Bid to save eroded path on An Teallach reaches £250k target
The project is entering its final year and the groups are keen for others to help raise a final £50,000 to ensure the work on the site can be completed.
They are hoping to restore 3.2 kilometres of eroded path on An Teallach in the Highlands, with a team of specialists at Cairngorm Wildernesss Contracts already completing 890 metres of new mountain path, including 237m of stone pitching, 503m of aggregate path and 150m of 'light touch' work through bedrock to define a clear line and allow nature to reclaim eroded areas.
Walking tourism contributes an estimated £1.6 billion annually to the Scottish economy, and delivers clear physical and mental health benefits, but there is no government funding for essential path repairs on privately owned land outside national parks and NGO estates.
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Previously, EU funding was available but that was lost following Brexit and it is yet to be replaced.
More than 350 tonnes of stone and other material from the area around the site has been sourced by the contractors, with six tonnes of spoil repositioned to aid landscape restoration.
Work has also been done to ensure future path erosion is kept to a minimum.
CEO of the Outdoor Access Trust Scotland CEO, Dougie Baird, said: "We are now in the final year of fundraising and delivery, and the target is close, but we really need everyone to put their shoulders to the wheel in the final push to get it over the line.
'Our team of path contractors at Cairngorm Wilderness Contracts are itching to get back to An Teallach to finish the year three path work, and the whole project. However, we must hit the fundraising target before that can happen.'
Mountaineering Scotland CEO, Stuart Younie, added: 'We are delighted to have hit the £250,000 mark in the first two years of the campaign and are well on our way to reaching our target. However, there is still a lot more to do to deliver our ambition of establishing a sustainable funding model to support the maintenance and upkeep of our mountain paths.
"An Teallach is just one of many mountains in Scotland that needs path work and long-term maintenance, and it's up to all of us that enjoy the hills to do something about it.'
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