Historic route back on the map

A much-loved path for Lake District walkers has finally been repaired and restored after 2009’s record-breaking floods washed it away. The historical route, which Alfred Wainwright described as “one of the pleasantest of foot passes”, was regularly climbed by walkers heading for Haystacks, one of Wainwright’s favourite peaks and his last resting place. 

Since the floods, walkers have had to struggle around a landslide as LDNPA staff worked out how to obtain the £70,000 required to fund the repairs. Following a successful bid to the Rural Development Programme for England, specialist engineers were asked to design and build a solution. Managing the surface water was as important to ensure that a similar failure didn’t happen again elsewhere along the path, so contractors Metcalfe Plant Hire of Penrith came up with the idea of using more than 100 tonnes of materials recovered from the bottom of the slope to fill the gap. At the same time slate from nearby Honister Mine was used to create a drain which catches the water and directs it away from the affected area. The 30m landslide which created a large gap on the bridleway between Gatesgarth and Scarth Gap is now being used by walkers again allowing them to enjoy views over Buttermere.

 “I’m really delighted that the bridleway has been repaired,” says Lake District National Park Paths for the Public Project Coordinator, Dylan Jackman. “It’s been a while coming, but it has been quite a unique project and something that needed careful consideration.”

For more about walking in the Lake District, visit www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/outdoors/walking

Image by Ian Greig via geograph.org.uk