Baa-rilliant idea! BMC volunteers use ancient Roman technique to make durable paths in Eryri (Snowdonia)

BMC volunteers have been using sheep fleeces to make sustainable footpaths below Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), North Wales. Why?
Fourteen BMC volunteers have been working hard in the springtime sun to create a footpath in Cwm Llan on the south-eastern flanks of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) using sheep fleeces on the latest Get Stuck In event in Eryri (Snowdonia), North Wales. These events are funded by the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust as part of the Mend Our Mountains campaign.
BMC Hill Walking Rep and Get Stuck In creator, Steve Charles, says, "Fleeces are used to build paths through boggy areas where stones would just sink into the mud. Our 14 volunteers worked with the National Trust Footpath Team in Eryri on a very successful event - over the two days there was a total of 60m of path built: 30m using fleeces (covered with stones) and also 30m just using stone."
Sheep fleece path technique:
- Dig a trench through the peat about 1-2ft deep
- Lay the fleece in the trench at least 2-bales deep and fill any gaps
- Lay larger stones on top to weigh it down
- Lay the aggregate on top of the larger stones with enough depth to cover it all
- Tamp (compress) it down to seal it
A shear delight from the Romans
Ifan Parry, National Trust Cymru Area Ranger with the Footpath Team in Eryri, says, "This sheep wool fleece technique in paths was used by the Romans. Now, we tend to use this technique in wet boggy ground through peatland. The wool acts like a membrane to separate the path stone from the peat so it doesn’t sink. It’s a more eco-friendly replacement to using plastic membrane. Once the wool is in and sealed, the peat is an anoxic environment so it won't rot, it will stay intact, acting like a barrier between the path and the peat. We try not to disrupt the peatland, so the wool allows water to flow through it underneath the path, preventing the surrounding peatland from drying out."
How easy is fleece to work with?
Ifan says, "Work-wise, fleece is easier in a way than stone-pitching or stepping stones because it’s a lighter material and a less technical method that takes less time, skill and experience. But in other ways, it’s harder than building a path with stone because without a digger or a large group of people like the BMC volunteers, it’s quite a time-consuming task because of the sheer amount of material that needs to be dug out and then filled back in. The BMC Get Stuck In volunteers really helped us with this project and we did a lot more work than we thought we would do. Top job."
There were 14 volunteers, but how many sheep were involved?
Ifan says, "The wool comes from the Welsh Mountain sheep breed that thrive on the mountains of Eryri [Snowdonia] and have been traditionally used and bred to live in these harsh environments. The wool we used on the day came from the sheep that graze on the land we were working on in Cwm Llan that is managed by National Trust Hafod Y Llan farm. The sheep were shorn and wrapped down at the farm then the fleeces were flew up to the site by helicopter. There were about 200-300 fleeces used, given to us for free from the farm. Sadly, the price of wool is extremely low in the UK and it costs more to shear the sheep than you get from selling the wool."
Will you help us repair footpaths in Eryri?
The BMC's Access & Conservation Trust is currently fundraising for an exciting, new Apprentice Ranger role with the National Trust Footpath Team in Eryri. These ancient path-making techniques are exactly the type of skills and knowledge they will be learning. They will also be leading more Get Stuck In volunteer footpath repair events. We have so far raised £14,000 for this role and need to raise £53,000 more for this two-year role. Please give generously here if the footpaths in Eryri mean something to you.
BMC Hill Walking rep and founder of the BMC Get Stuck In volunteer footpath repair events, Steve Charles, says, "I've been going into the mountains all my life and it's great to be able to give back and to feel that you're helping to preserve this precious environment. We need to make our mountain footpaths more resilient to increased rainfall and increased use. Our mountains need to be nurtured, because if we don't do anything, the uplands will be in a much poorer state when we hand them over to future generations.
"During 2023 and 2024, BMC Get Stuck In volunteers clocked up almost 500 man-hours of work in Eryri. They repaired over 520m of footpath, laid 187 stepping stones across marshy ground, reprofiled 80m of bare, eroded peat hags and cleared five helicopter bags full of plastic tree guards. What's more, there are four more Eryri footpath repair events planned for 2025, starting this spring. That will have a huge impact in the mountain environment. We would welcome another ranger in Eryri to help run even more Get Stuck In events going forward."
NEW Eryri Apprentice Ranger
Give generously if you love hiking, climbing and mountaineering in Eryri and appreciate this National Park's unique beauty and incredible wildlife
Why donate?
With 10.5 million visitor nights spent in Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park in 2023/24, and over 600,000 people climbing Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) every year, the 1,497 miles of footpaths within this 823 square mile park are seeing more footfall than ever before. This is compounded by an increase in extreme weather due to the climate crisis and quickly leads to the following horrors for hill walkers, climbers, mountaineers and outdoor-lovers alike:
- Footpath erosion
- Muddy and slippery routeways
- Deep, ankle-turning gullies
- Navigational difficulties
- Trampled vegetation
- Loss of habitat for wildlife
- Decreasing biodiversity
- Soil-wash into waterways
- Increased flood risk
- Nutrient imbalances downstream
So, wouldn't it be fantastic if you could do something really meaningful to combat this nightmarish downward spiral of footpath degradation in Eryri? Here's your chance to support a really worthwhile project to actively combat path erosion and educate more people to protect and preserve this stunning, irreplaceable National Park. Donate to Mend Our Mountains or our specific Eryri Apprentice Ranger role here.
Get Stuck In footpath repair events
Get Stuck In events are 1-3 day opportunities for BMC volunteers to give some love back to the landscapes we love to walk and climb in. There are a range of activities decided on nearer the time of the event according to the National Trust rangers who will be teaching you new skills, explaining more about their footpath repair and conservation activities and working alongside you.
Watch the video here
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