Roman Road techniques
Published: 16 November 2008
Roman road building tactics have been used to repair Lake District footpaths.
The techniques the ancients used have been adopted by machine drivers to repair two popular paths in the Lake District National Park as part of the Fix the Fells path restoration project.
Machines have been used on the lakeshore at Buttermere and from Mardale Ill Bell to High Street, to repair erosion. The machines dig down and bring material up to the top to create a hard wearing surface and drainage is improved.
The well-used low level path at Buttermere was suffering from erosion caused by heavy use and water getting onto the path. Now, after work by skilled National Park Authority staff with two diggers, a stable hard-wearing path suitable for a greater range of users has been created.
Richard Fox, Project Officer for Fix the Fells with the Lake District National Park Authority says: “Whilst it may have been a surprise for people to see a machine on High Street, we know that the technique that the machine drivers use is the same as that which the Romans used to originally surface routes such as on High street.”
Judith Moore, Policy Officer at Friends of the Lake District who financially support Fix the Fells says: “Friends of the Lake District are pleased to be involved with this repair work. This is a popular path which can now be enjoyed by more people. Improvements to the drainage will help stop the erosion ensuring the path can be used year round.”
On High Street during the summer, a machine repaired a section of path one km long, which at its worst was a scar eight metres wide by a metre deep. Material washed away was eventually ending up in Haweswater.
