In Wales we are lucky to have so much beautiful scenery.
Every county in Wales has gorgeous areas but the real jewel in the crown is Wales' national parks. Though it is great that increasing amounts of people are using Wales' outdoor spaces it has the potential to cause real environmental damage if it is not managed properly.
The impact of the post-lockdown tourism boom in Snowdonia has been well-documented, but visitor numbers were already on the increase before the pandemic, with a 60% rise between 2016-19. There were nearly two million Google searches for the park last year, which is second only to the Lake District.
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Joanne Backshall, Programme Manager at Fix the Fells (a charity that helps maintain paths in the Lake District, explains what footpath erosion is, how people can help to minimise it and what could happen to the UK’s favourite routes in the next 50 years if they aren’t protected.
She said: “Footpath erosion is where trampling has killed vegetation and exposed bare soil and loose stone, which gets washed away to create unsightly gullies and scars in the landscape. It’s caused by a combination of people and rainwater, and the severity is largely determined by the number of walkers and how many stray from the designated path.
“If no action is taken to look after paths and repair damage, then erosion will spread - more vegetation will be trampled and die, more soil and stone will be exposed and washed away, and ultimately more of our stunning mountain tops, ridges and main routes will become gullied and ugly."
As part of research carried out by outdoor and travel clothing company Rohan, a variety of data was collected for each national park to determine which ones are potentially most in need of protection in the next 50 years.
The factors we considered were:
- Percentage increase in visitor numbers (2016-19)
- Environmental offences, such as littering (2021)
- Traffic to the park’s official website (2021)
- Instagram and TikTok hashtags mentioning the park
- Google searches for the park (2021)
The national parks were compared against each other within each category, before an average ranking determined the final leader board.
Why is footpath erosion an issue?
“If no action is taken to look after paths and repair erosion, then it will spread," said Ms Backshall. "This leads to more vegetation being trampled and dying, more bare soil and stone being exposed and washed away, more unsightly scars and gullies appearing, and more wildlife being harmed.
“Mountain tops, ridges and main routes will become bare soil or stone, gullied and ugly, and landslips will be more common.
“It is important to fix paths to look after the stunning scenery and precious biodiversity of the national parks, which are internationally important for their landscapes, environment, culture and history.”
This is why it is vital that walkers stick to the paths when they are walking in national parks.
How much of a problem is littering in our national parks?
Rohan sent Freedom of Information requests to the councils covering the national parks, and asked them to reveal how many Fixed Penalty Notices they’ve handed out for environmental offences. Between 2019 and 2021, over 18,000 were issued for littering in or around UK national parks.
What can walkers do to help address the littering problem?
Paths for All, the Scottish walking charity, offers the following advice to those looking to help tackle the littering issue:
● If safe, remove litter and place it in the nearest bin or take it home
● Take part in citizen science surveys
● Organise community litter picks
There are many other ways that walkers can help to protect our national parks, including by following the Countryside Code.
R ecent research found that seven in ten (70%) people in England and Wales have breached at least one aspect of the Code, which is designed to help people enjoy and protect the countryside by acting responsibly.
It includes advice such as “stay on marked paths, even if they’re muddy, unless wider access is available”, as this helps protect against footpath erosion. It also encourages walkers to “take your litter home and leave no trace of your visit”, which would reduce the number of environmental offences.
How much has visits to Welsh national parks increased?
There is a mixed picture across Wales. From 2016 to 2019 Snowdonia has seen a 60% increase in visitors. In 2014 to 2016 the average visitor numbers were year was 690,000. By 2019 this was up to 1.1m. However over the same period the Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire Coast saw a fall of 5 and 7% respectively.
