New Year…new challenge..? Just don’t forget your trident!

By Lowri Roberts

Volunteer George Smith will be carving a trident that will be carried around the Welsh Coast.  Can you help?

We can’t supply a chariot or guarantee wall-to-wall sunshine but we can promise that you’ll take in miles of the beautiful Welsh coast equipped with a trident in hand and the knowledge you’re helping Neptune. 

So, what’s all this about we hear you asking? 

As we welcome 2015, we are  embarking on Wales-wide celebrations marking 50 years of the National Trust’s most successful campaign - the Neptune Coastline Campaign.  It’s been at the helm of coastal fundraising since 1965, allowing us to permanently protect over 100 miles of the Welsh coast. 

We’re looking for teams of volunteers to walk different sections of the Wales Coast Path to raise funds for our Coast Campaign. All we ask is that you carry a trident along with you.

Neptune’s trident is being carved specifically for the celebrations by George Smith, a volunteer who works at Glan Faenol near Bangor, Gwynedd. 

“I’ll be using locally sourced timber from the woodland along the shores of the Menai Strait to carve a three-pronged trident,” says George. 

 “I love working with natural materials and like a bit of a challenge. Sculpting such a unique relay baton will be my way of contributing to such a great cause,” adds George, who’s been volunteering here for over 5 years. 

Over the course of 2015, the aim is for the trident to be passed along the entire Welsh coast that takes in 157 miles of land we care for. 

Richard Neale, who’s managing the Welsh Coast Project is urging more people like George to do something special to celebrate our coastline in 2015.

“We are asking people to help us raise funds to enable us to create over 10km of new coastal paths in Wales in 2015.  These will connect the popular Welsh Coast Path with some of the finest wildlife sites that we look after and will include five new wildlife-watching hides and four new self-guided trails.”

If you’re up for the challenge please get in touch with Richard or Lowri before 31^st Jan, noting how far you’d like to walk and which section you’d like to undertake.

Do something big in 2015.  Celebrate our Welsh Coast by walking your favourite section with Neptune's Trident.