Great Langdale and Grasmere Team
by Nic Fish
"In 2007 the Grasmere and Great Langdale Upland Footpath Team concentrated mainly on three projects:
Stickle Ghyll
April to July: Replacing old style pitching on upper section, with locally sourced rocks flown in by helicopter, adding new drains to stop water running down the path and eroding the pitching and landscaping the old path out where the route has changed slightly.
Time has also been spent seeding and fertilising pitching from the previous two years' work, lower down on the path.
Esk Hause and Angle Tarn
July to October: Narrowing eroded path from the Tarn up Esk Hause using rises, pitching and landscaping stones. We dig large boulders into eroded areas to deter people from stepping off the new path. Drains are also being used to take water of the path.
Loughrigg
July - November: Pitching up a steep path that has been eroded away by a stream flowing down the path. This will involve making a new route snaking around the stream, which will allow the water to flow through drains placed in the pitching and not down the path. Landscaping stones are also being used to keep people to the right route.
Other projects
At the beginning of the year we spent time alongside the Coniston Footpath team preparing for the new Fix The Fells project. The path team's time was mostly spent training the new volunteers in what work we expected them to undertake, by taking them out on training days and giving them a hands-on experience of what the work involved.
During the summer the Team have also worked alongside two National Trust Working Holiday groups. These two projects have taken place in the gardens of High Close Youth Hostel, and on Stickle Ghyll."
