Donal Hickey: Will visitor numbers to many outdoor attractions need to be capped?

The challenge is to find a balance between sustainable visitor numbers and protecting a fragile, natural and built heritage

Croagh Patrick is visited by 120,000 annually

HUGE numbers of people enjoyed the outdoors during the May bank holiday and, with summer here, many more are certain to head for mountainous areas which are already under pressure from heavy footfall.

On a recent visit to Mayo, I was taken aback at the eroded state of Croagh Patrick. An already well-worn path to the summit of the sacred mountain has become an ugly scar that can be seen even through the mist.