WELL done all those involved in getting the substantial grant towards a cycle link from Pickering to Malton.

I am sure all users groups (horse riders, cyclists and walkers) will welcome this endeavour. I hope that all landowners involved will co-operate in helping to get good off road access agreed. The roads are so busy these days and being off the Tarmac as much as possible is the safest option by far.

It is a terrible shame that after the Beeching axe that the dismantled railway lines weren’t preserved, as we would have had a ready made access network.

Many sections of these lines have been ploughed out or sold off making continuous routes impossible.

Had they been left then there

would have been routes from Pickering to Malton, Helmsley to Pickering and Helmsley to Gilling and Thirsk.

All that remains are short sections of the original lines.

What a shame nobody had the foresight at the time to save these routes.

If this new cycle link goes ahead it will benefit a lot of people and be of economic value to the region.

Bill Tait, chairman of Ryedale Bridleway Group, Helmsley

Special open day

KIRKBYMOORSIDE In Bloom held this year’s Open Gardens on Sunday, June 9.

So fortunate with the weather, the event attracted some 300 visitors to the town from near and far, raising funds to assist the work of the group to continue and thrive.

Working in collaboration with Bils & Rye Gallery, who placed some impressive art pieces in gardens, Kirkbymoorside Brass Band Junior Section playing admirably, and Open Studios displaying their talents, a palpable buzz was very evident.

An ambience perhaps best

described by one of our visitors as “quintessentially English”.

Our sincere thanks go to all who supported the plant stall, alone raising £380, the use of the delightful Quaker Meeting House Garden for teas, the overwhelmingly positive feedback from our visitors, but perhaps most of all to the 16 intrepid volunteers who put their gardens forward for us all to appreciate their rich variety, creativity and sheer hard work.

Without them none of this really special day could have happened.

Gaynor De Barr, Chairman, Kirkbymoorside In Bloom

Overhaul is needed

YORKSHIRE Water knows full well that the problem we have in Norton is the company’s antiquated sewerage system.

To stop flooding, a major overhaul of the system is urgently needed along with investment in permanent pumping capacity.

It’s good to persuade people to avoid flushing away wipes - they are bad for the environment and our drains - but let’s not pretend that the real story here is anything than other than a chronic lack of investment in Norton’s sewage system.

Investment in the system by Yorkshire Water is long overdue to stop surcharging of the system that has plagued our homes, streets and town, for way too long.

Howard Keal, Norton

Search for owner

SOMETIME over the weekend of June 8 and 9, while we were away from home, someone left a bag containing hundreds of photographs on our doorstep.

The majority are carefully notated on the back, and must span a century.

There is also family tree and other documents in a box.

These items were obviously not meant for us as none are familiar.

If any reader has left these and would like to collect them, please

get in touch with the Gazette & Herald who have my contact details, as they must mean a great deal to someone.

Name and address supplied

Cycle rack poser

WHERE has our cycle rack gone? For many years we have had a cycle rack outside Woodall’s in Malton but just before the big food festival it disappeared.

Does anyone know who removed it and are we getting a replacement?

Glyn Wild, Swinton