Dramatic scenes as helicopter helps fix Yorkshire Dales Three Peaks Whernside path

The money raised through the Mend Our Mountains: Make One Million appeal has started going into repairing the heavily damaged Bruntscar path on the steep flanks of Whernside in the Yorkshire Dales.

Members of the public, businesses and charities responded generously to the Mend Our Mountains appeal and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s ‘Pitch in for Whernside’ campaign pay for the work.

After a year of fundraising, it is the first project of 13 across the UK supported by Mend Our Mountains.

In the last few days around 130 tonnes of high quality Greywacke gritstone, donated by Ingleton Quarry owner, Hanson, was airlifted on to Whernside.

This will be used to rebuild the stone pitching on the 200-metre section of heavily eroded path over the next three to four weeks.

The previous stone pitching, which had become loose and haphazard, has been removed.

The resulting path will provide a more firm route underfoot for around 60,000 walkers a year, many of whom will be completing the Three Peaks, one of the UK’s popular walking challenges.

It will also help to heal the aesthetically and ecologically damaging scarring along the route.

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Kate Hilditch, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority area manager, said: “We are really grateful to all those who have made donations, large or small, to ensure we can repair the Bruntscar path on Whernside.

"We hope the work will improve the experience of all the walkers tackling Whernside and the Three Peaks whilst protecting the immediate environment too."

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Carey Davies, of the Mend Our Mountains campaign, said: “It is great to see that the pounds people generously gave to Whernside are now turning into paths.

"This was always the end goal of the appeal – making a tangible difference by supporting work on the ground."

He added: “Every project that this appeal helps sends a loud and clear message to decision-makers that as outdoors enthusiasts we are prepared to support the hills and mountains, and we expect them to do the same.”