Fell volunteers clock up record hours

Volunteers carry out the work in all weathers

Volunteers spent a record number of hours maintaining upland paths in the Lake District last year.

The Fix the Fells team monitors the landscape for erosion and damage caused by its 19 million visitors per year.

Twenty rangers and 130 volunteers undertake regular patrols to keep paths clear and repair them if needed.

In 2024 they carried out the equivalent of 3,000 days of work, the Lake District National Park Authority said.

Fix the Fells volunteer Jeremy Pugh said: "Initially walkers walking on the grass will kill it and once soil is exposed it's mother nature that does the rest.

"Heavy rainfall creates a groove where boots have walked and where water then flows.

"Storms can also gouge out the ground and form a gulley which spreads.

"Walkers then avoid the water, killing more grass and that's how you get big scars in the environment.

"Keeping the path and drainage clear keeps walkers on the path and water off it."

Fix the Fells Ranger Annie Duckworth said: "We are privileged to have such a great bunch of volunteers who are willing to head out into the hills in all weathers to clear blocked drains, build paths and engage with people all across the Lake District.

"We certainly couldn't monitor and maintain all 400 paths each year without this vital contribution."