Popular Lakes path gets a makeover

2:41pm Friday 4th July 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

ONE of the Lake District’s most popular paths has undergone a major makeover as part of a project to safeguard high-level routes for future generations, reports Paul Duncan.

Volunteers from The Heritage Lottery Fund’s north west grants team donned steel toe-capped boots and got their hands dirty during a three-day mission to repair the upland path at Stake Pass, Great Langdale.

The project was organised by the Fix the Fells partnership - a five-year programme involving a variety of agencies such as the Lake District National Park Authority and the National Trust - that has seen more than 100 Lakeland paths repaired and which aims to renovate 74 more.

Stake Pass is a busy route, as it forms part of the long distance Cumbria Way running over the Langdale Pikes to Borrowdale, however, its popularity means that many areas of it are becoming eroded.

National Trust project manager John Atkinson said: “Stake Pass is one of the main ancient arterial routes within the Lakes. Previously a packhorse route, it comprises many zigzags as it climbs the hill, which leads people to short cut and therefore cause unnecessary erosion.

“We aim to reinstate the original route as much as possible, repairing the scarring and making the shortcuts less noticeable.

The eight volunteers worked alongside National Trust path repair teams and HLF spokesman Samantha Goody said they were “excited” to be involved in some hands-on repair work.

“We thought, as part of our team away days, it would be marvellous to not only see some path restoration work in action, but to also take part. Voluntary work is hugely important to the success of the Fix the Fells project,” she said.

LDNPA Fix the Fells spokesman Richard Fox said: “The number of people climbing Stake Pass causes increasing erosion problems, so we are very grateful to the HLF north west team members, for not only providing the funding, but also for taking the trouble to come and see what we are doing and to try some path restoration work for themselves.”

For details of the project, and how to get involved, visit the website at www.fix thefells.co.uk.