TV presenter and outdoors devotee Griff Rhys Jones has urged lovers of the outdoors across the UK to help a Scottish mountain charity repair and maintain footpaths through some of the country’s most beautiful landscapes.
The John Muir Trust looks after over 120km of footpaths from woodland and coastal trails to world famous mountain routes that provide access to seven Munros and five Corbetts. These include the final zigzag to the summit of Ben Nevis, the wild and rocky Steall Gorge path in Glen Nevis, the four mile trail to remote Sandwood Bay, the main route up stunning Bla Bheinn in the Cuillin on the Isle of Skye and many more.
The Trust also helps a number of community land trusts in the Western Isles, Knoydart and Assynt to maintain their own network of footpaths, used by locals and visitors. The Trust has produced this five minute film offering a unique insight into the art and science of upland path repair and maintenance.
Griff Rhys Jones, an active conservationist whose acclaimed BBC series Mountain has inspired thousands to don a pair of boots and take up hillwalking said: “A walk in the wild is a way to discover, explore and reconnect with ourselves and our natural world.”
Recognising that pathwork is a costly business funded only by public donations, he says, “Please give today to help the John Muir Trust keep our wild places beautiful.”
John Muir Trust footpath manager Chris Goodman said: “It’s easy to take footpaths for granted, but the pressure of thousands of boots and gallons of rain can take its toll. Left untended, a delicate upland footpath can easily deteriorate into an ugly, waterlogged scar.
“Pathwork can be tough work, often in difficult conditions in some of Scotland’s most remote, untamed places. We need to raise at least at £60,000 each and every year to pay for materials, transport, equipment, volunteer training and contractors. If people want to give something back to the places they love, a regular donation to the Wild Ways Appeal is the best way to do it. ”
The John Muir Trust takes a proactive approach to pathwork, keeping costs low by anticipating and forestalling damage before it occurs. The charity uses light-touch methods of maintenance, making sure that footpaths blend in subtly with the surrounding landscapes, with minimal disturbance to soils and vegetation.
More details on the campaign and how to donate can be found on the JMT website.