SUCCESSFUL pilot schemes in Calne and Chippenham have secured £133,000 of lottery funding to promote walking in Wiltshire.

The towns, along with Melksham, ran pilot Get Wiltshire Walking schemes which have proven such a success that two part-time community walk co-ordinators will now be funded for three years to set up a range of led walks in the county.

The grant, from the Big Lottery Fund, will also pay for promotional material for the 32 planned walks and training for 64 volunteers to lead them. It follows the year’s pilot scheme in the three towns, which has seen walking groups start up in places such as Pewsey and Avebury, and on Monday walkers met at Melksham Tourist Information Centre to celebrate, before enjoying a hike.

Wiltshire Council is one of five organisations in the south west sharing more than £1.1m from the Reaching Communities programme, which aims to help those most in need.

Louise Cary, sports and physical activity manager at Wiltshire Council, said: “This project has been especially developed to enable people of all ages to benefit from the health aspects of regular physical activity and to explore the wonderful environment of Wiltshire. Walking is a great way for people to enjoy being more active and it has huge benefits to health including reducing stress levels and blood pressure and managing weight.”

About 400 people are expected to benefit from the walks over the three years.

Councillor Jerry Kunkler, leisure portfolio holder for Wiltshire Council, said: “We are extremely pleased to receive the funding, as this project will enable us to deliver our vision of creating stronger, more resilient communities. This project will provide a wealth of rewarding volunteering opportunities, where participants can train to be a walk leader to sustain the walks in the future and have input into the development of the walks.”