Mend Our Mountains funds six new projects for 2024
Mend Our Mountains is back for 2024 with six incredible access and conservation projects across England and Wales. This project is funded by the BMC’s Access and Conservation Trust charity (ACT) and we would like to thank all our members, supporters and volunteers for making vital work like this possible. Here’s what is happening this year as a result of your funding, including volunteering events you can get involved with.
What’s Mend Our Mountains?
Mend Our Mountains (MOM) is an award-winning, headline-grabbing campaign which has raised a total of £1.4 million since its creation in 2016 to repair Britain’s hills and mountains. Since then over 50 miles of fragile footpath has been restored for future generations and 544 miles of upland has been repaired - the equivalent length of over 67,000 double decker buses!
Senior Policy and Campaigns Manager Cath Flitcroft says, “We are thrilled to announce the six recipients of this year’s Mend Our Mountains funding. All are incredibly important projects run by dedicated and highly-skilled staff members and volunteers. They include funding an Access Officer for the Cotswolds AONB; funding a Fix the Fells ranger in the Lake District; restoring paths on Roseberry Topping in the North York Moors; fixing and making the footpath to Chanctonbury Ring in the South Downs more accessible; the replacement of Cressbrook Mill footbridge in the Peak District and many Get Stuck In volunteering opportunities with the National Trust in the Lake District, Snowdonia and Peak District.”
Chanctonbury Ring path improvements £25,000
Chanctonbury Ring is an incredible prehistoric fort steeped in local folklore at the top of Chanctonbury Hill on the South Downs, West Sussex. Legend has it that if you run seven times round the Ring naked on a moonless night you summon the devil who will offer you a bowl of soup, milk or porridge. In reality, the only devilish thing is the track leading up to Chanctonbury Ring which has been badly eroded into deep ruts, making it difficult for people to access this historical site. This year MOM funding will go towards repairing 800m of track and drainage ditches using local chalk and flint in keeping with the character of the area.
Cressbrook Mill footbridge replacement £10,000
The 20m (60ft) footbridge across the River Wye connecting the hugely popular Monsal Trail with the charmingly-named Water-Cum-Jolly Dale is in dire need of replacement. This picturesque hiking and climbing spot is where you’ll find Let the Tribe Increase on Rubicon Wall, BMC ambassador Steve McClures 1000th 8a climb. The bridge was declared unsafe and closed in 2020. Along with funding from Farming In Protected Landscapes (FiPL), MOM will provide additional funds to replace the bridge to maintain this popular access point for local communities and visitors alike.
Fix the Fells £50,000
Fix the Fells is a path repair conservation programme to protect paths in the Lake District UNESCO World Heritage site from erosion through regular repair and maintenance work parties and donations. For 2024 MOM will fund a Fix the Fells ranger for a year. The rangers work for the National Trust and are highly skilled in path restoration in tune with the natural landscape. They lead teams of volunteers from Cumbria and beyond in all weathers up into the mountains to restore and improve damaged footpaths. Want to help out? Join them here.
Roseberry Topping pathway restoration £50,000
This iconic, mini-Matterhorn-shaped hill in North Yorkshire is a much-loved landmark in the Tees Valley area. As such, the 320m summit sees plenty of footfall and suffers from significant path erosion. Currently there are 10 areas of path around and to the top of Roseberry Topping that are in dire need of repair. In 2024 MOM funding will go towards all of these sections of eroded footpath so that hill-walkers can enjoy this mini-mountain safely.
Cotswolds National Landscape Access Officer £41,000
The 800 square mile Cotswolds National Landscape (AONB) receives 37 million day visits a year, making MOM funding vital in ensuring safe passage for everyone who enjoys this protected area. For 2024 MOM will fund Nina Stubbington for one year in the role of Grants and Access Officer for the Cotswolds Natural Landscape. Originally from Bournemouth and with a background in retail, Nina has been their Grants and Outreach Officer for the past year already thanks to the New to Nature scheme run by Groundwork.
In her new role starting this April, Nina will be allocating the DEFRA ‘Removing Barriers’ funding of £254,000 for work that will improve access in the Cotswolds and make this protected landscape more accessible to people of all ages, abilities and from all backgrounds. Other work coordinated by Nina’s line manager, Access and Volunteer Lead Becky Jones, will include widening and resurfacing of paths for multi-user use, gate replacement, more seating, accessible signage and visitor information, and disabled toilet facilities.
