The Cotswolds Voluntary Wardens is comprised of around 400 men and women who form the volunteer arm of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), now the Cotswolds National Landscape (CNL).

The wardens have been in existence for over 50 years. Their activities revolve round four main activities, work parties (the largest group), parish wardens who look after the paths within the CNL and note any problems that they find (broken stiles, gates, path overgrowth, problems with trees and sometimes more serious issues) and walk leaders who lead walks throughout the year, advertised on the CNL website, with some 200-400 walks are offered every year. The final activity is education where wardens work with schools within (and sometimes outside) the CNL, taking pupils out into the countryside and exploring nature.

The contribution of the wardens last year was over 46,000 hours of work, with the lion’s share being the work parties. 

Sir Geoffrey Clifton Brown MP was given the opportunity to join one of the work parties near Wyck Rissington to help repair a bridge and clear away overgrown vegetation along the path.

Commenting, Sir Geoffrey said:

“It was a huge pleasure to join the Cotswolds Voluntary Wardens on one of their work parties and would like to thank everyone involved for helping to make my visit both productive and extremely interesting. The wardens work tirelessly to maintain the pristine beauty of our countryside here in the Cotswolds, doing invaluable work to ensure the public footpaths are kept safe and attractive for locals and visitors.  Working with the wardens was a fantastic experience and really made me appreciate the amount of time and dedication they give to ensure we can enjoy the natural beauty of the Cotswolds.  It is no surprise that they were awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2018.”