BMC Access & Conservation Trust - IMPACT REPORT 2025
In addition to welcoming four new trustees, the BMC Access & Conservation Trust has been busy in 2025, securing grants and creating fundraisers to support crag and mountain path repair, moorland restoration and landscape conservation in hill walking and climbing areas. Here are this year's highlights.
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to the BMC Access & Conservation Trust's Impact Report 2025. Here you'll find out about the new trustees and of all the fantastic mountain path repair and landscape conservation projects the charity has been supporting this year.
THANK YOU so much if you have donated to us this year or at any time - your support is much needed, especially as government-funded operations are being cut and the climate crisis looms ever closer. With your help we can create a better future for ourselves, the next generation, the mountains and the wildlife that relies on them.
BMC Access & Conservation Trust chair Chris Coleman says, "2025 has been a year of transition as well as real momentum for the BMC Access & Conservation Trust - our new trustees are helping us sharpen our strategic focus while we continued to deliver meaningful impact on the ground across our two core umbrella initiatives, Mend Our Mountains and The Climate Project. None of this would be possible without the generosity of our donors, the passion of our volunteers, and the collaboration of our brilliant partner organisations. Your support is making a tangible difference to the upland and mountain environments we all care about so deeply - and we're looking forward to driving that even further through 2026."
New Eryri Apprentice Ranger
An incredibly generous £30,000 donation has been made to our Eryri (Snowdonia) Apprentice Ranger fundraiser, from non-alcoholic craft-beer-makers Athletic Brewing Co. through their Two for the Trails grant programme. This donation ensures the National Trust can go ahead with this 2-year role and the new apprentice ranger will join their path repair team in January 2026. We now only have £22k left to raise! If you love hiking and climbing in Eryri and want to help fix the footpaths there, click here to give to this project, part of the BMC Access & Conservation Trust's Mend Our Mountains campaign.
23,320 sphagnum plugs planted
In 2025 BMC Get Stuck In volunteers planted 23,320 sphagnum plugs in the Goyt Valley, Peak District, with Moors for the Future Partnership as part of the BMC Access & Conservation Trust's The Climate Project campaign. This brings the grand total to 55,845 since our Get Stuck In volunteer events started planting this peatland-restoring moss in February 2024. We were also happy to welcome staff members from BMC Official Outdoor Retailer, Cotswold Outdoor, on a volunteer event this spring. Planting sphagnum protects the habitats of bird like lapwing and curlew, as well as improving the overall health of the moor, helping to capture carbon and slow the movement of water off the land, which in turn improves water quality and decreases flood and wildfire risk. Find out more, donate to The Climate Project and volunteer for the next event here.
Get Stuck In volunteering
A total of 191 BMC volunteers have been hard at work this year, giving 1,843 volunteer-hours over 276 days this year. Across 19 events they have fixed 276m footpaths, planted 13,100 sphagnum plugs, 3,240 acorns and 500 trees, removed 1km squared of sitka spruce saplings and built the Lake District's largest rainwater-diverting earthwork. Well done all and thank you! Click here to read about each event in more depth. If you appreciate well-maintained, sustainable and sensitively-made mountain paths, want to help protect peatlands and native British wildlife, sign yourself up for a Get Stuck In event now, or donate to Mend Our Mountains or The Climate Project campaigns.
New ACT Trustees
Chris Colesman (Chair), Steve Charles, Julie Wilson and Mark Boucher join Richard Holland, Rosanna Moore and Neal Hockley (BMC Board Rep) on the roster of BMC Access & Conservation Trust Trustees charged with taking the charity to new heights in 2025. With their tremendous mix of real-world skills, professional expertise, passion for access and conservation and love of the UK mountainside, the trust will continue to go from strength to strength in 2026 and beyond. Scroll to the end of the Access & Conservation Trust homepage here to find out more about each person.
Supporting Seagrass Ocean Rescue
Thanks to a recent donation from the BMC's Official Outdoor Retailer, Cotswold Outdoor from their Pennies at the till campaign the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust have been able to donate £15,000 to Seagrass Ocean Rescue in North Wales as part of The Climate Project campaign. This donation will extend the employment of Living Seas Project Officer, Rhys Bowen, by over a year. Rhys monitors and restores several key seagrass meadows and restoration sites across North Wales, below popular sea cliff climbing routes and coastal hiking paths. These meadows play a vital role in national marine conservation, carbon storage and reducing pathogens and pollutants in our water. Find out more here.
