Letter: Off the beaten path, from coast to coast

Sir: Coast-to-coast walkers will have read 'Hard on Wainwright's heels' (Weekend, 17 October) with wry smiles. As your picture shows, there are problems of erosion at Nine Standards Rigg. However, they occur not because of the numbers walking the summit but because the landowner has tried to have the path diverted away from Wainwright's carefully considered route, which runs south along the ridge.

The path now plunges straight into the bogs of Whitsundale. This has nothing to do with preserving delicate ecological balance. It is to maintain clear fields of fire for those taking part in the annual massacre of grouse.

On a happier note, nobody begrudges credit to Paul Hannon for his new guide. It is a useful adjunct to Wainwright. But the best publication for coast-to-coast walkers to appear recently comes farther east along the route from the pupils at Ingleby Arncliffe Primary School. Their guide to the little village and its surroundings is a delight to read and beautifully produced. Send them a pound for your copy before Michael Joseph buys them out as well.

Yours faithfully,

GEORGE LANG

Bristol

18 October