Pathways Fund

Following suggestions from HF Holidays Leaders and members, we hosted an assisted group holiday for Ukrainian guests. Six families enjoyed a three-night Guided Walking weekend in the Peak District.  

We are very grateful to our guests for their generous donations to the Pathways Fund, which enabled HF Holidays to host the families. A special thank you to HF Holidays Leader John Nolan for linking us with a facilitator to find the families. 

In collaboration with our Field Advisors for Church Stretton, we received an application from the Shropshire Hills National Landscape to repair the eroded ramparts of Caer Caradoc hillfort in three places where it crossed public paths.

Caer Caradoc hillfort is the most iconic summit in the Shropshire Hills. Situated close to Church Stretton in the heart of the National Landscape, it’s a very popular walking destination. The restoration will add interest to several walks from Longmynd House as signature guided walks, tread lightly walks, family walks, and self-guided walks all have routes to this summit. What’s more, many visitors use the route and our association with the project provides great publicity.

The Pathways Fund has contributed £10,000 to the total project cost of £24,605 and supported a successful bid with the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme. At the time of the application, they had raised approximately £3,800 in contributions from the public. Work commenced on this project on 10 October.

UPDATE

This work has now been completed.

We're delighted to have hosted 11 Feel Good breaks at our country houses. 

Feel Good breaks are designed to reward ordinary families who couldn’t otherwise afford one with the gift of a break away in the great outdoors. Over 150 families from across the UK have enjoyed a weekend of guided walks following a referral from the Family Holiday Charity. 

In 2019 we hosted families on a Feel Good break in the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog) and in 2022 we hosted a Feel Good break in the Peak District.

Mountain Rescue Teams (MRT) are staffed entirely by volunteers and funded by donations. Not only do these dedicated volunteers help rescue climbers and hill walkers who get into difficulty, but they also aid the police in searches for vulnerable missing people.

Brecon MRT is based near Nythfa House, our country house in the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog). With their current base no longer fit for purpose, they’ve been looking to raise £1.1 million to build a new HQ. We’re delighted that support from our HF Holidays Pathways Fund has enabled them to reach their fundraising goal. They hope to be in their new home by the end of 2023.

We donated £2,755 to Cornwall Search Dogs from our Pathways Fund. The charity needed funding to carry out dog training and to purchase equipment for their rescues. 

The charity was set up in 2020 by five previous members of Mountain Rescue and Lowland Rescue teams. Two of the founders are also retired police dog handlers, giving them a wealth of experience in both search techniques and dog training. 

Jenny Pickles, Trustee from Cornwall Search Dogs, said “We are absolutely delighted to have received this generous grant. As a relatively new charity - set up during the national lockdown - fundraising has certainly had its challenges and so to be supported in this way means a huge amount to us”. 

The Yorkshire Dales National Park (YDNP) recently improved a 16m-section of footpath near Winterburn reservoir by laying reclaimed millstone flags to form a sustainable, all-weather surface. 

Our Field Advisor, Linda Skelton, has been instrumental in bringing the repair to our attention. The path became almost impassable and it’s one we use on our Tread Lightly holidays and Signature Guided Walking holidays from Newfield Hall. The works wouldn’t have been possible without a donation from the fund. 

HF Holidays recently approved a Pathways Fund application from the Search & Rescue Dogs Association Wales (SARDA Wales) for £5,000 to help fund key projects.  

SARDA Wales is a voluntary organisation that trains and uses dogs in search and rescue operations in mountain, rural, and urban settings covering North Wales Police and seven mountain rescue teams in North Wales (including Snowdonia National Park). Our country house, Dolserau Hall, falls within their area, too.  

SARDA Wales Chair Tim Sherlock commented that, “Like many other organisations, our usual fundraising activities over the last couple of years were largely curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the need for search dogs has remained throughout. We know that there are many equally deserving charities looking for funding and are particularly grateful that HF Holidays chose to support us”. 

HF Holidays supported the Longtown Mountain Rescue team in Wales with a grant of £3,750 to cover the costs of a major IT upgrade at their base in Abergavenny. The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and moving into a second winter meant they’re finding new ways to deliver training to their team of 55.  

The upgrade will mean small groups can meet safely while others can join remotely. Deputy Team Leader Marc Ashton and team member Ben visited Nythfa House and met HF Holidays House Manager Gemma to accept the donation.  

Marc said, “It’s been 15 years since we last invested in our training IT infrastructure, so this grant is a massive help to us. We have been unable to run our annual fundraising event for the last two years, so grants like this are a huge help to our charity who relies solely of public donations”.

