SOUTH Downs National Park officers embarked on a ‘meet and greet’ exercise over the Easter weekend, when special greeting squads, wearing brightly coloured clothing, “stopped and shared a hello” with walkers, cyclists and horse riders at key locations within the park.

According to South Downs Way national trail officer Andy Gattiker, the idea was to provide park users with a friendlier reception than usual, and to ask them to pass the goodwill on to others the met along the way.

He said: “Easter is a busy time in the South Downs National Park. We asked those who got a special ‘hello’ to kindly pass it on, so that we all share the path with a smile.”

The beauty spot contains more than 620 miles of shared paths ranging from iconic routes such as the South Downs Way to smaller bridleways.

These paths are enjoyed every day by ramblers, hikers, dog walkers, cyclists, horse riders, land owners and farmers and the idea was, that by setting a cheery example, users would greet one another with a “hello”, “thank you”, “excuse me”, or even a “much obliged!”

Andy said: “There are many different people enjoying the national park every day in lots of different ways, but we have the same thing in common – the joy of being outside in the fresh air.

“It’s great to see people holding gates open, sharing a nod and a smile, a thank you, or a hello. With spring in the air we’re sure that everybody will get into the spirit and pass the message on.”

Partners such as the National Trust, local businesses and community groups were all encouraged to get involved to spread the word.

While it was a particularly windy weekend over Easter, according to a South Downs National Park spokesman, the exercise worked really well with the teams greeting and chatting with anyone they passed.

While the officers won’t be out on the Downs again for a while, they will be continuing to spread the message.

Anyone can share their photographs and get involved in the online conversation with the hashtag #sharethepath.

For more details or to get involved, visit southdowns.gov.uk/sharethepath or @sdnpa.