The Lake District is one of the most famous landscapes in the world. In 2017, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage site, recognizing it as a place where human history and natural beauty have shaped each other for centuries. However, the very thing that makes the area popular—its accessibility and beauty—is also what puts it at risk. Every year, millions of people walk the fells, and that constant pressure has a physical cost. Fix the Fells is the organization responsible for managing that cost.

Why Fix the Fells was created

To understand why Fix the Fells exists, you have to look back at the state of the mountains in the 1980s and 90s. As walking became a more popular hobby, the existing paths couldn't handle the traffic. People like Alfred Wainwright had written books that encouraged thousands of hikers to try specific routes. Without a plan to maintain those routes, the vegetation was quickly trampled.

Once the grass and moss are gone, the thin soil underneath is exposed. In a place as steep and rainy as the Lake District, this is a recipe for disaster. Rainwater hits the bare soil and washes it away, creating "erosion scars." These aren't just small puddles; they are massive gullies. Some grew to be over 30 meters wide and 4 meters deep. They were visible from miles away and looked like permanent wounds on the hillside.

Individual groups like the National Trust or the Lake District National Park Authority tried to fix things on their own, but the problem was too big for any one organization. On August 18, 2001, they came together to form Fix the Fells. They secured a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, which allowed them to move away from small, temporary repairs and start a permanent program to look after the mountains. Over the last twenty years, the partnership has overseen the investment of about £10 million into restoring these routes.

How the partnership is organized

Fix the Fells isn't a single company. It is a partnership of several different groups that all have an interest in the Lake District. This is important because the land is owned and managed by many different people and authorities.

The National Trust is the lead partner. They handle the money and employ the professional ranger teams who do the heavy lifting. The Lake District National Park Authority is also a key player because they have the legal responsibility for public rights of way. Other partners include Natural England, who advise on protected environments, and the Lake District Foundation, which handles the fundraising. Friends of the Lake District also plays a role in advocacy and organizing large volunteer events like "Fell Care Days."

By working together, these groups can look after 344 different paths. That adds up to about 410 miles (661 km) of upland tracks. Instead of arguing over who owns which bit of a mountain, they use a "Programme Board" to decide which paths need the most help each year based on data and surveys. For example, the 2026 work program is built on detailed surveys from both rangers and volunteers to make sure they are tackling the most urgent ecological threats first.

The cost of mountain maintenance

Keeping these paths in good shape is expensive. The organization needs between £500,000 and £650,000 every single year just to keep going. This money pays for the rangers, the equipment, and the massive logistical effort required to work in remote, high-altitude locations.

The money comes from a few different places:

Grants: Between 2019 and 2023, the European Regional Development Fund provided about £1.5 million. This was vital during the pandemic when more people stayed in the UK and visited the fells.
Public Donations: The Lake District Foundation runs "Visitor Giving" schemes. This allows tourists to donate small amounts at hotels or shops. They also do matching challenges, where a donation from a group like the Wainwright Society is doubled by other funds. In late 2024, one such challenge turned a £7,950 donation into nearly £16,000 for path repair.
Corporate Support: Companies like Montane help with marketing and donations. Other trusts, like the Calisen Impact Charitable Trust, give specific grants to pay for ranger teams.

A significant portion of the budget—around £40,000 to £60,000 a year—goes toward helicopters. There are no roads to the top of Scafell Pike, so the only way to get tons of stone to the repair sites is to fly it in.

The technical side of the work

The work Fix the Fells does is often described as "part craft and part art." They try to use materials that are already on the mountain so that the repairs blend in. The goal is to make a path that looks like it belongs there, rather than a man-made structure.

Water management and "Drain Runs"

The most important part of any path is where the water goes. If water stays on the path, it will destroy it. Rainwater doesn't soak into bare soil; it runs over it, creating small channels called rills that eventually turn into deep gullies. Rangers and volunteers build drainage systems to move water off the walking surface.

Volunteers, known as "lengthsmen," spend their time doing "drain runs." They use shovels and brushes to clear out silt, stones, and dead vegetation so the water can flow freely. They also use a technique called "path definition." This involves placing large boulders along the edges of the path. These act as subtle barriers that encourage walkers to stay on the main line, allowing the damaged edges to naturally grow back.

Stone pitching

On the steepest and most heavily used routes, they use a technique called "stone pitching." This involves taking large stones and digging them deep into the ground on their ends, with a flat face exposed. This creates a solid, stable set of steps. It is incredibly hard work, but it is the only way to create a surface that can survive thousands of boots a day without washing away.

Sourcing the stone is a major logistical task. Ideally, they use stone from the same valley to maintain the geological character of the area. If they have to bring stone in from elsewhere, they use a helicopter to drop it exactly where it's needed.

