A ten-time increase in visitors at a Skye landmark over the past decade has led to a “critical” loss of habitat beyond the main path.
Work is underway to repair areas around the Old Man of Storr which have been eroded by hundreds of thousands of feet – with access to the site limited until the end of November.
Footfall has stripped parts of the landmark of “species-rich grassland” and exposed peat and topsoil layers which are vulnerable to erosion.
The Skye Iconic Sites Project, which is seeing more than £1 million invested into protecting beloved sites on the island, will now see lightweight jute netting known as GeoJute installed in areas to help stabilise the land.
Figures suggest that a decade ago around 20,000 people a year would go up to the notable pinnacle – now the number has reached 200,000, Murray Swapp, the access projects manager for the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland (OATS) revealed.
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“It’s a huge difference, he added. “The pressure of people walking off the main path is causing considerable damage to the site.”
Over the past several years, the Old Man of Storr has become even more recognisable having appeared in films such as Snow White and the Huntsman and Prometheus both released in 2012.
The project also marks the first-time habitat restoration has been undertaken to this level on Skye, as well as “the most resources put into to try and improve the situation”.
OATS is leading the project which will also see work around the Fairy Pools and the Quiraing.
At the Man of Storr alongside the GeoJute, local wildflowers will be sowed to restore the characteristic vegetation and deep gullies, created by rainfall eroding the slopes, will be damned with rocks.
Crucially, there will also be new measures to ensure visitors and tourists stick to the paths.
Mr Swapp added: “It’s the impact on the vegetation, that’s the main reason for the work we’re doing. If you imagine just the footfall and wear on the surface of the ground and the vegetation has just been squashed, foot after foot and eventually it just cannot cope.”
After the restoration work is carried out, signage and “fairly discreet” hemp rope borders will be used to keep visitors on the beaten track and off the vegetation.
It comes after a trial was run at the Quiraing, firstly using just signs and then adding rope posts.
“We sort of recognised that just signs probably wouldn’t work but we felt we should take it in these step-by-step stages.
“We want it to be fairly discreet and we don’t want it to detract from the landscape.”
Once the rope was installed, of over 200 walkers only one was seen to disregard the fencing.
“That will be a signal to the public to stay off these damaged areas and to help allow them to recover after we’ve done work on them.
“Hopefully, people will respect what we've done and not continue to walk on the site. If people stay to the built paths then that’s fine.”
Vegetation which would usually cover the area such as Alpine Lady’s-mantle and eyebright make up “protected species-rich grassland” which is formally conserved as a site of special scientific interest.
The chief executive for the OATS said the grassland is a “crucial component of the local ecosystem and a key part of Scotland’s natural heritage”.
Dougie Baird added: “Using jute netting in this way will help to stabilise and restore the slopes, to the benefit of both the area’s fauna and flora and its future visitors.
“We are very grateful for the backing of the Skye Iconic Sites Partnership in making this project possible and for their support in safeguarding this spectacular landscape for generations to come.”
The project is part of an almost £9 million Scottish programme of projects to invest in the Highlands and Islands.
Alistair Danter, chair of the Skye Iconic Sites Partnership, added: “It is great to be able to carry out this challenging work that will make the site resilient and available for future generations to enjoy, the economic and environmental value that an asset like the Old Man of Storr represents for the local community is hard to overstate.”
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