£ 100,000 award for mountain paths campaign

A campaign aimed at securing more funding for path and habitat restoration on Scotland's hills and mountains has secured a £100,000 award.

T he Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland (OATS) and Mountaineering Scotland are leading the initiative to develop a sustainable long-term funding model for the work on Scotland's network of upland routes.

T he organisations said there was a lack of awareness about the cost - and also the social, economic and environmental benefits - of maintaining hill paths.

O ATS and Mountaineering Scotland secured their award from the Scottish Mountaineering Trust, which this year is marking its 60th anniversary.

T he campaign's first restoration project will be tackling decades of erosion on An Teallach, a group of mountains west of Dundonnell in Wester Ross.