Royal seal on £1.5m trail

A £1.5million trail linking Cannock and Rugeley will get the royal seal of approval when it is visited by Princess Anne in a matter of weeks.

The Princess Royal is to officially open the Chase Heritage Trail, which is not due to be fully completed until the summer, when she visits the county on January 15.

She will be in Lichfield to visit the new Samuel Johnson Community Hospital, off Trent Valley Road, to see how it helps patients by letting them be cared for closer to their homes.

It has now been revealed she will then visit Birches Valley Forest Centre on Cannock Chase to take a look at the heritage trail. She will take a stroll along the route and meet schoolchildren and activity groups along the way. She will officially open the trail and unveil a plaque before opening the new environmentally-friendly Treehouse Education Centre on the site.

The county Lord Lieutenant's officer John Foster, who organises royal visits to Staffordshire, said: "The palace asked us to come up with something a little bit different after opening the hospital and we thought a walk on the Chase would be perfect."

Eight or nine groups waiting to meet her will include mountain bikers and an art group plus children from schools including Hagley Park Sports College and Colwich School. The Museum of Cannock Chase is being refurbished and having an extension built. It will be where people start and finish.

The trail links Cannock, Hednesford and Rugeley with a walking and cycling route and is funded by Cannock Chase and Staffordshire, County Council, the Forestry Commission, Staffordshire Environmental Fund via the Landfill Communities Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund.