlon Lane to Easton Village Hall.

Nearly a year on from this latter section being opened to great fanfare, the same contractors are returning to Easton to begin a new section which will eventually run all the way to the Haybridge area of Wells.

The Strawberry Line Society said: “We are pleased to be able to inform you that preparatory work on the next phase of the Strawberry Line towards Wells will begin in Easton from August 5.

“It will be undertaken by Greenways and Cycle Routes using the local contractors who have handled the previous work in Westbury and Easton, supported by our volunteers.

“While work on this next phase is in progress over the coming months, and until we announce access arrangements, it is important that members of the public do not enter the site or trespass on adjacent property.”

The initial part of the extension will deliver around 500 metres of new path, running from Ebbor Lane to the north of the village hall and ending near Beaconsfield Farm, just north of the Woodlands Caravan Park.