Using sheep's wool and soil inversion

Sometimes the ground is too boggy for stones. In these cases, the rangers use sheep’s wool—a method adapted for terrain where heavy stone would simply sink into the peat. They use folded and rolled sheep fleeces to create a "floating" foundation. They put stones on top of the wool, and it prevents the path from sinking or churning up the mud. This allows water to pass through naturally while protecting the sensitive peat underneath.

They also use "soil inversion." This is an old technique—used as far back as the Romans—where they dig up the ground and flip it over to bring the hard, mineral-rich soil to the top. This creates a dry, raised path with ditches on the side to catch the rain. While they often use small machines for this, in very remote spots like Stake Pass, the rangers still perform this work by hand.

Why this helps the environment

While the paths are built for people, the real benefit is for nature. When a path is in good condition, people stay on it. When a path is a muddy mess, people walk on the grass at the side to keep their feet dry. This "side-stepping" is a self-perpetuating cycle: the wider the damage gets, the more vegetation is lost, and the more soil washes away.

Water and fish

When soil washes off the fells, it ends up in the rivers and lakes. This sediment is bad for water quality because it introduces pollutants and smothers habitats. In the Windermere catchment area alone, Fix the Fells looks after 91 different paths to prevent this from happening.

A clear example of this impact is at Red Tarn. Soil washing off the nearby slopes was covering the spawning grounds of the White Schelly. This is a very rare fish that only lives in a few Lake District tarns. By stabilizing the paths and stopping the erosion, the rangers protected the environment the fish needs to survive.

Carbon and climate

The Lake District has a lot of peatland, which is vital for the environment. Peat is great at storing carbon, but only if it stays wet and covered. When erosion cuts into the peat, it exposes it to the air, and the carbon is released into the atmosphere as $CO_2$. By repairing these areas and using things like the sheep's wool mats to protect bogs, Fix the Fells helps keep that carbon in the ground. Since 2015, they have helped restore over 2,000 hectares of peatland in the National Park.

The stabilization of the fells also protects rare upland flora. Species like Parsley Fern, Woolly Hair Moss, and the alpine Mouse Ear are very fragile. They can’t grow if they are being stepped on or if the soil they need is washing away. By keeping walkers on the paths, these plants are given a chance to recover.

The people behind the project

The work is done by two groups: professional rangers and volunteers.

The professional rangers are highly skilled craftspeople. There are four teams of them, provided by the National Trust. The physical demands of the job are extreme. Some rangers in the western fells have been recorded climbing over 160 vertical miles in a single season while carrying heavy tools and materials. They have to understand both the engineering of the path and the aesthetics of the landscape.

The volunteers are the backbone of the daily maintenance. There are currently about 140 volunteers who give more than 3,000 days of work every year—a record that was set in 2025. These individuals receive specialized training in navigation, first aid, and manual handling. Their contribution is valued at about £250,000 a year, which effectively doubles what the organization can achieve with its budget. Without them, the small problems would quickly become big ones that the rangers wouldn't have time to fix.

Supporting the fells

Not everyone always agrees with how the fells are fixed. In 2018, there was an online petition called "Stop the unnecessary stone pitching in The Lake District National Park." Some mountain bikers and traditional walkers felt that the stone steps turn a wild experience into a staircase, making some routes less appealing for biking or "sanitizing" the mountain feel. There were also concerns that the stones could be slippery when wet.

Fix the Fells has listened to these concerns and now treats stone pitching as a "last resort." They only use it when a path is so badly damaged that nothing else will work. They have also improved the design, using different angles and textures to provide better grip. Independent studies, like one by AMION Consulting, have found that most visitors actually prefer the repaired paths because they make the walks more accessible and protect the beauty of the landscape they came to see.

The work of Fix the Fells is an ongoing effort that changes with the needs of the landscape. Right now, in 2026, the organization is busy managing several key projects. One of the biggest priorities is supporting the Coast to Coast path, which has recently been upgraded to a National Trail. Fix the Fells is playing a critical role in maintaining the upland sections of this route, ensuring it can handle the increased number of walkers the new status will bring.

There is also a strong focus on "soft landscaping" and habitat restoration. Once a path has been structurally repaired, the teams work on revegetation to make sure the repair blends in and the natural plants can return. With a record number of volunteers participating this year, the focus remains on high-quality maintenance across the entire 410-mile network.

Fix the Fells has shown that you can't just leave a popular landscape to look after itself. It takes constant work, a lot of money, and a dedicated team of people to ensure that the Lake District stays the way it is for the next generation. Whether it's clearing a drain or flying in tons of stone by helicopter, every bit of work helps keep the mountains standing.

How to get involved

Visit Fix The Fells

Donate to Fix The Fells

Organisations mentioned in this guide

Keeping the Lake District Standing: The Story of Fix the Fells