£218k raised towards £300k An Teallach path repairs – but this is just the start
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There are growing demands for a sustainable system to fund path repairs on Scotland’s mountains a year into a campaign to help fix routes on An Teallach in Wester Ross.
Mountaineering Scotland and the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland (OATS) said their joint campaign to raise £300,000 for essential path repairs on the popular mountain had raised £218,000 – just one year into the three-year project.
However, the It’s Up To Us campaign – which encourages people who use the hills or operate in the outdoors industry to help look after the vast path network – wants to see more done to keep paths in good shape.
They argue that walking tourism is worth £1.6 billion a year to the Scottish economy, yet there is no government funding for path work on privately owned land outside of national parks and non-governmental organisation estate land.
The groups say that previously available EU funding was not replaced after Brexit, leaving a void that is yet to be filled.
The initial stage of the An Teallach campaign is focused on repairing 3.2km of badly eroded path.
Related articles:
• Hill walkers urged to help raise £300k to repair paths on An Teallach
• An Teallach project wins €60,000 in European funding to support long-term path and peatland works
• Walkers urged to help fix mountain paths in Cairngorms and Wester Ross
Path contractors from Cairngorm Wilderness Contracts (CWC) have so far completed 340m of path building and maintenance work on the mountain, funded by the campaign and supported by a team of enthusiastic path maintenance volunteers.
The three-year It’s Up to Us campaign, supported by Cotswold Outdoor, has received donations from the Scottish Mountaineering Trust, European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA), and other charitable trusts (£154,858), a major private donor (£25,000), the general public (£24,996), commercial donations (£7550) and mountaineering and hillwalking clubs (£5900).
As the campaign enters its second year, Mountaineering Scotland and OATS are issuing a further appeal to all hill path users, outdoor and conservation businesses, organisations, and charities who care about the conservation of the hills they use and love to support the campaign and help them reach the £300,000 required to complete the An Teallach project.
Dougie Baird, CEO of OATS, said: “It has been an encouraging start to the It's Up To Us fundraising campaign, with a great response from charitable trusts in particular. We are hugely grateful for all our individual public donors and will be encouraging other hill users to follow their fine example in the coming year to help fix the badly eroded path on this iconic mountain.”
Mountaineering Scotland CEO, Stuart Younie, said: “It’s been great to see the progress we have made over the last year since launching It’s Up to Us. Many thanks to all the people and organisations who have either contributed financially, helped us to raise the profile of the campaign or volunteered to repair the path on An Teallach.”
The campaign is also calling on government to help develop a sustainable funding model for building and maintenance work across Scotland’s upland path network to ensure it is kept fit for purpose for future generations to enjoy.
Mr Younie added: “We are very grateful for all the support we have received and are well on our way to reaching our target but 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 one of many mountains in Scotland that needs our support and it’s up to all of us to do something about it.”
