Mountain path repairs 'first big work' since 1980s

Mountain path repairs 'first big work' since 1980s46 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on Google

Fix the Fells Two male rangers dig up stone on Helvellyn. A lake can be seen in the background on the left-hand side.

Fix the FellsRangers are digging up the existing stone at Helvellyn's Swirls Path and will lay wider sections

Repairs along one of England's highest mountains are under way with chiefs describing it as the "first significant work" there since the 1980s.

Swirls Path, at Helvellyn, in the Lake District, is used by large numbers of walkers drawn by its views over Thirlmere.

The Fix the Fells conservation group, which is carrying out the work, warns the area either side of the path is being eroded with vegetation damaged.

In the first stage of a three-year project, rangers are pulling out the old path and replacing sections with wider stone pitching.

Alongside materials recovered from the site that are to be reused, more than 100 tonnes of stone were delivered by helicopter earlier this year in preparation.

Landscaping will also be used as a way to encourage people not to stray from the path.

'Happy balance'

Fix the Fells' partnership manager Isabel Berry said the route's "sloping, slippery surface is currently difficult to walk on" leading people to use the areas at either side.

"There are wide erosion scars either side of the path and soil material is being lost at an alarming rate to surrounding watercourses.

"This work will restore vegetation alongside the path and improve resilience to intense rainfall by stemming the loss of soil into watercourses like Thirlmere."

The first year of work is expected to cost £220,000 and will be paid for through public fundraising.

Fix the Fells A helicopter flies over Helvellyn. It has a rope hanging down as it transports a quantity of stone. A lake - Thirlmere - can be seen in the background.

Fix the FellsA helicopter was used to transport more than 100 tonnes of stone

Ranger Pete Entwistle is one of nine carrrying out the work.

He said the team would be aiming to strike a "happy balance between what is needed to protect the fellside environment and meeting the needs of path users".

Set up 25 years ago, Fix the Fells is a partnership between the National Trust, Lake District National Park, Natural England, Friends of the Lake District and the Lake District Foundation.

Its rangers and volunteers work to repair damage and create sustainable paths across the Lake District with the aim of balancing conservation and public access.

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