Techniques
The techniques adopted in repairing upland paths in the Highlands of Scotland have come a long way from the volunteer based projects of 20 years ago. Here in Skye and Lochalsh we now use specialist contractors to undertake the initial refurbishment work with volunteers more involved in ongoing maintenance.
So what will the contractor be trying to achieve?
Put at its simplest the contractor will be trying to keep people on the path and keep water off it.
But this must be achieved without detracting from the mountainous and wild nature that give these areas their unique appeal. Most of the paths are built using gravels and boulders close at hand, but even using material won locally, it would still be easy to end up with something looking like a garden path. Much effort, therefore is put into avoiding standard width of path, straight ditches or landscaping stones placed with unweathered surfaces exposed and at regular intervals - walkers and climbers will scarcely be aware of high quality path improvement.