Stake Pass - North
Location:
Pass linking the valleys of Langdale and Langstrath, in the upper reaches of Borrowdale. Grid ref: NY267093
Legal status:
Public bridleway
Path use:
Used as an access route between Langdale and Borrowdale and the surrounding peaks, but mainly and increasingly used as part of the Cumbria Way long distance path. Walkers on the Cumbria Way mainly pass from south to north. The route also sees a fair amount of usage from Duke of Edinburgh Award groups.
Historic interest:
Stake Pass has a long history of usage as a packhorse route. Pack horses carrying heavy loads need an easy gradient, which is the reason the path takes so many zig-zags to climb the hillside. Paths which have mainly come about from recreational use tend to take a more direct route to their destination!
Upland path erosion is not a modern phenomenon, and the case of a Lakeland traveller arriving at The Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in 1819 is often quoted. He had travelled from Borrowdale via Stake Pass, and complained that the route was severely eroded and in a much worse state than when he last passed. In those days these paths were essential routes from A to B, and therefore were repaired by the people who used them. Packmen, miners, landowners and traders would all have contributed to their maintenance.
Stake Pass was also used as a coffin route between the two valleys, and a large resting stone can be seen at the highest point on the pass.
The problem:
Today's more focused users are taking shortcuts between the original zig-zags of the path. Additionally, the path’s original surface has in many places been worn away. Both these have resulted in deep channels being eroded into the hillside which the water is getting into and rapidly worsening.
Repair techniques:
Work started in 2009 on the highest section aimed to return the path to its original line and landscape out the erosion scars. There is hardly any stone pitching on this path, and the techniques being used to repair it aim to continue this feel. This is made easier due to the gradual gradient the zig-zags give. In 2008 the highest section was completed, built by digging out large drainage channels by hand on the topside of the path. The subsoil material that this produced was used to create a path surface. This has resulted in a lovely, sweeping path that is easy to walk on and therefore removes the temptation for walkers to shortcut corners.
Materials needed:
100 bags of stone - weighing approximately 1 tonne each - have been flown in by helicopter from the surrounding scree slopes. All other material will be gained by digging the drainage channels.
Path workers:
Estimated man days:
500
Cost:
£75,000
Timescales:
Work will continue on the next section down the path in 2010 and 2011
