WITH the peak visitor season in the Lake District, walkers are likely to encounter Fix the Fells rangers working on a series of projects up on the fells.

This year’s programme of works along the Cumbrian stretch of Wainwright’s Coast to Coast route means walkers are likely to see improvements happening to paths between Ennerdale and Haweswater.

Rangers will be busy working to improve the path network at Loft Beck (Ennerdale), Far Easedale, The Tongue, and Grisedale Tarn (Grasmere), Angle Tarn (Patterdale), and Haweswater lakeshore after funding of £145,000 from Natural England via the Lake District National Park Authority.

Alongside repairs to the path surface, the team will also be addressing issues of erosion in the high fells.

A second major project for Fix the Fells has been funded by £88,000 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, via Westmorland and Furness Council. This will fund critical work repairing erosion on the route up Glenridding Dodd from the village, as well as projects on two other popular fells, Loughrigg in Ambleside and Gowbarrow by Ullswater.

Some of the other locations the team will be at work include the highly popular Scafell Pike, Coniston fells, Blencathra and Catbells – with work on the latter funded by Keswick Mountain Festival. 

The four ranger teams will be working outdoors in all weathers until the end of October. Their season started in April, and during that month alone one team of four rangers gathered 100 tonnes of stone by hand, ready for the repair work at Glenridding Dodd. 

Fix the Fells Ranger, Annie Duckworth, explains, “Stone used by Fix the Fells is gathered from carefully selected locations on the fells, with the permission of landowners and with the assent of Natural England. This ensures that stone is collected in sustainable areas and away from sites which have sensitive ecology, geology and historical interest. 

"Our rangers work in all weathers and often in very muddy, wet conditions.  All are highly skilled in upland path work and erosion repair techniques, which include using stone to build steps and drains, repairing areas of exposed peat and restoring vegetation where it’s been eroded.”

These rangers are supported by a team of volunteers who carry out essential routine path maintenance and minor repairs, ensure drains are kept clear and issues are reported. Not only does Fix the Fells benefit from the input of 160 regular volunteers, but the partnership also works closely with visiting volunteer groups from organisations which have donated to Fix the Fells.

Details of all the planned Fix the Fells work for 2024 can be found here, along with how to donate: Paths to be fixed – 2024 Work Programme – Fix The Fells