A walker on Ingleborough's frozen summit, with Pen-y-ghent in the distance

A walker on Ingleborough's frozen summit, with Pen-y-ghent in the distance

Macbeth and his lady wife have notched up a milestone for a major outdoors project.

In this case it’s walker Kevin Macbeth and his spouse Barbara rather than the Thane of Cawdor who have made the news. The couple, from Rodley, Leeds, signed up as the 100th and 101st members of the Friends of the Three Peaks, launched last August by Calendar Girl Angela Baker.

The scheme offers fans of Yorkshire’s Three Peaks to support the Yorkshire Dales national park’s work in the area, one of the Dales’ most popular destinations for walkers.

Mr Macbeth, 70, said: “We have done the Yorkshire Three Peaks in 12 hours – although it was in 1998 – and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

“The reason we joined the Friends of the Three Peaks is that we are both members of the Yorkshire Dales Society and it was featured in the magazine.

“We would like to see the footpaths maintained so the younger generations in the future will be able to do the route.

Angela Baker at the August launch of the project last year

Angela Baker at the August launch of the project last year

“I think the Three Peaks Project is great – the paths have to be maintained and this encourages people to help look after them.”

Steve Hastie, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Three Peaks Project manager, said: “The Friends are steadily growing in numbers in terms of individuals, businesses and organisations and, hopefully, numbers will rise as our staff and Dales volunteers get out and about during the summer and our corporate members spread the word.”

Malcolm Petyt, the YDNPA’s member champion for recreation management, said the footpath network covering the Three Peaks receives about 250,000 visitors a year and needs constant attention to keep it good condition.

“For example, so far this year, 19 organisations have let us know they will be using some or all of the Three Peaks to raise money in coming months,” he said.

“The Friends are a vital way of raising money that will be ring-fenced just for path maintenance in this iconic area of our beautiful National Park.”

Angela Baker, famous as one of the Rylstone Women’s Institute members who posed nude for a charity calendar, and whose story was turned into a Hollywood film, launched the project in August. Her late husband John set up the original Three Peaks Project in 1983 in his role as assistant national parks officer.

The Three Peaks walk, a 24-mile route taking in Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough is a popular challenge and the route also hosts an annual fell race in April.