Whiteless breast

Buttermere is one of the few places left in the North Lakes with some grassy untouched paths. pre-emptive work can help keep the paths natural.

"Pidgeon holes" a line of circular bare patches can occur on grassy slopes when a large numbers of walkers follow the same line up a hill. 

Although these foot holes make the hill easier to climb, they quickly join together into a groove that water runs down creating a gully.

The holes can be easily repaired using seed, turf and cloche netting  (a willow frame covered with chicken wire) that is used to protect the area while it regenerates.

                 
   The willow is locally sourced from a basket weaver, Phil Bradley.
   All the work was done by Fix The Fells volunteers supervised by a National Trust ranger.

                   How it looked with the cloche removed and after the local sheep had grazed it.                   

                      When we removed the netting the local herdwicks had a field day. 

New challenges for the New Year

January is a time when we tend to think about how we're spending our time, and how we'd like to be spending it better.

If your new year's resolution was to spend a bit more time outdoors in this beautiful area, and maybe to help make a difference to a charity and to give something back, we might have an opportunity for you.

We're really excited about a new project that's just starting up. Over the next twelve months we'll be taking a pop-up visitor information tent to popular locations in the Borrowdale and Buttermere valleys and use it to talk to visitors.  We want to find out more about what they're doing on their day out and to gather feedback about how we could make their visitor experience better.

Meet people from all walks of life as a volunteer

So if you like finding out what makes people tick, you want to spend some time outside two of the most beautiful valleys in the Lake District, and you want to be part of a one-year project that will help shape the future direction of how we engage with visitors to the two valleys, why not contact us for an informal chat over a cuppa to find out more?

You can read more information here on the volunteering pages of the National Trust website, email northlakes@nationaltrust.org.uk contact us via Twitter @NTNorthLakes or telephone on 017687 74649 to speak to a real live human being!

2013 could be the year to be the change you want to see in the world...