Scottish Peak Gets £816,962 Facelift

Rugged Scottish beauty Schiehallion is getting a £816,962 face lift courtesy of the John Muir Trust, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Scottish Natural Heritage.

The Trust, which owns the eastern part of the popular 3,547 ft mountain, applied for funding for a project to restore the ravages of thousands of boots, which have reduced the main route to the summit to a prominent erosion scar.

In addition to path restoration, the funding will also be used for for woodland restoration and interpretation of the mountain environment for visitors.

Nigel Hawkins, director of the John Muir Trust says: "The path on Schiehallion has become one of the ugliest mountain scars in Scotland. Now with the support of HLF and SNH we are going to re-align the path up the east ridge of the mountain and set about restoring the ground that presently carries the path.

"This is a mountain rescue with a difference. This time it is the mountain itself, rather than a climber or walker, which is being rescued."

The work is set to begin early this summer and may take up to five years to complete. For more information on the project see the latest news section of the JMT web site.