I have one simple question: why do you visit the Lake District and then wreck it?
Of course, this question is not directed towards the decent folk who visit the valleys and fells of Lakeland, but instead towards the utter scum who leave behind devastation. It is not just at the usual fly-camping areas, like around the shores and along the becks, but is also happening high up on the fells — usually on a fell that is easily climbed from a parking location and provides that “Instagram” view. The following example is on and around Fleetwith Pike.
Yesterday was a chance for my wife and me to take a break from home improvements and take advantage of a small window of good weather. We hadn’t been on the fells for over three weeks, so we were very keen to wake those leg muscles and tackle a steep ascent. We chose to go straight up the nose of Fleetwith Pike from Gatesgarth, but on reaching the top we came across a large fire pit not too far from the summit cairn.
We dismantled the ring of stones, scraped all the ashes away, and collected all the litter, which included melted plastics and many metal tent pegs.
From the summit, we dropped down to Dubs Huts to find that it too is being trashed by visitors. Without going into detail about what we found inside, what I can say is that the outside — around the perimeter wall — is being used as a toilet, and the smell was horrendous.
We then followed the old quarrymen’s road down Warnscale Gill and came across another large fire pit, this time on a grass ledge that looked out over the Buttermere Valley. On this occasion, the culprits had dismantled a cairn to build the fire pit, totally unaware that deep inside the cairn there was an urn placed in memory of a family member. It doesn’t matter whether you agree with urns or memorials being left on the fells or not — if lighting a fire at this location wasn’t bad enough, I found it despicable that they didn’t put the rocks back and instead left the urn open to the elements.
Yet again, we cleared up all their mess — Jaclyn bravely scrambled down a vertical crag face to collect the beer cans that had been thrown over the edge.
Yesterday’s walk was supposed to be a quick break between school runs, so our time was very limited, but in the end we found ourselves rushing back to the car to pick our daughter up. We are not posting this for likes or attention — not like the culprits are — but to show how bad this situation is getting. Lakeland is bracing itself.
Richard
