Steve Birkinshaw, left, with Jessie Binns, right, and Joe Cornforth ready to plant saplings on Cat Bells

An ultrarunner who broke the record for summiting all of Alfred Wainwright’s Lakeland fells joined teams repairing flood damage on one of the most popular hills described by the author.

Steve Birkinshaw took to the slopes of Cat Bells overlooking Derwent Water to lend a hand with work on the site.

The 451m (1,480ft) fell was the final one on the runner’s round of 214 peaks when he smashed Joss Naylor’s record. But a landslide during Storm Desmond has damaged the main route up the fell, used by thousands of people each year.

Keswick Mountain Festival has joined the National Trust in a bid to raise £25,000 for the repair work.

National Trust rangers worked round the clock before Christmas to make sure paths remained open for festive and New Year walkers but have now been able to fully assess the true extent of damage to the fell.

Joe Cornforth, upland path supervisor for the National Trust in the north Lakes, said: “Storm Desmond caused a landslide on Cat Bells, ripping straight through the well known lower terrace path and making existing erosion scars on the summit path so much worse that they almost became unwalkable.

“We carried out emergency repairs to keep the paths open for Christmas. However, we need them to withstand the next storm that comes along, so we’ve got to make the paths and the fells a lot more resilient to the extreme weather events we’ve seen in recent years in the Lakes.”

One of the first tasks to be undertaken by the National Trust, and supported by Keswick Mountain Festival, is the planting of trees on the steep flank of Cat Bells. Long term, the trees will help to stabilise the very unstable ground as well as helping slow the flow of rainwater down the fell reducing the risk of future landslides.

Mr Cornforth said: “This will not only help protect Cat Bells, making it less likely that paths will be carried away by landslides as they were in December. It will also help protect the roads from damage by slowing the water down and releasing it more gradually into rivers and the lake. I live in Keswick and also witnessed first-hand the damage to family and friends’ homes as a result of Storm Desmond and I hope never to see anything like that again.”

Newcastle University research associate Steve Birkinshaw, who holds the record for tackling all of Alfred Wainwright’s 214 peaks in just six days and 13 hours, joined teams from the National Trust and Fix the Fells to plant the first lot of saplings on Cat Bells.

Steve Birkinshaw joins National Trust rangers and volunteers on the fell

He will be working with Berghaus during this year’s Keswick Mountain Festival, which runs from 19-22 May. He will lead group trail runs for visitors and will speak in the Adventure Talks Tipi in the Festival Village.

He said: “The Lake District is the most amazing and beautiful natural adventure playground. It’s loved by so many people, but it does still need to be looked after so it’s great that the Keswick Mountain Festival is supporting the work of the National Trust teams in caring for Cat Bells.”

Nicola Meadley, Keswick Mountain Festival director, added: “For many people, Cat Bells is their first climb. It provides a stunning backdrop to the Festival Village and we know it holds a special place in the heart of the many walkers, runners and outdoor enthusiasts who come to the festival each year.

“The National Trust rangers work really hard to keep Cat Bells and much of the Lake District beautiful and accessible so we’re delighted to have them as our official festival charity in our tenth anniversary year. We hope that everyone attending the festival can donate something to help look after the landscape that we all love running, cycling, swimming and climbing in.”

The campaign aims to raise the £25,000, which will pay for 950 tonnes of gravel, 30 bags of stone, and the labour and machinery needed, including a helicopter to lift the bags of stone into position, to move them up the fell to repair the paths.

Everyone who buys a ticket for Keswick Mountain Festival will be given the opportunity to make a donation to the National Trust, and there will also be fundraising activities taking place in the Festival Village during the event.

More information supporting the National Trust’s flood recovery work in the Lakes is available on its website.

Details of Keswick Mountain Festival can be seen on the festival website.