Masson Lees Quarry
The BMC Access & Conservation Trust gave a grant of £5,000 to the new owners of Masson Lees Quarry, near Matlock in Derbyshire. The site has been purchased by outdoorsy, conservation-keen father and son team Nick and Sam Lister, who have exciting plans for this secluded, limestone quarry, popular with BMC members for its plethora of bolted sport climbing routes and dry tooling lines. So far the team have created a new, wider, safer access ramp down to the base of the crags, which allowed them to bring back the popular MassonFest celebration of Dry Tooling this autumn. Future plans include a car park, camping facilities and a film of the transformation. Click here for more info.
Kendal Mountain Festival
The BMC Access & Conservation Trust had a stand in the Basecamp charity tipi, manned by five incredible BMC volunteers, three trustees and a representative each from Fix the Fells and Moors for the Future. The aim was to raise awareness of the BMC's charity and its two campaigns - Mend Our Mountains and The Climate Project, and our Get Stuck In volunteer path repair and moorland restoration programme which covers both campaigns. Everyone at the stand encouraged visitors to sign up and enter our raffle to win prizes worth £1,792 and in total £585 was raised. Click here for the full report.
Donate to us for FREE!
Did you know that you can donate to us entirely FREE simply by shopping online as you usually would, at any time of the year with Easyfundraising? It only takes two minutes to set up, here's how.
Donate to us (not for free!)
If you want to contribute to upland and mountain access and conservation causes like the above, then simply click here to donate to The BMC Access & Conservation Trust via The Climate Project or Mend Our Mountains at any time. Donations of any amount are always most welcome.
Volunteer
Fancy fixing footpaths in the Lake District, placing stepping stones in Eryri or planting sphagnum in the Peak District? Sign up to one of our Get Stuck In events here. And if you can't volunteer, why not gift us the amount you would have spent in fuel or on a train fare getting to a volunteer event?
Leave a legacy
A wise person once said, the most noble thing you can do is to "plant trees under whose shade you will never sit" and, likewise, fund path repair projects on which you will never walk. If you'd like to make a lasting impact on the landscape long after you've left this world, please consider leaving us a legacy.
Coming soon...
We are pleased to tease that we'll be funding a new and incredibly valuable conservation project in 2026 with more information to come soon...
Access News
In addition to welcoming four new trustees, the BMC Access & Conservation Trust has been busy in 2025, securing grants and creating fundraisers to support crag and mountain path repair, moorland restoration and landscape conservation in hill walking and climbing areas. Here are this year's highlights.
Access News
The BMC had a strong presence at Kendal Mountain Festival this year, with the BMC Access & Conservation Trust charity stand, Women In Adventure film competition and workshop, a local hike, talks by staff members and one BMC volunteer winning a prestigious award.
Disciplines
Join other BMC members to help Derbyshire Wildlife Trust (DWT) plant trees in an area of upland pasture on the edge of high moorland.
Access News
This October, BMC and Mountain Training Association volunteers joined forces with the National Trust to cut down faster-growing, competitor trees to protect native oak trees in the Upper Derwent Valley of the Peak District.
Eryri Apprentice Ranger fund
Help the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust raise £66,000 in funding for a new a 2-year Apprentice Ranger role within the National Trust Cymru Footpath Team in Eryri, as part of our wider Mend Our Mountains campaign.
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Access News
The BMC had a strong presence at Kendal Mountain Festival this year, with the BMC Access & Conservation Trust charity stand, Women In Adventure film competition and workshop, a local hike, talks by staff members and one BMC volunteer winning a prestigious award.
Access News
The BMC's Access & Conservation Trust has donated £15,000 to the Seagrass Ocean Rescue programme in the popular climbing and hiking location of North Wales as part of The Climate Project.
Access News
This October, BMC and Mountain Training Association volunteers joined forces with the National Trust to cut down faster-growing, competitor trees to protect native oak trees in the Upper Derwent Valley of the Peak District.
Access News
Storms and heavy rain couldn't dampen the spirits of the eleven volunteers who tackled the clogged drainage ditches below the famous Cuillin Ridge in a collaborative project with Mountaineering Scotland and the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland (OATS).
