Cam Parish Council is working with the Cotswold Wardens to make the public footpaths through our glorious countryside more accessible to all by replacing old wooden stiles with kissing gates.

Five crumbling stiles in the Ashmead Green area of Cam have been replaced with kissing gates to create a stile-free route for walkers.

The stiles, on public footpaths crossing fields from Green Street to Ashmead, are part of the Cam Accessible Paths Project which aims to improve access to the countryside and create circular walks for people of all abilities.

The installation of the kissing gates was a joint project, funded by Cam Parish Council, installed by volunteer Cotswold wardens, and supported by the landowners.

Chair of Cam Parish Council, Christina Carter, said: "This is such an important project, especially at this time when walking in our beautiful countryside is attracting more people than ever. It's crucial to ensure as much access to walking paths as possible and I'm hugely grateful to landowners who have cooperated by giving permission to convert old stiles to kissing gates and to the Cotswold wardens teams for installing them."

It is hoped more stiles will be replaced with kissing gates in the future. Mick Thorpe, Cotswold Warden, said: "This opens up the possibility of longer routes and a variety of routes for walkers who are reliant on "miles without stiles" to maintain their healthy walking activity."