Care of the fells - a question

was interested (and dismayed) to read the bolt in broad stand controversy and it brings me to ask summat I've been curious about since getting into this fell-running lark ...

As a walker, I always stuck pretty religiously to the rule that you stick to the paths or trods to avoid unnecessary erosion around our beloved landscape.

How does that square with fell-running - in that it seems fair game to take almost whatever route you like, whether racing or reccying or training?

This isn't aimed at being provocative by the way, just curious as to the attitude of fell-runners in general re. this. :) I'd assume the answer is that compared to the millions of walkers, runners cause insignificant damage.

To which a walker's reply might be 'If everyone thought like that ...'?

I havent ever thought of it in that way. Usually the quickest way is on the beaten track instead of cutting across rough ground anyway

I asked a Lake District Ranger about that, and his opinion is, that walking on paths, or walking well off them was fine. It's walking along the edges of paths, thus widening them that causes the damage.

i tend to stick to paths as much as possible but when sometimes training up pendle my dad knows it really well and we just go over our own paths

my navigation is that bad i cant find the paths!!!!

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Originally Posted by Man from Del Monte

my navigation is that bad i cant find the paths!!!!

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yep, got in a right b * gger's muggle going up towards Swirl How on saturday - managed to figure out it was Wendy Dodds in front, and thought I was sorted.

Turned out she wasn't too sure either. :rolleyes:

Interesting thread and question Zooty.:) A few years back a walking friend of mine and I had similar conversation. His case was that fell-runners will cut natural corners at path junctions. My point was that fellrunners will plough on through ('scuse the pun!) a bit of wet muddy path whereas walkers will go around a muddy bit and widen the path.

Realistically, Pudgy's point is the one that counts I think. It's a question of wear, tear and recovery time. We all cause damage, it's the scale and time for the moor / vegetation to recover that counts. Paths widen cos loads of people use them. My local runs off-path routes are unrecognisable to anyone but me cos I'm the only one (or one of very few) who uses 'em (and then regrettably, too rarely for me!)

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Originally Posted by ZootHornRollo

yep, got in a right b * gger's muggle going up towards Swirl How on saturday - managed to figure out it was Wendy Dodds in front, and thought I was sorted.

Turned out she wasn't too sure either. :rolleyes:

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i was getting worried going up there as well. seemed to go on for ever. at least my navigation was better than the poor guys in the Halifax bomber we went past

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Originally Posted by Man from Del Monte

i was getting worried going up there as well. seemed to go on for ever. at least my navigation was better than the poor guys in the Halifax bomber we went past

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I'm trying to think of how best to combine the words hilarious and historical to describe that post. I think I'll go for hilorical.:D

one line of argument when the open access plans were introduced was that it would encourage people to stay away from paths and venture onto less trodden areas. I guess that by staying away from paths runners are doing a good thing.