The British Mountaineering Council ( BMC) owns Wilton 1 and manages it for the benefit of climbers, walkers and the general public. This restoration day is part of an ongoing collaborative project between the BMC and BCV to completely eradicate this invasive species from the quarry.
It is hoped that this will have the dual effect of opening up the currently overgrown top outs of many routes at the left end of the crag as well as returning the quarry floor to a moorland habitat of species such as heather and bilberry.
A restoration day was held last year in collaboration between climbers and BCV and fantastic progress was made, but there's plenty left to do and we need your help!
The plan is for BCV to work on the quarry floor and climbers to deal with the crag and crag tops. All cut rhodies will be burned on site to prevent re-seeding, so there will be a couple of bonfires to warm up around if it's a cold day.
A spread of sandwiches and chips will be provided by the BMC at the Wilton Arms afterwards for anyone who helps out on the day.
Anyone is welcome – BCV will be bringing along a selection of tools but if you have access to bow saws, loppers or gardening gloves it would be great if you could bring them along. If you are planning to work on the crag, abseiling gear, a rope and the knowledge of how to use them is essential, but if not there's plenty of work to do on the quarry floor.
So come along and help to improve one of the North West's premier crags. John Stringfellow will be the BMC point of contact on the day and will be able to direct you to the best areas to work on. See you there!
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