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The Ramblers and the Open Spaces Society are delighted to have achieved the reopening of a severely blocked public footpath, with broken clapper-bridge, in the parish of St Buryan Lamorna Paul, 3.5 miles south of Penzance in Cornwall. The half-mile path runs parallel to the England Coast Path/South West Coast Path, near Kemyel Crease nature reserve.
Before: The severely blocked path. Photo: Open Spaces Society
The path, which had been inaccessible for several decades, is breath-taking, affording panoramic views of the coast, contouring the headland above Slinke Dean without any appreciable loss of height, and providing an alternative and easier route to the coast path.
Ken Sharp, a volunteer and campaigner on behalf of both organisations but acting first for the Ramblers, served a legal notice on Cornwall Council in March 2021, demanding that it reopen the blocked footpath. As highway authority, the council has a legal duty to keep paths clear of obstruction. The council agreed the path was high priority (category gold on its maintenance schedule) but took no enforcement action. Ken submitted a further notice in October 2022, and again (on behalf of the Open Spaces Society) in November 2023. The council’s contractor, Cormac, was set to do the work in November 2024 but a council official cancelled the work, allegedly being unconvinced that it was necessary expenditure.
In April 2025 the Ramblers served a notice on Cornwall Council under section 56 of the Highways Act 1980 requiring it to repair the surface of the path. The council made several excuses as to why it would not do the work and so, with no firm commitment, the Ramblers, with support from the Open Spaces Society, instructed a lawyer to send the council a pre-action protocol letter, threatening court action if the council failed to act.
The council continued to procrastinate until the autumn of 2025, and by November the Ramblers were on the point of going to court. By late November Cormac was demonstrating sufficient commitment to complete the scheduled works. This enabled the Ramblers to call off the legal action, and the path was cleared of vegetation by the West Cornwall Footpaths Preservation Society, and infrastructure work was finally completed by Cormac in late April 2026.
After: The reinstated path. Photo: Open Spaces Society
Says Ken: ‘I am delighted that the Ramblers and Open Spaces Society have achieved the reopening of this fabulous route which has been “lost”, like the Gardens of Heligan, for nearly 70 years. It is a truly delightful path, and the collapsed clapper-bridge was a hidden gem. Now walkers can once again enjoy this splendid alternative to the coast path, with its fine views and level contours.’
Adds Helen Clayton, one of our case officers: ‘This is a great example of a determined volunteer, with backing from national bodies, making a real difference. We are grateful to Ken for his diligence, to the Ramblers for leading on this case which we were pleased to support, and to Cornwall Council, Cormac, and the West Cornwall Footpaths Preservation Society for finally clearing the route.
‘We hope that in future Cornwall Council won’t need to be pushed so far to reopen blocked paths as the law requires.’