The circular walk from Aira force to the summit of Gowbarrow is a popular route especially for visitors to Aira Force, linking in nicely with the path network around the river and waterfall. The walk to the summit provides impressive views of Ullswater and the surrounding higher peaks such as the Helvellyn range.
Historic interest
The lines of the paths on the West and North sections of the loop were only established in the late 1990s. There is an old shooting lodge on east side. The footpath from the lodge down to Lyulph’s Tower near Aira Force is an old Victorian “promenade” giving wonderful views over Ullswater. It is very well constructed.
The problem
A section of the path becoming wet, muddy, and widening
Fix the Fells has been undertaking path repairs on Gowbarrow since 2013. Some sections of the path became boggy and virtually impassable during periods of heavy rain. The fragile habitats on Gowbarrow were also suffering, to the detriment of plant species such as Grass of Parnassus (the county flower of Cumbria) and Bog Asphodel. Summer butterflies, such as the ringlet, were also struggling as they rely on these habitats.
The creation of the Ullswater Way after Storm Desmond in 2015, and the Covid pandemic in 2020 have both led to a significant increase in visitor numbers to the area, to the extent that some sections of the path, which were thought to be sufficiently robust, were now suffering significant damage.
Repair techniques
A happy band of volunteers helping out in the rain
Any successful path repair needs to produce a robust path which is sympathetic to the surrounding landscape and any materials and construction techniques used need to be sensitive to the habitats we are trying to protect. This means no artificial building materials such as cement, no draining of wet flushes or bogs, and finding a route that allows the path to ‘sit’ and blend into the surrounding landscape. The path also has to be something that is easy for people to use and in some ways, to be comfortable enough that nobody realises they are naturally using it.
The nature of the terrain and various habitats, as well as the range of visitors to Gowbarrow, required a variety of techniques including an aggregate path, stone pitching on the steeper sections, stone cross drains to remove surface water from the path and side turf ditches where significant amounts of water were seeping onto the path surface from the surrounding ground.
An aggregate path involves digging a tray by hand, 1 metre wide by 0.2m deep and then filling it with aggregate. This type of path construction is very labour intensive and something that a team of four Rangers would struggle to accomplish in a timely way. Fix the Fells has over 150 volunteers who are keen to help out. Over the last 5 years, 570 ranger days have been spent improving the path, at a cost of around £114k, together with 233 volunteer days. After the improvements comes the maintenance. The volunteers undertake monthly visits to Gowbarrow to ensure the drains are kept clear, which helps to prevent the path suffering water damage.
Newly installed stone risers
One of the benefits of a multi-year project is that there is a chance to assess how the work of previous years has established and whether there is a need for any design/construction changes. The key to a successful aggregate path is to keep the gradient as gentle as possible, but unfortunately it’s not always practical and some of the work undertaken in earlier years was found to be suffering. The solution was to install stone ‘risers’ into the path where the gradient was too steep. These help to stabilise the slope by reducing the gradient and ensuring that visitors can continue to use the path.
Several other sections of path were suffering damage from water that was not evident during previous years’ work. Additional stone drains were therefore installed to prevent further damage.
