The Lake District valley which is home to England’s highest mountain and deepest lake is looking newly spruced up after 71 volunteers and 28 task leaders and staff descended for our Wasdale Fell Care Day.

The mass-volunteering event saw volunteers joining together to get stuck into a whole host of practical conservation tasks to help look after the spectacular upland landscape. And after a day of hard graft fuelled by copious amounts of cake, kindly donated by volunteers, staff and David Willan Fine Foods, the results of their efforts were impressive to see:

• 11 bags of rubbish collected from Scafell Pike and Wastwater as well as a wheel rim, 6 feed buckets, 2m of drainpipe and a keg of Heineken!
• 15m of dry stone wall repaired.
• 2023 square metres of Rhododendron cleared (that’s just over 1 and a half Olympic swimming pools in surface area!)
• 15km of upland paths cleared and maintained (that’s a mile further than the distance from Kendal to Windermere!)
• 100m of upland path repaired.
• 3 bridges built and replaced.

If you are unable to see the video in your browser you can view it on our Vimeo site at: https://vimeo.com/132709889

Ruth Kirk Fell Care Project Officer said “It was so heart-warming to see volunteers congregating at Lake Head early on Saturday morning, all with a common purpose; to put something back into the spectacular upland landscapes that provide so much for us all, from the water we drink to the food we eat and as a place for fun and recreation. Our volunteers ranged from eager Scouts right up to active retirees, and the feedback tells a tale of a fantastic day, full of camaraderie, hard work and lots of cake!”

The event was run in partnership with the National Trust and Lake District National Park who led tasks including Fix the Fells drain runs, upland path repair, a litter pick all the way to the top of Scafell Pike and the replacement of 3 new bridges at Fog Mire Beck. A canoe litter pick was also undertaken in somewhat windy conditions lead by Steve Ashall of West Lakes Adventure who supplied his time and boats free of charge.

Volunteer Rachel Brine who works for Lowe Alpine commented, “Hard work, amazing views, warm, kind people, fixing the fells and cakes!  What more could you ask for, an amazing day. I will definitely be coming again.”

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