THE Nuns' Walk between St Joseph's School at Holloway and St Aldhelms Roman Catholic Church at Cross Hayes, Malmesbury, was reopened to celebrate St Joseph's Day last week.

It has taken volunteers a year to remove the undergrowth that has blocked the walk for the last 25 years.

Nuns used the path to travel from the school, where they taught, to the convent, and headteacher Kim Parnell said she thought the path would provide a safe route for the children. She said: "It has been a real community effort the parish and the children have all been involved.

"Rather than walk along the road, which can be quite busy with traffic, the children can use the path to go to and from church."

It was a particularly special day for Janette Griffiths who works as a caretaker at the school and officially opened the path at a ceremony last Wednesday.

She was attending the school when her father originally volunteered his time to keep the path trimmed. It was when he gave up his work that the path fell into disrepair.

"It is like being back at school when I walk along the path. I have a lot of happy memories here," she said.

The path, which skirts the old town wall and has views stretching over the River Avon, has been decorated with bulbs bought and planted by children.

Ms Parnell hopes the path can be turned into a nature reserve in the future.