Ythanbank to Haddo Estate Path

Providing communities with sustainable active travel connections is part of the Aberdeenshire Council 2024 Council Plan’s priorities. Longer distance paths, especially when delivered with local partners, give residents active travel options and foster a greater sense of place in our communities. Better connected communities can also lead to more support for local businesses and can make an area or a place more desirable to stay in or visit; ideal when we aim to attract and retain a local workforce.

Aberdeenshire Council has already delivered several successful local schemes including Pitmedden to the F&B Way, Methlick to Tarves via Haddo Country Park and is progressing community links around Ellon and Oldmeldrum.

Investment in this infrastructure provides a valuable resource for communities. Besides various recreational uses; free from traffic, children can safely learn to explore on foot or bike while others can access local shops or visit friends- car free. Research suggests that the uplift in walkers and cyclists does support local cafes and shops.

Developed by the Formartine Rural Partnership in conjunction with Aberdeenshire Council the Fyvie-Methick-Tarves-Yhthanbank-Ellon project will eventually provide a traffic free Ythan Trail connecting in Ellon to Aberdeenshire Council’s already well-developed projects to access the coast at Newburgh and onto Aberdeen. To match costs with budget available from central government, projects such as these are typically developed incrementally.

Work facilitating the link between Methlick and Tarves via Haddo Estate has proved popular over several years. The next stage of the project aims to capitalise on this link by providing access from Ythanbank to Haddo Estate and the network to Tarves and Methlick, giving good off-road access to a wider range of local services and facilities than is currently available. With the core established, the final phases of the wider project can link Ellon to Ythanbank and Fyvie to Methlick. Developing the project in this way creates a greater ‘demand’ base to justify the financial case for investment from the Scottish Government for the final phases.

We would be grateful if you could spare five minutes to complete the survey. The findings from the survey will then inform project delivery. We aim to attract a wide range of input into the survey so would welcome any shares or links to social media sites.