EIGHTY-three volunteers carried out a raft of conservation tasks at Friends of the Lake District’s Thirlmere Fell Care Day on Sunday.

They re-built six metres of dry stone wall at Thirlspot; maintained 14 kilometres of upland footpath from Swirls and Wythburn to Helvellyn; cleared spruce at Low Bridge End Farm and squirrel surveyed one kilometre of path, spotting two reds.

Five bags of rubbish were removed from the eastern shore of the reservoir by a plogging team. Plogging is the Scandinavian activity of combining a gentle jog with litter picking. Among the rubbish was a sleeping bag, jacket, baseball cap and glasses case.

Ten pieces of Thirlmere-inspired art was produced and 12 people were trained in introductory woodland management at Great How Wood.

Ruth Kirk, Landscape Engagement Officer for Friends of the Lake District, said: “We want to thank everyone who came along to conserve, protect, learn and be inspired.

"Thirlmere has taken a bit of a bruising this year from the threat of major commercial development to serious storm damage which has affected the western shore and is still preventing access. We are so grateful to the people who came along to show just how much they care about this special place.”

Friends of the Lake District’s next Fell Care Day takes place in the Duddon Valley on Thursday November 8 with a wide variety of conservation activities. See more information at www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk or contact ruth-kirk@fld.org.uk