Caring for

Fix the Fells

With millions of walking boots, combined with the Cumbrian climate means erosion is a constant problem. Thanks to Fix the Fells, people can enjoy exploring the Lake District now and in the future.

Fix the Fells is a team made up of Lake District National Park Authority and National Trust rangers, including many invaluable volunteers. They repair paths from erosion on the high fells and protect the ecology and archaeological heritage of our beautiful landscape.

Why fix the paths?

It is essential to repair eroding paths in the Lake District to protect the internationally important biodiversity of the area.

Erosion leads to loss of vegetation, species and habitats on the fells, as well as damage to the biodiversity of the rivers and lakes below.
Many of the areas we repair are Special Areas of Conservation and Sites of Special Scientific Interest which are suffering damage due to path erosion.
Natural England, as partners within Fix the Fells, advocate the work we do to protect and enable recovery of these internationally and nationally important habitats and species.
Repairing eroding paths reduces the amount of sediment which is washed off the fells and into rivers and lakes where it is harmful to biodiversity.

Before and after: Erosion in Coledale which Fix the Fells repaired. The damage was 4m deep, 10m wide and over 300m long.

Before and after: Erosion on Redacre Gill.