Access News
At the end of this summer, the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust donated 10 pairs of safety boots to Fix the Fells which will be free to borrow by volunteer path workers.
Access News
The BMC's Access & Conservation Trust is thrilled to confirm a hugely generous £30,000 donation to our Eryri Apprentice Ranger fund from Athletic Brewing Company's Two for the Trails grant programme.
Access News
At the end of September, twelve members of staff from the Lancashire Group volunteered on a Get Stuck In event in Eryri (Snowdonia) arranged by the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust as part of the Mend Our Mountains campaign, hosted and instructed by rangers from National Trust Cymru.
Access News
This September, a team of 12 BMC volunteers laid stepping stones through boggy ground, planted acorns and collected hawthorn berries in Eryri (Snowdonia) as part of the BMC Access & Conservation Trust's Get Stuck In programme.
Access News
As part of our collective mission to protect the places we love to climb, walk and explore, Cotswold Outdoor – the BMC’s Official Outdoor Retailer – has donated £21,040.91 to The Climate Project, supporting vital conservation work through the BMC’s Access & Conservation Trust.
Access News
This August, eight Get Stuck In volunteers, funded by the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust, cleared invasive rhododendrons on the edge of Kinder Scout with the National Trust.
Access News
This August, a team of 12 BMC volunteers helped to protect the mountains of the Glyderau, Eryri (Snowdonia) as part of the BMC Access & Conservation Trust's Get Stuck In programme.
Rock Climbing
Access improvements, funded by the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust mean the new owners can reignite the popular MassonFest, a 'weekend of dry tooling fun' scheduled for 17-19 October 2025.
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This August, 12 BMC volunteers spent two days on Scafell Pike, Lake District, making a 20m 'megabund' in the latest Get Stuck In event, funded by the Mend Our Mountains campaign from the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust.
Access News
The British Mountaineering Council and Peak District National Park Authority – working through Moors for the Future Partnership – have received a prestigious award for our work to conserve the moorlands of the Peak District and South Pennines.
Access News
This July, eight Get Stuck In volunteers, funded by the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust, removed 400m of barbed wire fence at Dalehead, near Edale, as part of the National Trust's Dalehead Nature Recovery Project.
Access News
The BMC's Access & Conservation Trust has registered with the Charities Trust to allow you to donate pre-tax via your payroll.
Access News
Moors for the Future Partnership have been featured on the latest episode of Countryfile, raising awareness of wildfire risk and damage to the moorlands the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust have been helping them to restore in our longterm partnership.
Access News
This June, 13 BMC volunteers completed an 80m section of previously heavily eroded path below Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and cleared vast amounts of invasive Himalayan balsam in the Ogwen Valley in North Wales.
Access News
This June, 11 BMC volunteers took on a particularly boggy section of path along St Raven's Edge, above Kirkstone Pass in the Lake District.
Access News
The BMC's Access & Conservation Trust (ACT) has joined the 1% for the Planet Environmental Partners network.
Access News
Cotswold Outdoor invite you to round up your payment at the till in aid of The Climate Project: Seagrass from the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust until 30 June 2025.
Access News
Last summer's Get Stuck In event placed 187 stepping stones along a 50m stretch of footpath in Eryri (Snowdonia). Event creator Steve Charles reports on how the path is looking eight months later.
Access News
BMC volunteers have been using sheep fleeces to make sustainable footpaths below Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), North Wales. Why?
Access News
A huge thank you to everyone who supported our Eryri Apprentice Ranger fundraiser on Big Give this spring, the BMC's Mend Our Mountains campaign raised a grand total of £14,000!
Access News
BMC volunteers have planted a grand total of 55,845 sphagnum plugs in the Goyt Valley, Peak District, since our Get Stuck In volunteer events started planting this peatland restoring moss, in February 2024.
Access News
The BMC's Premium Partner, Cotswold Outdoor, has once again shown a hugely generous level of support to The Climate Project from the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust, by sending staff to plant sphagnum moss in the Peak District.
Hill Walking News
With the Easter Bank Holiday approaching and more people than ever heading to the hills, the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is echoing a vitally important message from Mountain Rescue England and Wales (MREW): be prepared, be informed, and don’t rely on your phone alone.
Access News
Quick, buy that new pair of summer walking boots or waterproof you've been needing for ages and round up your payment at the till in any Cotswold Outdoor store to fund peatland and seagrass meadow restoration with the BMC.
