A number of waterways and other tourist attractions forced to close because of the foot and mouth crisis will reopen in time for the Easter holidays.
The move follows an announcement by the Government's Rural Task Force, which wants to encourage visitors to return to areas of the countryside given the all-clear by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Maff). It is hoped that the initiative will kickstart Easter holiday bookings, which have been badly hit by the outbreak.
British Waterways is planning to start reopening canals and other waterways from Wednesday. 'But the waterways will only be reopened for boating which is regarded as fairly low risk. Walking and fishing will still not be allowed,' said a spokeswoman. At the moment around 60-70 per cent of the 2,000 miles of canals running through rural areas are closed.
Boating holiday specialist Hoseasons welcomed the reopening. 'Bookings have dropped by 30 per cent in the last few weeks so this is very good news,' said managing director Ken Gaylard. 'The main aim is to get everything up and running by the beginning of April in time for Easter.'
The Grand Union Canal and waterways in places such as Oxfordshire and Cheshire have all been closed to traffic since the outbreak began. 'There is cruising on the Norfolk Broads but some moorings are closed,' Gaylard said.
Meanwhile, the National Trust is planning to reopen 160 of its 300 house and garden properties within the next few weeks as well as 100 of its holiday cottages. More than half of English Heritage's 412 properties will be open for the start of the tourist season on 1 April. Chief executive Pam Alexander said other sites would reopen as soon as it is safe to do so. 'We are optimistic that all will return to normal by the main summer season. As long as people act sensibly and within guidelines they can still enjoy days out at our sites and other attractions,' she said.
Roger Clarke, chief executive of the Youth Hostel Association, has asked the Government to speed up the reopening of public rights of way in places such as Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, which are not affected by the outbreak. 'If they act by the end of March that will give people time to book their Easter holidays,' he said.
Local authorities and National Park authorities are considering which footpaths can now be safely opened.
The YHA aims to reopen a large number of the 110 closed hostels by Easter. The 40 hostels in the infected areas of the Lake District and Snowdonia, however, will remain closed for the foreseeable future.
Contacts
English Tourism Council Visitor Information Hotline on 0870 241659 is open 10am to 8pm, seven days a week.
Wales Tourist Board 08080 1000000.
Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Historic Scotland 0131 668 8800
National Trust 0870 4584000
English Heritage 0870 3331181
British Waterways 01923 201120
