Phase 1

Phase 1, which connects the riverside path at Welshmill with Whatcombe Fields, was opened in early 2015. We built this when the route along the river was being threatened by development. Volunteers approached the developers and both Gracewell and Renaissance Land donated a strip of land that enabled the link to go through.

What used to be a very narrow and muddy path was developed into a wide tracked path along the river that is heavily used, as it connects the centre of Frome with open spaces and residential areas.

How to find it

You can find the start of this section on Welshmill road, where it crosses the river. The path goes between Rosetti House care home and the river.

The construction cost was financed by Mendip District Council’s Local Legacy Fund, Frome Town Council, Aster Housing, and other grant funding routed through Sustrans.

Phase 2

Phase 2, completed in March 2025, connects the Great Elm end of the Colliers Way with Elliots Lane in Hapsford.

Volunteers cleared the route of brambles, removed the old railway track and concrete sleepers from a section of the route, levelled the ballast and built steps up the embankment. A new access slope was created and aggregate put down along the route and compacted as much as possible.

Following a successful Crowdfunder campaign in 2024, funding was raised for the tarmacking and the final surface was put down in February 2025, completing this section of the path.

How to find it

Elliots Lane is a small lane off the Hapsford Hill road, at the top of the slope after the bridge over the Mells River, as you travel away from Frome. It is possible to park in a lay-by along the road, before the bridge. There is a path along one side of Hapsford Hill at this point, on the same side as the houses. You would then need to cross the road to get to Elliots Lane.

About 100m down Elliots Lane, the road goes over a bridge (over the rail line), and the path starts immediately after that, on the left.

At the moment, there is no signage to the start of this section, as it is not the recommended cycle route into/out of Frome. The Hapsford Hill road can be busy, and cyclists would need to cross the busy A362, and use Coalash Lane to reach Frome. This is not an easy route for unconfident or young cyclists.

The official National Cycle Network route 24 remains through Great Elm and via the quieter lanes to Frome.

What’s happening now

Practical work continues on both sections, with The Ecology Group, planting trees, creating wildlife habitats and surveying fauna and flora along stretches of the route.  Meanwhile, Friday Group volunteers have been maintaining the route, putting in fencing, moving troughs and keeping the area tidy.