Update on clearing litter at God’s Bridge

So I went back to God’s Bridge a week after the cleaning up and it was still clear which was a very pleasant surprise. While I was there I thought I would go through the gate and let my dog have a drink in the beck. A group of young people came along with a leader and he suggested they had a quick stop there so I walked up towards Browgill Cave instead.

When I got near the cave I saw some cows with their calves and after the incident the day before that CRO was involved in I backtracked to avoid them and I knew the group at God’s Bridge would not be there for long.

As soon as they left I went through the gate I was shocked, and it takes a lot to shock me, to see that some sort of foam had been used to “Graffiti” the grass with a graphic picture of  male genitals. I have a photo but did not want to get censored for bad taste!  I am not sure what it had been done with as my initial thought was that squirty cream you can buy. When I tried to get rid of it the substance was oily and I can only presume it was shaving foam or something similar. I had to wipe it off my shoe as it did not want to wash off very easily.

This is a new one on me. I guess they thought it was funny and it would eventually go away but that is not how it works, especially during a dry spell.

I was surprised the leader of the group did not check the site before leaving but the most puzzling thing is why would you be carrying shaving/shower cream around the Three Peaks with you?!! It takes all sorts.

Doing our bit to clear litter from a part of the Three Peaks route

Last week I posted a picture of the litter left by some walkers at God’s Bridge on the Yorkshire Three Peaks route.  The section this blog is about is just a very short section of the route. Previously we have picked plastic water bottles discarded along the route from Pen-y-ghent to Birkwith and beyond. The summit of Pen-y-Ghent is always littered with food wrappings, banana skins and bottles, some of which are just stuffed into the dry stone wall by the stile. If it is bad on this section it is unlikely to be any better on the rest of the route. Thousands and thousands of people walk this route every year and it only takes a few to spoil it for everyone.

God’s Bridge Saturday 25th May 2013

I decided that it was important to not only report on the litter at God’s Bridge but to do something about it. Last Saturday I went armed with gloves and bin bags to “do my bit”. When I got there it was obvious that someone had done some cleaning up but it had been added to again over the week. I went around 12.00 noon so most walkers had gone through.

God’s Bridge litter Saturday 1st June 2013

As was mentioned on Twitter the only way to try and stop people dropping their litter is to remove it all and especially anything that looks like a container. Someone on Facebook asked why we pay our rates, maybe this was a tongue in cheek comment but obviously some people do think there are people cleaning up after them! I have to point out that this spot is a long way from any vehicle access and the rubbish has to be carried out on foot by volunteers.

After I had finished I had 2 bags of rubbish which included a carrier bag with 2 stainless steel 0.5l flasks inside, with their price tags still on, plastic and glass bottles, food wrappers, socks, foil containers and tissues. The area was completed cleared to try and stop the copycat litter throwers.

God’s Bridge cleared 1st June 2013

I decided to carry on clearing the route back towards the next gate and on the way picked up cans, a broken walking pole and sweet wrappers. When I got to the gate/stile/wall corner I found more bottles and wrappers and a pile of human excrement topped with soiled paper serviettes. I removed the paper but drew the line at the rest!

To finish off I thought I would drive up to the track junction at High Birkwith as I had picked up several items of abandoned clothing the previous week. This is an area used by many for their first waterstop and checkpoint.Even I was amazed at the next sight I got. Right in the middle of the track was a box full of fresh empty bottles. Somebody must have found an empty animal feed container and thought it would make a good bin and being on a track that if they left it in the middle then someone would take it away.

High Birkwith “Litter Bin”

High Birkwith “bin” with Whernside in the background

Before I left I checked over the stile near Birkwith Cave. You often see people popping over there, and sometimes being sent by the check point people, to relieve themselves. Yes, you guessed it, there was another pile of human waste right by the stile. This cave is popular with novice groups and novice groups tend to be young people so that’s a great health hazard and a pretty disgusting sight for us all too.

Please spread the word – Take your litter home with you. There are no bins on the Three Peaks route. Anything dumped can potentially hurt livestock and even other walkers. There are no official toilets on the route either so come prepared to clean up after yourself.  I might be wrong but I feel it is not “true walkers” who are doing this but a few people who have just signed up for the Challenge and do not regularly visit or appreciate the beauty of the countryside. They are not necessarily “townies” as many people from urban areas do appreciate the countryside so lets not label them. This is a problem for the National Three Peaks too and seems to be in places where a few people are so focused on the challenge element and doing it as fast as possible they do not even “see” their surroundings.

All the rubbish has now been disposed of and this included 57 bottles and 8 cans being recycled. I will go back this weekend to see if the area is still clear- fingers crossed. There are obviously other people clearing up the litter as they go along  so thank you for “doing your bit” too. Lets hope we can all see an improvement over the summer months.

Pam    June 2013

Competition in this months Dalesman Magazine

This is the competition in June’s issue of The Dalesman. Together with Steve Finch Photography we are offering a prize for up to 4 people to come on a day where they will developing their navigation skills alongside their photographic skills somewhere in the Three Peaks are of the dales.