Get Stuck In volunteering opportunities £5,000
If you’d like to get involved directly in MOM projects then Get Stuck In is the place for you! Working with the National Trust in the Lake District, Snowdonia and Peak District, often over 2-days with basic accommodation provided. Ten volunteering events have already happened and this year the 2024 MOM funding will enable the continuation of these conservation projects where they are needed the most. Not only will you be doing vital footpath repair work, drainage ditch digging, cairn-scattering and/or clearing litter and invasive species, but you will also have the opportunity to learn new skills and meet like-minded people. Simply sign up to a volunteer session to help out.
Related Content
Mynediad Newyddion
The BMC volunteers have been super busy this summer, with the latest Get Stuck In project seeing 12 of them create a 50m length of stepping stone path to make a more sustainable way through the bog below Tryfan, Eryri (Snowdonia), North Wales.
News
The BMC is pleased to announce our membership of Sports for Nature (S4N) - the first mountaineering organisation to do so. S4N enables and encourages sporting bodies to champion nature and contribute to its protection and restoration, an initiative that aligns completely with the BMC’s values, including our ongoing access and conservation work, aims for net-zero emissions by 2040 and new Climate & Sustainability Action Plan.
Mynediad Dysgwch
If you're a BMC member or if you have made a donation to the BMC Access & Conservation Trust (ACT), you are directly supporting our Mend Our Mountains campaign which is funding Fix the Fells again this year. Your contributions enable rangers like Caroline Mercer to consistently repair and manage the Lake District paths that we love to walk on. We caught up with Caroline on a path above Derwent Water, near Keswick, to find out about a typical day in her life - it's pretty hard work!
Mynediad Newyddion
This August, 14 BMC volunteers spent two days on The Band in Langdale, Lake District, making repairs to a 100m stretch of footpath in the latest Get Stuck In event, funded by the Mend Our Mountains campaign from the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust.
Mynediad Newyddion
BMC member Roy Hammond from Congleton, Cheshire, has now volunteered seven times for Get Stuck In events, funded by the Mend Our Mountains 2024 campaign from the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust (ACT). This summer he stepped it up a notch and led the Get Stuck In Eryri event this June, coordinating a dozen volunteers who stayed in the Lincoln Mountaineering Hut in Deiniolen, North Wales. The group worked for 6 hours during both days, including a hike up to 750m on Glyder Fach on day one. We asked Roy what he gets out of volunteering on the Get Stuck In events for the BMC, and what it's like to start organising them himself.
Mynediad Newyddion
The BMC’s Access & Conservation Trust (ACT) is pleased to announce a seventh project within the Mend Our Mountains campaign for 2024.
News
The sphagnum season is upon us again! Now that the ground-nesting birds have stopped ground-nesting, it’s time for BMC volunteers to start planting this incredible, carbon-sequestering moss at strategic locations across the Peak District moorland. Can you help us?
Olympics
With four GB Climbing athletes heading across the channel for the Olympic boulder and lead competitions starting Monday 5 August, not only are they bringing their A-game in terms of performance but, as part of the BMC, the whole team is supporting Paris 2024 in its bid to be the ‘greenest ever Games’.
Cerdded Bryniau Dysgwch Sgiliau
Camping ‘wild’ is a different way of spending the night outdoors but it isn't allowed everywhere - with a responsible approach however, there are many remote areas where you can still rest your weary head under a star-filled sky.
Dringo Dan Do Dysgwch Ger
We take a look at the culture of tight climbing shoes. Just how tight is too tight - and are we creating problems for the future?
Governance
On this page, you will find links to recent BMC annual reports and annual accounts.
Hill Walking Articles
One of the biggest projects ever supported by Mend Our Mountains has hit its huge fundraising target, enabling repairs to be made to badly damaged sections along the South Downs Way.
Hill Walking Articles
The dramatic skyline of the Great Ridge walk connects the summits of Lose Hill and Mam Tor in Derbyshire’s Hope Valley. Heavy footfall left the path in a badly eroded state and work to repair the damage to the path started in March this year, and has seen 500 metres of the most serious damage along the path repaired to protect the surrounding landscape and bordering habitat.
Hill Walking Articles
A kilometre-long stretch of one most heavily eroded footpaths in the heart of Bannau Brycheiniog (The Brecon Beacons) has been fixed, thanks to £12,100 of funding from the BMC’s Mend Our Mountains crowdfunding campaign.
