New scenic walking route is opened with ribbon-cutting ceremony at Delapre Park in Northampton

A new scenic signposted walk opened at Delapré Park in Northampton over the August bank holiday weekend.

Local walking fanatics gathered at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the route on the morning of Sunday, August 29 at around 10am. It was opened by by the chief executive of Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust Richard Clinton, lecturer in exercise physiology at the University of Northampton Dr Declan Ryan and founder of Northamptonshire Walks David Askew.

Residents were invited to join outside Delapré Abbey's deli, Common Ground, at 9.45am before walking to the start of the new route for the ceremony, where there were several speeches followed by a group walk to explore the new path.

The 3km route takes walkers past the historic battlefield site of the 1460 Battle of Northampton, Delapré Abbey, Delapre Woods, the lake and the golf course.

This follows months of research carried out by the University of Northampton, Delapré Abbey Preservation Trust and Northamptonshire Sport, which investigated if a signposted route could increase footfall and improve the mental and physical wellbeing of people in the community.