Guisborough Forest and Walkway Visitor Center Improvements

Guisborough Forest Walkway operates as a gateway for families, outdoor pursuit enthusiasts and local residents to access beautiful, un spoilt forest, moorland and national park. The Visitor Centre is ideally situated at the entrance to the walkway from the car park and provides toilet and baby change facilities, café and picnic area, as well as a recycling centre, bike wash-off, outdoor performance / educational area. A variety of educational and ‘Forest Schools’ opportunities are delivered throughout the year. A scheme funded by the Tees Valley Combined Authority will shortly join one end of the walkway to Nunthorpe and enable improved access to onward cycle routes into Middlesbrough, providing an opportunity to access the walkway from further afield and increasing the level of use and passing trade for the café.

Solar panel installations on the roof of the centre will complement the small solar array already in place and as well as reducing reliance upon the grid, in conjunction with other sustainable improvements which will provide a real opportunity for the centre to showcase low carbon credentials.

Planned improvements to the look, feel and layout to the underutilised central section of the building to enable greater educational work to take place throughout the year, emphasising the impacts of climate change and benefits of a low carbon lifestyle.

The current entrance to the visitor centre car park from the road is unassuming and difficult to negotiate due to the sharp turn next to a blind summit bridge. Improving the entry will provide a genuine sense of arrival.