Hill Walking Articles
England’s highest mountain has been a constant headache for its custodians, the National Trust and Fix the Fells, as ever-increasing numbers seek to top England’s highest summit. Yet a poignant anniversary has highlighted the continuing need for large-scale projects to repair and revamp its slopes and pathways.
Hill Walking Articles
In the last three years Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park Authority have been very active in working on a number of lower level bridleways around Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and more recently started work on the bridleway connecting Capel Curig to Crafnant. While some of these trails have given opportunities to link communities and provide access to lesser-abled users, the scale and nature of the works on some of the routes that pass through some wild and remote areas has also surprised many users.
Hill Walking Articles
The money raised through the Mend Our Mountains: Make One Million appeal has started going into work on the ground, after a dramatic helicopter airlift helped path repair work to get underway on Yorkshire’s highest peak.
Mynediad Dysgwch
Commuting with crampons, hard outdoor labour, and spending 120 hours a week with your colleagues - we speak to a mountain path repairer to find out more about the highs and lows involved in this vital job.
Mynediad Dysgwch
Mend Our Mountains: Make One Million has helped leave a lasting legacy on some of the highest peaks not only in Scotland, but in the whole of the British Isles.
Hill Walking Articles
The Nuns Cross Path is used by more than 30,000 walkers and 10,000 mountain bikers, as well as horse riders, disabled ‘trampers’ and many others each year - it is a shining example of the accessible but wild landscape Dartmoor can be. But a combination of extreme weather, like the storms of winter 2014, and erosion damage had taken its toll over the years. In stepped the BMC's Mend Our Mountains campaign.
Mynydda
The Julie Tullis Memorial Award is a small grant to assist deserving female mountaineers or any disabled climbers or mountaineers, both male and female, to achieve their climbing or mountaineering ambitions.
Mountaineering Articles
An introduction to BMC and MEF mountaineering grants
Mynediad & Chadwraeth
Seven things you always wanted to know about path repair (but were too afraid to ask)
Mountaineering Articles
Are the Alps falling down? IFMGA Mountain Guide Andy Perkins has a stark warning about the impact of climate change on the Alps: “I don’t have children but if I did I wouldn’t persuade them to be mountain guides. I’d be saying ‘Get your yacht sailing ticket...'" Katy Dartford interviews Andy to find out more.
Mynediad Dysgwch
If you're a BMC member or if you have made a donation to the BMC Access & Conservation Trust (ACT), you are directly supporting our Mend Our Mountains campaign which is funding Fix the Fells again this year. Your contributions enable rangers like Liam Prior to consistently repair and manage the Lake District paths that we love to walk on. We caught up with Liam on the very popular path up Scafell Pike from Wasdale Head to find out what a typical day in his life is like - it's quite demanding!
As part of LGBTQ+ history month we asked members of the BMCs Equity Steering LGBTQ+ sub-group to share their stories about getting into climbing and walking.
Mynediad & Chadwraeth
As the general election date draws nearer, the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) have reviewed the manifestos from each party to help you make a more informed choice when it comes to protecting the landscapes and crags that we love to walk in and climb on.
News
As the world’s garment manufacturing industry moves to a more sustainable business model, what we’re wearing in the hills in three years time will be very different to today’s unsustainable, un-recyclable, polluting garments, predicts Mike Parsons from the Outdoor Gear Coach. But why is change needed? And what is going to happen? Mike explains in this article.
News
The first of four films in The Landscape Project has just been released on BMCTV, a fascinating new series that brings climbing and natural history together. Starting with the Lake District, presenter Nathan Chrismas, a biologist and ecologist, shares his deep knowledge and passion for the geological and ecological highlights of four hugely popular climbing and walking areas.
Here’s a rundown on ten of the best places to boulder outside for beginners.
News
As part of Volunteers Week 3 - 9 June we have Cotswold Voluntary Warden Walk Leader Margaret Reid sharing her inspiring experience. Margaret organises and leads walks in the Cotswolds National Landscape for people from the Friendship Cafe in Gloucester. Activities like this are made possible with funding from the BMC Mend Our Mountains project from the BMC Access & Conservation Trust (ACT) charity.
