Close all access land, say moor owners

This entry is archived and has no cached excerpt. View the article for details..

Free bus service for Dartmoor cyclists

If you're taking to two wheels on Dartmoor and want to take some of the strain out of the height gain, the national park authority is running a scheme to help you.The Dartmoor Freewheler is a free bus service with a cycle trailer attached, so you can get your bike to the high ground of the moor and enjoy the (mostly) downhill ride out again, or so the authority claims.The service runs on summer Sundays, until October, with a different route each of the four Sundays in the month.

Yorkshire Dales access land closed again

Latest news from the Yorkshire Dales is that all open access areas have been reclosed because the fire risk has again risen to exceptional.The national park authority had re-opened most of the land earlier in the week.

Fire-risk moorland: some areas re-open

Access land in the Peak District re-opened this week, but moorland fires raged in the South Pennines.The situation in the Peak is under constant review after Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) access areas were re-opened after weekend rain.

'Wheels fall off' Government access body

Natural England, the new body which will take over access issues in October, is being starved of cash, according to its boss.The Independent reports it has seen an email from its chairman Sir Martin Doughty to the Environment Secretary, arch Blairite David Milliband, which says the wheels are coming off the new organisation before it even launches.Defra, the super agency created in the wake of the foot-and-mouth disease crisis of 2001, controls the new organisation's budget and, surprise surprise, it has cut the amount of money available to do the job.The Independent quotes Doughty's email: ""I am deeply concerned that current financial demands being placed upon us by Defra are eroding our capacity to deliver these benefits before we even begin."I understand the need for Defra to live within its budget and Natural England is committed to playing its part in that - we are already committed to £7m of cuts.

Climbing-wall qualification on the way

A wide-ranging consultation on a proposed new qualification for climbing-wall supervisors has closed.Mountain Leader Training UK began the not-too-rapid look at standardising a qualification below the level of the Single Pitch Award, which was introduced for climbing supervisors in 1992.Many indoor walls use in-house training at present rather than a National Governing Body qualification.

Body of top climber found on 'Killer Mountain'

A top mountaineer's body has been found on a Pakistan mountain.Jose Antonio Delgado had been missing on Nanga Parbat since topping out the peak on 12 July.

Fire risk keeps moors closed

Walkers wanting to use right-to-roam areas in the National Parks need to check before setting forth this weekend.Large area of Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) access land in the Peak district remain out-of-bounds because of the high fire risk.

Want to help clean up the Welsh crags?

Climbers in north Wales have a chance to improve their rocky environments in the coming months.North Wales Action Group has arranged various activity days, including replacing abseil points and generally cleaning up crags and climbing routes.