The Cotswold Way Association (CWA) – a charity that keeps a check on the upkeep of The Cotswold Way – identified a section of path around some gates that was in urgent need of repair and improvement.  

The HF Holidays Pathways Fund donated £7,000 to smooth and grade a two-metre-wide section of path around the gates. The aim was to allow access for everyone and to deter detours across the SSSI, which was being damaged as a result.  

HF Holidays Leader Sue Maizonnier said “I am delighted that the HF Holidays Pathways Fund has helped make a section of the Cotswold Way safer to walk and accessible to all, including users of all terrain mobility buggies. It was heart-warming to see how much easier access now is along this stretch”.

The Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team is an emergency service staffed entirely by volunteers and funded entirely by charitable donations near our country house in Dolgellau, Snowdonia.  

The donation will help their vital search and rescue services. The money will be used to replace their existing analogue radio system with a digital one to improve communication quality and coverage over a wider area. 

The BMRT is an emergency service staffed entirely by volunteers and funded by donations, local to Nythfa House - our country house in Brecon.  

The team rescues climbers and hill walkers who get into difficulty as well as assisting the police in searching for vulnerable missing persons in the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog) National Park and beyond. The donation will help purchase essential safety equipment and clothing for team members including 60 safety helmets, waterproof trousers, and buoyancy aids. 

Kirkby Stephen Mountain Rescue Team is a group of volunteers operating close to our country house, Thorns Hall, in Sedbergh. The donation is to add an additional portable ECG monitor to their equipment, provide essential equipment including a titanium split basket stretcher, and pay for a CAA registration fee so the team can use and fly a drone as part of their rescue operation.

This was the largest donation ever made from Pathways Fund to one single project -a five-year multimillion plan spearheaded by The Lake District National Park Authority. Main funding was received from Highways England, Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, and the Lake District Foundation and supported by the local community, businesses, residents, visitors, and organisations.  

It aimed to rebuild a new section of the route to replace the track bed that was washed away during Storm Desmond, when floodwater from River Greta engulfed the trail and surrounding farmland. 

The partnership with YDMT is the first step in HF Holidays strategy to drive sustainability and actively offset travel carbon emissions and promote sustainable tourism.  

The trees were planted to create a unique area in Ormsgill Woodland in Malhamdale, which is close to HF Holidays own country house, Newfield Hall. 

In 2020 we supported the restoration works on the iconic Great Ridge in the heart of the Peak District, in partnership with the BMC and the Moors for the Future Partnership with a £9,000 donation. A plaque is displayed on a gate at the bottom of Back Tor. 

This path features in our guided walking programme from Thorns Hall in Sedbergh, and Smardale Gill Viaduct is an important feature along the way. The fund provided £9,000 for safety improvements, including the provision of handrails at Smardale Gill Viaduct. A plaque and notice at the entrance to the viaduct commemorate the donation.

£20,000
Lake District - Funding towards the reconstruction of the Keswick and Threlkeld path that was destroyed

£10,000
Scafell Pike, Lake District. Footpath repair on the most popular route - the Brown Tongue to Hollowstones path

£5,000
Cader Idris, Snowdonia – helping fund the repair of the eroded Moelfryn and Mynydd Moel footpaths

£5,000
Exmoor - Great Bradley Bridge – helping fund the construction of a new footbridge over the River Barle on the Two Moors Way

£2,500
Lake District Fell Care Day – sponsorship of events where volunteers carry out important conservation work. This will be our third year of involvement

£1,560
Snowdonia Slate Trail – footpath restoration work

£16,800 
Awarded to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority for repairs to the Ingleborough Allotment footpath. 

£14,480  
For footpath improvement works to the Coast-to Coast path on Nine Standards Rig. 

£12,000  
Towards the replacement of two storm-damaged footbridges in the Newlands Valley in the Lake District. 

£2,500  
To the Fell Care Project in Eskdale, Lake District. 

£5,000  
To replace a flood-hit bridge at Sedbergh in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. 

£5,500  
Towards footpath repairs at Beech Copse at Godshill on the Isle of Wight. 

£2,500  
Towards the purchase of a new vehicle for Buxton Mountain Rescue Team. 

£5,000  
To the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team when its headquarters were devastated by a fire. 

£4,000  
For new boardwalk at Church Stretton following a request from Stretton Area Community Wildlife Group access team. 

£2,000  
To the Hyden Lane project, part of the South Downs Way, Mend Our Way appeal. 

£4,000  
To the Whernside (Bruntscar) Footpath Repair project.