Fixing or ruining fells?

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Originally Posted by Derby Tup

I am struggling to understand the strength of feeling raised by the slabbed footpaths. There are huge swathes of unpathed, wet, boggy runnable (and not really runnable) ground in this area of Wharfedale so why not run somewhere else?

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How long before BGR route gets flagged, and the same sentiments from me about the huge areas of runnable ground in the lakes, just spread yourselves out and minimise the erosion and avoid the flagging / ruination of paths'

I have resolved never to enter another event that gives money to repair the damage that there events cause to the fells as it is obvious to me that those events are to big and therefore damaging, small and low key is the future.

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Originally Posted by Ilkley Swimmer

But the point is the distinction between footpaths created by the ingenuity of generations of walkers and runners and - by contrast - the artificiality of a stone slabbed footway. A natural footpath is often a thing of beauty as it wends its way up the mountainside, taking in clever little routes and meandering around obstacles, valleys etc.. A stone footway, on the other hand, has nothing to endear us to it. It is an ugly artificial imposition on the landscape, unpleasant both to look at and to run/walk on.

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I'd say that is quite a blinkered one dimensional stance, for every natural footpath beautifully wending its way up a mountainside i'd raise you a couple of ugly scars that left unchecked soon become eyesores. Countless great examples of footpath repair in the Lakes that can be held up as prime examples.

In some places I disagree and in other places I agree with the flag stones.

Overall I would prefer NOT to have them.

The sad fact is that for every natural footpath beautifully wending its way up a mountainside in the Lakes there are countless others that have been pointlessly covered up by ugly footways.

I'm not saying all the resources have been targeted in the right way, but on the whole I think that steps taken to reinforce busy footpaths are a good thing. In specific relation to Ilkley moor, the slabs keep the walkers to one route, I am free to enjoy miles and miles of seldom used trods from my back door. In relation to the lakes, to reiterate a point made above, 20 years ago there was horrendous errosion in the central fells, which has improved.

Comparing the situation in Snowdonia, I have far less issue with heavily rebuilt paths on Snowdon than the horrific scars on the corridor alongside Bristly Ridge. I see them as a necessary evil. But then, a stone path is not out of place on a stony mountainside. A different issue when it crosses bogland or heath.

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Originally Posted by TheReverand

I'd say that is quite a blinkered one dimensional stance,,,,.

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A sermon on the mountain?

Slight deviation from the topic, but anyone from Ogwen MR care to give an opinion whether the scramble up Tryfan should be marked Alpine-style with paint spots? They're up there every week or so to retrieve someone; only a matter of time before someone dies on it. The latest one last weekend ~ the casualty & partner set off uphill, bailed out before the top, and still went astray coming back down.

I'm against it...but then again, I'm not in MR so see what they think.

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Originally Posted by Wheeze

I'm against it...but then again, I'm not in MR so see what they think.

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controversial post there Wheeze.

But perhaps this is too, not speaking as MR here or any one in officialdom but....

I'm totally against cairns(maybe this is another issue we've had before on another thread) they don't tell you any thing except when the cairn is marked on the map in which case I'm ok with it. the small ones increase erosion and tell you nothing.

How ever I've spent enough time in the alps to see the value of the small painted signs, they DO tell you which route you are on and I have long had an internal argument(no you haven't ;) ) about whether these would be a good thing on popular routes such as brown tongue on Scafell Pike, these have regular call outs due to lost 3 peakers and on the many occasions I've been leading groups I've picked up lost walkers and followed bread trail snap lites that groups have placed to mark their return.

I certainly don't want them on every hill but would consider them on some routes....