Tread carefully

The threats to mountain paths

as a UK pastime, recent figures suggest hillwalking is now more popular than football, cricket and rugby combined. This boost in interest in our hills and mountains is wonderful news – more people realising the physical and mental health benefits of outdoor activity can only be a good thing. On the flip side, though, the result of millions more boots pounding mountain paths means these precious and pristine environments are now under more pressure than ever. And the paths are in constant need of maintenance and repair.

The problem is a sheer trampling of vegetation causing soil erosion. This can lead to perpetually widening gullies which, exacerbated by bad weather, may result in motorway-wide scars in the landscape. Such devastating erosion requires huge amounts of money and human resources to reverse but, arguably, the biggest cost is to the environment. This destruction of land

jeopardises fauna and flora, impacts already-fragile habitats, releases carbon from peatlands, and detriments waterways.

But there is hope. Tremendous work is being carried out by impassioned people every day on peaks up and down the UK in an attempt to fix the damage. Mend Our Mountains, for example, is a national campaign set up by the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) to fundraise £1,000,000 for path repair projects. Since its inception in March 2018, the Make One Million appeal has raised over £700,000 for separate projects in each of the UK’s 15 national parks. And the resulting work is being done right now, as you read this article.

To find out more, Trail has tracked down three people whose working life revolves around maintaining our upland trails. We asked what’s being done already, and what more can we all do to help safeguard the future of Britain’s hill paths?