5 things I learned visiting trails in Western Europe

By Dennis Markatos-Soriano, Executive Director

I recently returned from an incredible journey to learn from peers leading awe-inspiring efforts enhancing the biking and walking experience from major cities – London, Glasgow, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam – to rural regions and small towns in between.

I’ve been leading the development of the 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway for more than 15 years, and I was excited to hear the innovation and inspiration from peers across the Atlantic. These leaders are developing a mix of shared-use paths, hiking trails, biking infrastructure and bridleways for horseback riding. Their iconic trails connect local residents and visitors to history, nature and a wonderful active lifestyle. They were excited about the East Coast Greenway progress I shared with them as we realized we are on one big global team.

My travels took me by train to England, Wales and Scotland in the UK; Paris; Brussels and eastern Belgium; and The Netherlands. I have a thousand pictures and almost as many nuggets that I learned. I’m excited to share five key takeaways that I hope inspire your trail-building efforts and exploration.

#5: Making Friends Comes Natural in the Trail World — and it’s Key

I often call the East Coast Greenway “miles of smiles.” And I felt the same camaraderie as I explored amazing places venturing all over the UK, from the West Highland Way in Scotland to the Thames Path through London. Thanks to a generous partnership with friends at National Trails UK whom I had met last fall during the World Trails Conference in Ottawa, Canada, I was able to set up meetings with inspiring trail leaders throughout the country. I started with a peer exchange learning about the 268-mile Pennine Way along the backbone of England. We discussed successes and challenges before enjoying an epic section of path from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Visitor Centre to Malham Cove. I didn’t just love this section because it hosted a scene of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It brought us from the common experience of a path through sheep pasture land to an epic 250-foot limestone cliff where a lovely creek bubbled up from the base. We headed to lunch at the local pub afterward, sharing as much insight with each other as we could – hoping both of our trails will thrive long into the future.

International partnerships are important and can accelerate progress and impact through our efforts. We face common challenges. For instance, I saw first-hand the kind of climate change impacts we are all witnessing on trails worldwide. It’s important for us to share best practices that mitigate rising stormwater risks (like you can see below at Belgium’s Hoge Kempen National Park Trail) and ways that we can transition people from more polluting modes of transportation and onto our trails to school, work, places of worship and more. When government-level relations between countries deteriorate, these kinds of exchanges can provide the links to bring back common sense collaboration and maintain peace and cooperation. I value the work and friendship of these allies in our movement toward a better future. I look forward to moving trails and greenways forward with partners in Europe, throughout North America and beyond.

#4: Trails Are a Rising Force Connecting People to Nature

I loved seeing many parks and trails focused on lifting up amazing animals and plants to tell their story more as we become better stewards of biodiversity. I’ve been reading amazing books from both sides of the Atlantic, from our longtime Advisory Board member and New Yorker Tony Hiss who wrote the outstanding “Rescuing the Planet: Protecting Half the Land to Heal the Earth” to the engaging and hands-on “The Book of Wilding: A Practical Guide to Rewilding Big and Small” by Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell of the UK. Isabella and Charlie are innovators stewarding a farm full of trails that welcome visitors to the native biodiversity they are cultivating on their land. 

You can see that thoughtful ethic when visiting the trails and hearing from leaders developing their trails as true linear parks for everyone to enjoy and learn from. Great trail stewardship on Scotland’s West Highland Way included modifying a trail to reduce erosion, providing access to amazing vistas of Loch Lomond and the fault line islands marking the border between the Lowlands and Highlands without trampling the key species who depend on the wild corridor and good water quality. Consistent with the Greenway’s emphasis on connecting pines of Maine to the palms of Florida, I enjoyed getting to know the champion trees and special flora and fauna along trails throughout my experience.

#3: Transformation is Possible — Paris Is Doing It Now

I was fortunate to stay with college friends who live in Paris and experience the remarkable progress in this leading global city. Mayor Anne Hidalgo has transformed the walking and biking experience in Paris in just over a decade. It’s most pronounced in Paris’ City Center, where cycling has tripled to over 10% of trips and car usage is much lower than walking, transit and cycling. I met with a great partner in the effort, Clotilde Imbert who leads Copenhagenize. Her firm is helping cities all over Europe and beyond become leaders in biking and walking safety (like our friends in Copenhagen, Denmark). 

For every leader who doubts that a city or town can transform biking and walking in a decade, the capital of France has a message for you: it can be done. And if you go for it, you may rise as a global leader, hosting major worldwide events like last summer’s Olympic Games. At this moment in America, where many federal leaders are more focused on cuts than being visionary, our nonprofit is ready to help local, state and federal leaders improve quality of life throughout our region.

#2: Paths are Pivotal to Preserve Heritage

I’ve always deeply felt the health benefits and connection with nature when I bike and hike. But I was inspired to explore the strong potential of trails and greenways to connect people more with their heritage and history. One example was a scenic overlook highlighting the industrial heritage of Belgium’s Genk region that was a leading producer of coal in the early 1900s. It was a respectful and educational nod to industrial heritage that was a leading force bringing people to the region and even changing its shape. In fact, a highlight was the forested hill that didn’t exist elsewhere in the plains until millions of tons of coal slag (waste material) piled up over many decades. Forty years after the mines closed, a park full of trails honors the industrial history.

Another example of trails connecting people with their history goes back almost 2,000 years: Hadrian’s Wall Path in the UK. This 84-mile path runs from the North Sea coast to the Irish Sea coast in northern England near the border with Scotland. It was a fortification that Roman Emperor Hadrian had built in the early 120s CE when London was known as Londinium. Paths can connect us with the accomplishments and mistakes of our history to help us build a better future with knowledge from our ancestors and our culture past and present.

#1: I’ve Seen the Future, and it’s Beautiful

Near the end of my trip, I got to see the top biking city in the world – Utrecht, Netherlands. Utrecht was hosting the International Biking and Hiking Tourism Conference, and I was delighted to be part of it. While the speakers were awesome, what really blew me away was outside. More than 50% of trips in the city of 375,000 people are by bike. Kids biked to school by the hundreds and thousands, evident with the full bike parking across the street from our conference center. People of every age were biking to work, to the library and to train and bus connections in Utrecht and throughout the region. People don’t wear bike helmets because they feel safe on infrastructure that they have built out over five decades since their movement took off across The Netherlands in the 1970s. Utrecht was the perfect host of our conference, as I heard from experts and practitioners focused on making biking and walking even better in Holland and throughout Europe.

While we won’t compete with Utrecht in a year or two, during my meeting with the Dutch Cycling Embassy, their leader Skadi Tirpak was very encouraging as she shared their process for helping other communities around the world achieve great progress. As we complete the East Coast Greenway during the coming decade or so, we too can reach the happy future of kids holding hands as they bike their way toward their awesome potential.

I want to give a special thank-you to my friends and colleagues throughout Western Europe for hosting me, listening to my stories of East Coast Greenway progress and sharing with me such an inspiring experience full of learning for our path ahead.

Let’s continue to build our partnerships throughout the 450 communities along the Greenway and beyond to communities and countries all over this beautiful world.