The uphill battle to restore our walkways

Locals are helping to conserve the terrain for future generations, says Dan MacCarthy

THERE are tens of thousands of hillwalkers in Ireland. That’s a lot of boots crushing earth and stone, wearing away the terrain.

Several organisations, including Mountaineering Ireland, the representative body for hillwalkers, preserve our mountains and hills. The group’s conservation officer, Helen Lawless, liaises with clubs to “to guide the management of path erosion in Ireland’s upland areas”. It wants those principles adopted nationally in the repair of upland paths.