News
This week is Volunteering Week 3 - 9 June so why not get involved with one of the many BMC volunteering opportunities? There are loads to choose from, including helping out at climbing competitions, leading hill walks at events and litter picking nationwide, planting seagrass in Wales, repairing footpaths in the Lake District and restoring peat bogs in the Peak District.
Article
In National Walking month this May we’ve teamed up with BMC Official Retail Partner Cotswold Outdoor to bring you all the info and advice you need to care for and repair your favourite pair of walking boots. Not only does this save you money, it also saves the environment - the less we consume and throw away, the better.
News
BMC volunteers from the Get Stuck In programme joined Fix the Fells last month in Wasdale on Lingmell Breast, one of the main routes up to Scafell Pike. They spent the day helping to maintain part of this hugely popular footpath up to England’s highest mountain.
News
BMC member Madalin Cristea, known as Cris, from Romania, has become the first person to summit both Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro from sea level and back again. He is currently attempting to be the first person ever to climb up and down each of the world’s seven summits (the highest mountain on each continent) from sea level - climbing every metre of the mountains up and down.
News
BMC member Wayne Andrews from Bettws, South Wales has started a hill walking group for people who suffer with their mental health or an addiction, called Forever In The Hills.
News
Right now, this May, it’s National Hill Walking month, but not everyone finds it easy to access this hills, whether that’s due to physical, financial or knowledge-based barriers. That’s where the BMC’s Mend Our Mountains charity campaign comes in - this year funding a new Grants & Access officer for the Cotswolds Natural Landscape (formerly known as Cotswolds AONB). The newly appointed Nina Stubbington is now leading the ‘Access for All; Removing Barriers’ programme, improving access to the area for people of all ages, abilities and from all backgrounds.
News
This May is National Walking month, so to celebrate the power of a good old stomp around the UK’s countryside, nine of the BMC staff have shared their favourite hike. From fossil-hunting in the Peak District and airy Scottish scrambling to the Via Alpina in Switzerland, one of these is bound to tickle your fancy this spring or summer. Better still, with the BMC collaborations with Komoot and HotelPlanner, you can plan and navigate your route and find your accommodation for your trip for less!
News
The Watkin Path up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and the peat hags on neighbouring mountain Glyder Fach have benefitted from BMC volunteer improvement work on the latest Get Stuck In event, 15-16 April 2024. This was organised by Hill Walking Rep Steve Charles and Access & Conservation Officer (Wales) Tom Carrick as part of the Mend Our Mountains project, funded by the BMC Access & Conservation Trust.
News
The BMC’s volunteering arm, Get Stuck In, donated £1,500 to Fix the Fells this week to buy footpath repair tools to enable our teams to quite literally get stuck in to fixing the mountain footpaths in the Lake District.
News
The sphagnum-planting season has come to an end to allow the ground-nesting birds to, well, ground nest! Thank you to all the volunteers that have helped the BMC to plant over 16,000 plugs of this super soggy, carbon-locking moss this winter, helping to restore the Peak District peat bog.
News
Did you know that we have a BMC Community Liftshare site? The Liftshare site is also able to connect you with others going to the same BMC event or Mountain Training course. The beauty of a community like the hillwalking/climbing/mountaineering BMC community is that many of us are often moving in the same direction. This lends itself to the Liftshare infrastructure which can allow us to move in the same direction – together. Greener, and cheaper!
News
On the 16 April we have the last opportunity to lobby for the 2024 ban on the sale of peat in bagged compost for horticultural use by supporting a Ten Minute Rule Bill speech by England in Conservative MP for Chipping Barnet Theresa Villiers.
News
The BMC have been hard at work presenting the Outdoors For All Manifesto to parliament, kick-starting a new addition to The Climate Project, arranging re-bolting, cleaning up crags and consulting on access across England and Wales. Here are the highlights as we swing into spring.
BMC members receive a free komoot map bundle (worth £8.99)
Hill Walking Skills
Dogs are a great companion for a hike in the hills, but here are a few things to think about before taking your pooch for a mooch.
Of course, there are many more great beginner hills, but here are seven to get you started.
Hill Walking Skills
Outdoor writer and photographer Chris Townsend presents this series of hill walking how-to films. In this episode Chris shows you how to use walking poles.
Mynediad Dysgwch
Thirty six leading national governing bodies and environmental organisations have joined together to support an Outdoors For All manifesto, seeking to extend responsible access to more green and blue landscapes.