Access News
This week you have the chance to DOUBLE your impact towards fixing eroded footpaths in the beautiful Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park by donating via the Big Give Green Match Fund.
Access News
Will you help the BMC's Access & Conservation trust raise vital funds for a new, two-year Apprentice Ranger training role focussed on footpath repair in the beautiful Eryri National Park?
Rock Climbing
The new owners of Masson Lees Quarry, Derbyshire, hope to resolve the long-term controversy over parking issues, and many more improvements, thanks to funding from the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust.
Access News
The BMC's Access and Conservation Trust are recruiting a new chair and a number of trustees to help with the smooth-running of this phenomenal charity that facilitates access, education, conservation and volunteer projects across the United Kingdom to protect our crags and mountains.
Hillwalking Gear
At the British Mountaineering Council (BMC), we’re passionate about helping walkers, hikers, and mountaineers get the most out of their time in the great outdoors. Whether you’re setting off on a relaxed countryside ramble or tackling a challenging mountain route, having the right gear is essential for safety, comfort, and enjoyment.
Mend Our Mountains Articles
This December 800m of vital path repair works were completed at Chanctonbury Ring in West Sussex, one of the most prominent landmarks along the South Downs Way, and also one of the spookiest... Learn about the legends and try one of five walks there, if you dare.
Mend Our Mountains Articles
500 birch trees have been planted by BMC volunteers at Bransdale in the North York Moors. Walk these 6 nearby trails to appreciate the beauty of this remote corner of wilderness, south of the popular peak Roseberry Topping.
Hill Walking News
Will you help the BMC repair footpaths and avoid carbon loss in 2025 as part of Mend Our Mountains and The Climate Project?
Mend Our Mountains Articles
A huge thank you to everyone who has supported the Mend Our Mountains campaign from the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust (ACT) - here are the 2024 highlights!
Mend Our Mountains Articles
Three impassable paths in the Cotswolds National Landscape have been fixed thanks to funding from the BMC Access & Conservation Trust's Mend Our Mountains campaign. Here are three great walking routes using these new paths.
Mend Our Mountains Articles
26,000 plastic bottles have been rescued from landfill to create a new bridge for walkers and climbers at Cressbrook Mill, partly funded by the Mend Our Mountains campaign from the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust.
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This year's International Mountain Day, Wed 11 Dec, the theme is: “Mountain solutions for a sustainable future – innovation, adaptation and youth”. Here at the BMC we are brimming with nature-based solutions in the mountains that contribute to a more sustainable future, so here are 3 easy ways you can help us right now.
Mend Our Mountains Articles
Work to improve the first route at Roseberry Topping from Newton Woods to the summit is now complete, but there are 9 more sections of path repair to go over the next two years. Here's everything you need to know about the ongoing repairs, where to walk, when and why.
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Help the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust raise FREE donations with all your online shopping at any time of the year with Easyfundraising.
Mend Our Mountains Articles
This Sunday is National Hiking Day, celebrated on 17 November, encouraging people to get outdoors and enjoy the beauty of nature through hill walking. Use the BMC's hiking route ideas to inspire you and our mapping discounts and freebies to navigate your way.
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With a new all-terrain, electric mobility scooter in the Cotswolds Natural Landscape thanks to Mend Our Mountains support, we celebrate the rise in accessible outdoor routes with a top six across the UK.
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Part-funded by the BMC, the new Great Bradley Bridge in Exmoor opens up access to the famous, 117-mile Two Moors Way long distance walking trail. Here are our five favourite walks that take in this new crossing.
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With almost 2,000m of footpath around Haytor Rocks in Dartmoor newly repaired, thanks to BMC Access & Conservation Trust funding from the Mend Our Mountains campaign, here are our top 5 walks and climbs in the area.
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Do you have Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) days to fill or is your company looking for new and exciting CSR days for your staff? The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) has the answers.
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This unassuming, bright, green or red moss with lush, almost tentacle-like fronds is hiding five well-kept secrets.
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Did you know that the 140,000 miles of footpaths and bridleways we have access to in England and Wales are under serious threat? The footpaths you love the walk on are disappearing fast before our eyes due to erosion from increased footfall and more extreme weather conditions. Here are 14 reasons why we can't ignore footpath erosion.