Repairs to paths on An Teallach completed two months early

Work to repair almost two miles (3.2km) of pathway on a mountain in Wester Ross has been completed ahead of schedule.

An Teallach, which means The Forge, has been described as one of the most impressive mountains in the UK, but decades of erosion had left its hill paths severely damaged.

More than £300,000 was raised to cover the cost of the project, which required 700 tonnes of stones and other materials.

The three-year project, led by Mountaineering Scotland and Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland (OATS), was completed in March, two months earlier than planned.

Specialist contractors Cairngorms Wilderness Contracts (CWC) carried out 790 days of work on the mountain, often in severe weather conditions.

Volunteers also played a pivotal role in the repairs, contributing over 412 hours of work, equating to about £16,000 in labour value.

A total of183 stone-built drainage features together with 250 metres (820ft) of stone edging were built on the path to minimise future erosion.

The project relied on skilled traditional, hand-built techniques to ensure durability while protecting the fragile landscape.

Chief executive of Mountaineering Scotland, Stuart Younie, said: "We hope we have managed to shine a light on the importance of investing in upland paths."

Project manager for OATS, Ewan Watson, said Scotland's mountain footpath network was now deteriorating faster than it could be repaired.

He said: "Support from the public and other partner agencies plays a vital role in ensuring access to our mountain landscapes remains sustainable."

A 2019 audit by Nature Scot estimated that about £30m of capital investment was needed to restore the 400km (250 miles) of Scotland's upland paths in the worst condition.