Garden City Greenway
Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation has invested more than £1.25m to improve Letchworth Garden City’s countryside. The Garden City Greenway offers excellent opportunities for people of all ages to enjoy the open air through walks and recreational facilities.
Garden City Visions
Ebenezer Howard (1850 – 1928) had a vision that would end the poverty and slum conditions suffered by so many in the late Victorian era. Howard dreamed of Garden Cities, where the best elements of town and country would be combined and the profits would be used to benefit the townspeople.
Howard outlined his philosophy in his book, ‘Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform’, published in 1898 (reissued in 1902 as ‘Garden Cities of Tomorrow’). This became the catalyst for Letchworth Garden City, and was re-issued as a facsimile of the original in 2003 to commemorate the Centenary of the town.
More than one hundred years after its birth, Letchworth Garden City continues to stand proud as a fitting tribute to the Garden City movement, and the Greenway reflects, very clearly, Howard’s vision of a Garden City as a place ‘where town and country meet’.
Into The Future
Following its successful opening in 2003, the Greenway continues to be nurtured and maintained by the Foundation’s forestry team. With a management plan that outlines all the work required at various times of the year, regular tasks include keeping paths weed-free, litter picking, grass cutting, hedge trimming and planting. Remarkably since 1998, the forestry team has planted over 27,000 trees and eight miles of hedgerows, with still more planting planned along the route and around the car parks.