Fears over historic wall erosion
Hadrian's Wall
The wall stretches from Cumbria to Tyneside
A heritage expert has warned that increasing numbers of visitors to Hadrian's Wall may be damaging the historic site.

Walkers have flocked to the Roman wall, which spans the north of England from Tyneside to Cumbria, many attracted by the 84-mile (135km) National Trail.

But Prof Peter Fowler, a United Nations World Heritage Advisor, said not enough was being done to protect the wall.

National Trails has argued it is doing all it can to prevent erosion.

Figures from the Countryside Agency show that in 2005, 65% more people walked the full length of the wall than in the previous year.

Prof Fowler said: "It's marvellous that more and more people are coming to visit Hadrian's Wall.

'Predictable consequences'

"My complaint is that not enough has been done in terms of the absolutely predictable consequences of more people walking the wall.

"The use of the wall for recreation purposes - challenge walking - is incompatible. It's a great pity that the trail was created. That creates problems. More people could have been encouraged to visit without creating the trail."

David McGlade, Hadrian's Wall path national trail officer, believes there has been a proper response to the threat of erosion.

He said: "The trail set up ten years ago a method of monitoring and surveying, and grassland management. The surveys show that the trail is doing fairly well in terms of condition, but we need to pay attention in other areas.

"I'm delighted that people come back to visit, but what we're trying to do is inform and educate people that there are simple things they can do to help us manage it."

He said wear to the path can be reduced by walking in single file.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/5119840.stm

It is a tricky one. You preserve ruins for visitors to enjoy, but the more successful it is the more it becomes counter-productive. I was at St Nons chapel near St Davids a couple of weeks ago and I could not understand why it seemed almost compulsory for people to let their children scramble all over the tops of the walls. AAAArrgghhhh!!!! Is public education the answer? Raising awareness about the damage that is done?

St Govans is the latest place to 'find yourself'........sfunny realy

Basically, over the last few years, NT has made sure all of the non-pay for parking spaces have been closed and roads have loads of double yellows when for most of the year the area is pretty much deserted.

The upshot of this is that visitors are forced to use the few pay for NT car parts and therefore all of the tourism pressure is concentrated into just a few areas. This is cause of most of the excessive erosion I have seen.