Repairing the footpath on Loughrigg Fell

Since our last blog post we've been busy repairing the footpath on Loughrigg Fell, focussing on the lower section of path from the terrace up to the summit. Prior to having the rock flown to site we erected temporary catchment fences to prevent the risk of any rocks falling out of the heli-bags while they were being dropped and potentially rolling all the way down to the lake shore below.

Bottom section of path just after erecting the catchment fence

Our work has involved replacing old sections of the footpath that were difficult to walk on either because it had been put in at an angle or because the steps were too small to easily place a whole foot on. We reused as much rock as possible, mixing it in with the additional rock that was flown in by helicopter.

Bottom section of path after about one month's work

We started work on the path in mid-July and due to the furloughing scheme we had unprecedented numbers of walkers using the path. This offered us the great opportunity to showcase our work to members of the public, many of whom had never previously visited the Lake District before. 

Bottom section after landscaping

The high number of visitors also proved challenging, as we had to constantly stop and start as walkers moved through the worksite, making progress much slower than normal especially during the sunniest weather.

Chipping through bedrock

Another challenge that slowed us down was the large amount of bedrock just below the path surface which had to be chipped away before we could build the path.

Upper section of path (before)

Sections of the path that had previously not been worked on had started to badly erode (as seen in the previous photograph) and were also repaired.

Upper section of path during work

The erosion had also caused the old path to start falling out in places, so the path was pitched up to it to produce a hard sustainable surface.

Top section of path (before)

Top section after joining up to the original footpath

During the season we also carried out repairs to a section of footpath higher up the path, which will be detailed in our next post.