Hanson stone donation preserves popular walking path

Stone from 1343 Hanson’s Ingleton quarry in North Yorkshire, England, has been airlifted by helicopter to repair a key footpath on Whernside – the highest of Yorkshire’s three peaks.

Rangers from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, who organised the operation, selected and bagged up 130 tonnes of Greywacke gritstone for the three-day airlift to the Bruntscar path.

The 130 bags of donated stone will be used to replace a 200-metre section of eroded stone-pitched steps and supports the authority’s ‘Pitch in for Whernside’ campaign to raise £46,000 (€52,150) for the renovation of the heavily used route, which is the main descent from the summit.

 “More than 60,000 people a year are likely to use the new path and we are delighted to have sourced such high-quality local stone,” said Southern Dales’ area manager Kate Hilditch, who praised the business for its support and thanked the Ingleton quarry team for their help.