Crag Hill to Coledale Hause

Before (2004) & After (2019), work done 2005

Location

West of Crummock Water and Grasmoor, on the path down to Coledale Hause from the col between Grasmoor and Crag Hill. Grid ref: NY186204.

Legal status

Public Right of Way footpath.

Path use

The path is used as part of a number of circular walks from both the Buttermere and Newlands valleys.

Historic interest

The path was barely visible on the ground in the late 1980s, and when surveys were completed in the early 1990s it looked like a route just trodden by sheep.

The problem

The position changes rapidly after periods of heavy rain as the substrate in this area is very fine. When you get a lot of water on it, it becomes unstable and the path erodes downwards, rather than becoming wider. Vegetation is critical in holding it all together.

The deep gully you can see in the photo used to be the deepest path erosion scar in the Lake District. It was caused by water gathering from the fellside onto the path higher up over a length of perhaps 0.5km. When the water flowed down to this point, it was channeled onto this narrow section of path, washing a 300m section away. All the material, thousands of tonnes, ran into the watercourse and eventually ended up in Crummock Water. Such heavy sedimentation causes real problems for marine life. Similar problems after Storm Desmond in 2015 severely impacted the char in Buttermere.

Trampling was also damaging vulnerable vegetation further up the slope as people tried to avoid the worst eroded areas.

Repair techniques

The work was undertaken in 2005 and the first priority was managing the water problem. A reverse herring bone pattern was created on either side of the path up Crag Hill, which takes the water away from the path and back onto the open fellside where it can disperse harmlessly.

Some of the drains installed up Crag Hill

Having addressed the cause of the problem, the eroded section of path could then be reprofiled. The machine worked on a 20m wide strip across the path and used existing material – nothing had to be flown in. The digger was used to turn the soil so that harder subsoil material was on top, creating a ‘soil inversion’ path with a welcoming walking surface. The aim was to end up with the path surface slightly higher than the two turfed drainage channels to either side, so helping to keep water off the path. All the water ends up in the existing water course lower down, off to the left of the path. The cost of the work was £24k. The machined path is allowed to follow the natural contours of the ground, so that you don’t end up with an unsightly and unnatural straight line. The photo taken in 2019 shows how well the area has recovered. No more man-eating gullies!