Yorkshire Three Peaks route 'making villagers lives miserable'

The Three Peaks route is supposed to be completed within 12 hours

A route used by thousands of walkers could be changed by a national park authority after reports it was "making people's lives a misery".

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is to look at the impact of about 100,000 walkers on the Three Peaks route every year.

Villagers near the route have reported noise, verbal abuse, public urinating and parking problems.

The authority plans to look at other routes at its December meeting.

The 24 mile (39km) walk route takes in Pen-y-Ghent at 2,277 ft (694m), Whernside at 2,414 ft (736m) and Ingleborough 2,372 ft (723m).

The route has become so popular some of the paths are being badly eroded.

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It had led some residents to leave their homes at weekends, the authority heard.

Richard Welch, a North Yorkshire County councillor for Ribblesdale, told the authority feelings were running high in villages such as Horton in Ribblesdale due to "over-tourism".

He said: "Every weekend it is absolute pandemonium. The Three Peaks walk is making people's lives a misery.

"I was in the pub at Ribblehead with a baby who was born in there on Three Peaks Cycle Race day because the ambulance couldn't get through due to indiscriminate parking."

Yorkshire Dales National Park

• The park was established in 1954

• It is one of 15 National Parks in the UK

• 23,637 people live in the National Park (Office of National Statistics 2012)

• About 100,000 people walk, all or part of, the Three Peaks challenge route

• The busiest day on the route is Saturday.

David Butterworth, the authority's chief executive, said the government expected national parks to increase visitor numbers by 10% and Three Peaks walkers raised £6m for charity annually.

However, this needed to be balanced against the impact on local communities, he said.

The route is on public rights of way and walkers were not obliged to register with the authority, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Butterworth said the authority had produced a draft code of conduct for Three Peaks walkers.

Members have agreed to look at possible alternative start points, routes and other options.