AS the autumn rain teems down, more footpaths are opened in North Yorkshire. It is another unhappy irony of the fight against foot and mouth disease that these routes have become accessible again weeks after summer ended. Dedicated walkers will, no doubt, be using them: but the news comes too late for the ordinary families and tourists who normally flock into the North Yorkshire countryside.
That is a terrible blow for many rural businesses. They will need both financial help to survive the winter, and a concerted strategy to ensure the best possible tourist season in 2002.
Updated: 12:20 Wednesday, September 26, 2001
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