Vote for a great cause: The Yorkshire Three Peaks Route

Outdoor headlines

01 March 2011 11:41

LFTOers will soon have the chance to pick their favourite conservation project from a selection of four worthy contenders. The winner will receive a cash award from the European Outdoor Conservation Association (www.outdoorconservation.eu) - a group of businesses in the European outdoor industry that have come together to raise funds for conservation and promote care and respect for wild places. Voting will open early next week at www.lfto.com/conservation, but in the meantime we’ll be introducing you to the organisations that want to win your vote. First up, The Yorkshire Three Peaks Route project…

1. The Yorkshire Three Peaks Route

Who are we?
Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) is a charity that works in partnership with organisations, local communities and farmers to support the environmental, social and economic well-being of this special area. Conserving the physical features which make up the Dales landscape is the core of our work, and we have an excellent track record of enabling projects to happen. A key partner is the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, which leads the Three Peaks Project. This project was set up in 2009 to protect and enhance the special qualities of the distinctive and inspirational landscapes of the Three Peaks area.
 
What we propose to do
The Three Peaks challenge is an incredibly popular 24-mile walk over the Yorkshire Dales peaks of Pen-Y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough. It’s tackled by many thousands of people each year, and much of the route is a sustainable walking surface catering for these numbers as they pass through the best wildlife habitat and scenery the Dales has to offer.
There is one exception: between Pen-Y-Ghent and Ribblehead through High Birkwith. For this section most walkers use the route over Horton Moor and Black Dubb Moss. This is badly eroded, with topsoil washed away and the underlying peat exposed and damaged. An alternative nearby route lies over Whitber Hill, though this route is little used. It passes over drier ground and uses mainly existing paths but needs some development work. The project will enable natural regeneration to restore the wildlife habitat value of the eroded section over Horton Moor and Black Dubb, and develop the alternative shorter route over Whitber Hill (subject to the landowners’ agreement). Once complete we’ll hold a launch event and encourage walkers to use the alternative route, through press releases, leaflets and website. The project will make the Three Peaks route more environmentally sustainable in the long-term.


 
Why LFTOers should vote for us
The Three Peaks is a fantastic area for walking with a lot to offer, but heavy use is causing significant damage to the internationally important peat habitat of Black Dubb Moss and Horton Moor. This project is an opportunity to restore the wildlife habitat in the area and create a better route, both excellent outcomes. By completing this missing link and promoting the new link as the best way of completing the challenge, the Three Peaks walk can become an environmentally sustainable walk. Your support will help bring this project to fruition and secure this iconic challenge for the future.


 
Photo credits:
Horton Moor: the badly damaged Black Dubb route, which will be restored to high quality wildlife habitat
 
Pen-Y-Ghent: the distinct profile of this peak