NETHER Stowey residents and parish councillors gathered to celebrate the launch of two new amenities for the village.

Stowey Walking and Stowey Green Spaces have worked together to create a new interpretation board in the old jail, or lock-up, about places to visit in and around the village and giving walkers in particular a warm welcome to Stowey and the Quantock Hills.

Judith Grieg explained the aspirations of Stowey Green Spaces to turn the village jail into a small information point showing what the village has to offer to both local people and visitors.

The day also marked the launch of a new trail, the Castles and Coast Way, linking Nether Stowey with the neighbouring village of Stogursey and on to the England Coast Path at Shurton.

The new trail also links up with the Coleridge Way in Nether Stowey and a new signpost on The Cross, in the centre of the village, will indicate the route for the Castles and Coast Way, the Coleridge Way and Coleridge Cottage where Samuel Taylor Coleridge lived.

Lynne Abbott, of Stowey Walking, thanked Terence Sackett who designed the interpretation board and Nigel and Janet Phillips for funding the project, also thanked Somerset County Council Rights of Way Team for designing the new route and EDF Energy for its funding contribution.