After finishing the work over at Ullswater on Glenridding Dodd, we headed over to Loughrigg to continue the work that we'd started back in 2020. This work was again supported by a grant received from the Westmorland and Furness Shared Prosperity Fund.
We resumed repairs on some of the path that we'd last been working on in 2022 and then started on some fresh sections of footpath higher up towards the summit.
The first section was about five metres in length. Where some of the original path had started to fall out, people were avoiding the big step-off and exiting the path to the side, causing further erosion.
Section of pitching in need of repair
This bit of footpath was probably built in the 1990s. We extended the lower section of the path, starting it in an area that had a more shallow gradient, so would be less likely to erode in the future.
Pitching after repair work
Higher up the path is a large area of exposed bedrock that has caused people to find alternative routes in order to avoid the scramble over it. In the following photo you can see how eroded the path is above where we're working, but it's difficult to capture the full extent of the damage.
Looking down on the site
You can see in the photo below, as we approach the exposed bedrock section, how eroded the footpath is and how it has started to widen.
Lower section of path before starting work
After a few weeks of work, the new path is starting to take shape.
Lower section of path after work
Higher up, the path is still badly eroded and unlikely to recover without intervention.
Mid section before starting work
Mid section of path after work
The photo below shows the problematic bedrock. As lots of people tend to avoid it rather than scramble over it, the decision was taken to build the path straight through to get everyone on to one line, so that the extensive damage created by people trying to find a different route down can be be restored.
Upper bedrock section
Upper section of path before starting work
You can see in the next photograph how we're taking the path through a narrow gulley in the bedrock. This is having to be widened out where possible. Fortunately the bedrock is breaking pretty easily (so far), although it's creating a lot of spoil that we'll have to remove from site or/and bury with soil generated lower down the path.
Pitching up and through the bedrock
We've got a couple more weeks of work left on Loughrigg this year and then we'll return to complete the work most likely next spring.
To finish off this post, here are a couple of before and after photographs of a section of path that we'd worked on in 2022. Before being replaced, the original path was a mix of high steps and steeply sloped footpath. This had caused people to walk off the path and cause damage to the surrounding area.
Path before work in 2020
Path after work in 2024
It's been great to hear the positive feedback from regular walkers on Loughrigg who had disliked the original path and tended to use it only as an "up path" due to the awkwardness of descending it. It certainly justifies the decision to replace the old path with a more user-friendly footpath.
