A friend of mine fell and broke his knee whilst running on one of these fixed fell pathways. Had to be MR'd. I tend to run off the slabs where possible for this very reason. Anyway can anyone explain the difference between erosion by human feet, erosion by water (some of the biggest gouges in the landscape are caused by streams and rivers), and to my mind worst of all (and I say this as a sheep keeper), erosion by sheep - not so much by their feet but by the fact they eat any new tree/shrub growth and this in itself results arguably in greater erosion than any effect human feet might have. Trees hold the landscape together, decrease water run off, act as carbon sinks, provide a more diverse habitat. Not saying get rid of all sheep but maybe a planned withdrawal over a period of years. I believe the NT have done this in parts of the Peak District and the result is a magnificent "blooming" of nature. Just thoughts and no pat answers!