THE Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority has unveiled its latest fundraising initiative to help finance vital path work in Craven’s popular Three Peaks area, which attracts 250,000 visitors every year.

WALKERS are being challenged to reach the peak of silliness by climbing Penyghent, Whernside or Ingleborough wearing an off-the-wall hat.

The gauntlet has been thrown down by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) to raise funds for vital path maintenance around the Three Peaks.

The area is a honeypot for outdoor enthusiasts and plays host to numerous sponsored walkers each year.

It is also the venue of the annual Three Peaks Race - which this year takes place on Saturday, April 25 - and September’s Three Peaks Cyclo Cross, the toughest event of its kind in the UK.

Both competitions attract hundreds of entrants and spectators.

Not surprisingly, the number of visitors has taken its toll on the network of paths.

In 1986, the Institute for Terrestrial Ecology carried out a study of the condition of paths surrounding the Three Peaks and concluded that the region had the sad distinction of possessing the most severely eroded network in the UK.

The following year, the first Three Peaks Project was established by the YDNPA with a staff of 13. Its remit included trialling new path-engineering and re-vegetating techniques to provide sustainable routes and to allow damaged surrounding land to recover.

The mid-90s and early 2000s saw a number of externally-funded projects completed, each with one or two extra staff appointed.

However, since 2004, the management and maintenance of the Three Peaks network has reverted back to the YDNPA’s Rangers – a team of just two officers covering the whole of the wider Ribblesdale area.

The current Three Peaks project – set up in 2009 - aims to create a sustainable source of both practical and financial support that will help protect and enhance the area and the rights of way network into the future.

Since its launch, many of the charities that regularly use the Three Peaks have volunteered to donate money towards the upkeep of the area. Without their support, the popular footpaths would once again fall into disrepair and become badly eroded and the surrounding area would be severely damaged.

Now, the national park has come up with the Hats On initiative to boost funds.

Steve Hastie, Three Peaks Project manager, said: “To take part, all you need to do is to donate £5 to the project, take a ‘selfie’ at the top in your hat – the sillier the better – share it on the national park authority’s Twitter or Facebook pages and challenge three friends to do the same.

“Taking on one of the Three Peaks is an achievable challenge that can be done on your own, as a family or with a group of friends and it’s easy to join in. All you need is a sense of fun and – to cap it off – there is the reward of a great day out.

“There are many circular walking routes in the Three Peaks area to choose from and the YDNPA website features three – one for each peak – to help get you on your way. There is a six-mile loop taking in Penyghent, a 7.5-mile circuit past Ribblehead Viaduct and to the top of Whernside and a nine miler that includes the summit of Ingleborough.”

Nick Cotton, the authority’s member champion for recreation management, said: “Walking is a great way to improve your health and well-being – while experiencing the beautiful countryside of the National Park at the same time – so dig out your Easter bonnet, boater or beanie and help us raise money towards our work caring for Yorkshire’s beautiful Three Peaks.”

Full details about the Hats On challenge can be found on the website yorkshiredales.org.uk/threepeaks, which also gives more information about the YDNPA’s conservation work and the challenges of looking the very popular area.