IF you go down to the woods today, rock climbing could be a healthy surprise.
Dr Tim Thornton, a member of the 2020 Town Team in Pickering, North Yorkshire, is urging young people to take advantage of the town's Newbridge Woods as a way of getting fit and healthy.
The team was set up to look at suggestions put forward by residents to improve the local quality of life.
Dr Thornton said that he sees the rock face in the woods as a golden opportunity to teach the young generation the skills of climbing, abseilling and bouldering.
He said: "It would give them a controlled theme and be a far better and safer alternative to fast driving."
Dr Thornton has already had a meeting with The Duchy of Lancaster, one of the main landowners, plus two other landowners and had a positive reaction.
The venture will be an educational one, says Dr Thornton, who has also had meetings with a local geological society and a climber.
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