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Lakes fell deaths highest for 17 years
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Wainwright series hits mainstream TV
The BBC must have realised that walking is popular: it’s just been announced that the Julia Bradbury-presented Wainwright’s Walks will be repeated, this time on BBC2.So those who don’t have digital TV can now enjoy the short series of four in which Julia follows Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guides up Haystacks, Blencathra, Castle Crag and Scafell Pike.The first will be shown at 7pm on Friday, 6 April, with episodes two and three shown at the same time the following weeks before broadcasts of men kicking balls or thwacking leather with a wooden stick intervene for two weeks, so the final episode will air after sports fans have had their fill of whatever vigorous activity their overpaid heroes are indulging in.The whole series, plus the documentary probing – albeit very gingerly – the life of the Grumpy Old Fellwalker, will be issued on double DVD in the summer..
Cairngorms 'need to rival Yosemite and the Rockies'
The Cairngorms are up against the likes of the Canadian Rockies and the Yosemite National Park in the quest for tourists’ cash.Development bosses want to boost outdoor activities in the area, along with visitor attractions and facilities.
No return to speeding on Windermere
Windermere’s speed limit will stay, authorities have decided.The controversial 10mph restriction, imposed two years ago, was challenged by a pressure group which wanted to use high-powered craft on the lake.The Keep Windermere Alive Association is hoping to overturn the limit and in the meantime had asked the Lake District National Park Authority to look at a ‘managed solution’ allowing jet skis, power boats and water skiers back on the water in some areas at certain times.But the national park authority has been advised there is no legal basis for the challenge and said the managed solution would be too bureaucratic and unworkable.
Burbage rescue for Sheffield mayor
Edale Mountain Rescue Team came to the rescue of a distinguished casualty yesterday.The Peak District team was called upon to rescue the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Cllr Jackie Drayton, from the moors in the Burbage Edge area.Cllr Drayton agreed to act as a casualty during one of the team’s regular training exercises. She was carried by stretcher by members of the 26-strong squad.
Law on mountain locators a step closer
Climbers in an American state could be forced to carry radio locators when on mountains.Legislators in Oregon have approved the first stage of a law which would make it a legal obligation to have a mobile phone and a locator of some sort when climbing on the state’s mountains.This follows a rescue last month when three climbers and a dog were rescued from the 3,429m (11,249ft) Mount Hood after they used a locator which led search parties to them.
Water company starts charging for access land
An English water company has started charging commercial bodies for using its right-to-roam land.United Utilities, which owns 142,000 acres of land in north-west England, the largest UK holder of land for water catchment, began its charging regime at the beginning of this month.The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) and Mountain Leader Training England met with managers from United Utilities, owners of land from the Lake District National Park down to the Forest of Bowland.
3,000ft charity challenge this summer
A charity is hoping to put walkers on the top of every 3,000ft mountain in the British Isles this summer.WaterAid hopes to get a sponsored team on every one of the 303 peaks topping the magic 3,000ft mark on a date in June.The charity aims to raise cash to help the world’s poorest people get a supply of clean water and in doing so break the record for having someone simultaneously on each of the peaks in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Camera obscura for Cairn Gorm
Cairngorms tourists will be in the dark following a decision of the National Park Authority.Planners have approved a plan for a camera obscura above the Coire Cas car park, enabling visitors to get a new view of the area.The chamber will be in the existing garden area in a 19m tunnel.
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Lakes farmer pleads for dog control
A Cumbrian farmer has pleaded with walkers to keep dogs on a lead – for the sake of wild birds.Ground-nesting birds are at risk when dogs are allowed to roam free, and a Longsleddale man says the problem has got worse since the introduction of right-to-roam laws.Rodney Dixon, who farms at Well Foot, Longsleddale, said: “When I was a kid there were regularly 20 or more pairs of curlews on our heather fell.
Tori's Welsh Everest record bid
A Welsh woman is aiming to be the youngest female Briton to scale Everest.Tori James has already conquered Cho Oyu, the sixth highest peak and has set her sights on the world’s tallest.The 25-year old, from Pembrokeshire, has also reached the North Pole and this year summited Kilimanjaro.
Lakeland wardens build new homes for migrants
Rangers in the Lake District are busy constructing new homes to attract visitors.But instead of bricks and mortar, these homes are made from wire mesh, timber, moss and twigs.
Scots festival has everything from toads to kayaks
The daddy of all festivals starts at the end of next month when the Scottish Outdoor Access Festival hits the hills with over a week of events.There are more than 270 events planned, and they’re happening all over Scotland.
Walker dies on Sutherland mountain
A walker died on a northern Scottish mountain at the weekend.Northern Constabulary have not yet named the man, believed to be in his 60s, who died while on Foinaven in Sutherland.A call for help was received shortly after noon on Sunday and a coastguard helicopter from Stornoway attended the incident.
grough: site problems
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Paddler rescued during busy Scottish weekend
Scottish rescuers were kept busy at the weekend with a spate of incidents.The most dramatic rescue happened after a kayaker overturned on the River Findhorn in Moray.Rachel Walker, a paddler from Liverpool, received head and neck injuries in an inaccessible gorge between Randolph's Leap and the Mains of Sluie.
Wainwright baggers just get younger
A seven-year-old Cumbrian girl has beaten her sister’s former record to become the youngest to climb all the Wainwright fells.An ascent of Scafell on Easter Sunday took Kerry Regan into the record books at the age of seven years, nine months, beating the existing holder Jordan Ross who completed all 214 Lakeland peaks aged nine years seven months.Kerry’s older sister Ellen took the title in March 2006 when she was nine years ten months, but this lasted only seven months until Jordan, of Macclesfield, summited Castle Crag in Borrowdale.