Donegal County Council is leading a new €2.7m TrailGazers project to look at new and innovative ways that walks and recreational trails can better link with surrounding local and rural communities to enhance economic and social development, with the north west county set to benefit to the tune of €600,000.

Funded under the Atlantic Area Programme, Donegal County Council will work on this project with nine partners from different regions in Ireland, the UK, Spain, Portugal and France.

‘TrailGazers’ will offer an opportunity for key stakeholders to come together to examine how best to engage with these new visitors and encourage them off the trails to explore what the wider area has to offer including for example cafes, craft shops, artisan foods, hotels and pubs and encourage them to stay longer. 

The project will examine how walks and recreational trails can be used as catalysts for the economic and social development of small rural economies and communities in an environmentally sustainable way.

It is funded under the Atlantic Area Programme and will be managed by Donegal County Council’s Research and Policy Unit along with nine partners from different regions in Ireland, the UK, Spain, Portugal and France.