Improving paths at Roseberry Topping

We know that Roseberry Topping has always held a special place in the hearts of Teessiders, but in recent years word seems to have spread.

Every year more and more people are coming to explore the hill and all its delights. While it’s fantastic that so many are spending time in the great outdoors, all that footfall does have a few drawbacks.

Many of the paths up the hill are suffering from erosion problems. In the woods, the paths have been getting muddier and muddier each winter, causing tree roots to become exposed as the earth washes away. Other vegetation, including areas of bluebells and wild garlic, have been destroyed as walkers spread out to try and avoid the worst of the mud.

In Spring of 2019 we started on the first phase of a project to put down a better surface on some of the worst affected paths. Thanks to funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, we surfaced around of a mile of paths through Roseberry’s woodlands and put in drainage that will keep them dry and mud free for many years to come.

The trampled areas quickly started to recover and we can expect to see wildflowers again where there was once just mud.

In the coming years we plan to carry out further work to improve access.