From Main Street to Loudoun Hill: Darvel's paths network

Loudoun Hill rises over Darvel as the town's most recognisable landmark – an ancient volcanic plug and the site of the Battle of Loudoun Hill in 1307. A local path runs from the town to the hill, and residents made clear they wanted it improved without delay.
The Darvel Community Action Plan 2014–2019 named improving the path to Loudoun Hill as an immediate priority. More broadly, the plan said existing local paths that give people recreational access out of Darvel needed immediate improvement.
The town already had a good walking and cycling network to build on. The plan credited the Irvine Valley Regeneration Partnership and the Darvel Improvement Group with developing routes along and through the valley. Darvel also hosts an annual Walking Festival, and residents in the Community Views Survey praised the great places to walk and cycle.
The plan stressed that a lot of work had already gone into the network, and that it needed ongoing support, development and promotion. It also saw the paths as more than a leisure asset: they had real potential to support the local economy by bringing walkers and cyclists into the town.
Under the Environment and Heritage theme, the plan set out a series of actions:
• support the ongoing work of the Darvel Improvement Group and the Irvine Valley Regeneration Trust to maintain and develop the network
• improve the path to Loudoun Hill as an immediate priority
• support longer walking and cycling routes into and through the valley, including looking at how Darvel could attract cyclists and what facilities and services they would need
• promote the network through local signage, parking, noticeboards, paths leaflets and a website
The plan was clear that the promotion should make a strong connection between the network and the town's businesses and amenities. Ideas included parking and interpretation in the heart of Darvel, and using the Town Hall library as an information centre. Elsewhere, the plan suggested the sports centre could become a hub with facilities for visiting cyclists.
The organisations named to lead the work were the Darvel Improvement Group, the Irvine Valley Regeneration Partnership, other Irvine Valley communities, East Ayrshire Council and Sustrans.
The ambition fed directly into the plan's 2020 vision: Darvel recognised as a good base for walking, cycling and other outdoor activities. With Loudoun Hill on the doorstep and the River Irvine running through the valley, residents argued that the raw ingredients were already there – what was needed was the paths to connect them.