Following the work carried out in 2000 on 'The Garden of Tranquillity' Biddulph Rotary Club continued to enhance the area by re-establishing the ‘Bateman Walk’. This pathway, which led from the Grange gates at the end of the Avenue of Limes, to the Church, was originally laid by the Batemans in the nineteenth century, and used by them to attend the Church.

The initial project was started in 2001 with clearing of the pathway through an area which had become totally overgrown and after defining the pathway, hardcore was laid down to form the foundations, and a layer of gravel put on top to form the finished surface.

By this year, the surface of the path had worn very thin, and a lot of rubbish had accumulated on it, so Rotary decided that, as a community service project, the path had to be overhauled, and this was made possible by a grant of £3000 from the Rotary Foundation.

Accordingly, a group of Rotarians worked over Easter, clearing the path in readiness for a new top coat to be laid, and a load of ‘Breedon Gravel’ was delivered to the cemetery, last week. A group of rotarians then worked on spreading the gravel onto the pathway and compacting it. Thanks to President Elect, Rob Lomas, being able to use his dumper truck, the stretch from the Church gate to the Grange entrance was completed in rapid time, and a new load of gravel was ordered for immediate delivery, to finish the job.

When the pathway surface is complete, work will need to be done on the barrier fence which prevents soil being thrown onto the path by the local wildlife.