Heavy and persistent rain (grough can vouch for that from a Scottish Highland Munro-bagging trip at the weekend) has led to the lifting of the access restrictions in national parks across the country.

The Yorkshire Dales authority lifted its ban on Friday, and the North York Moors park’s western area reopened the day before. The affected area included the moorland west of the B1257.  It was the second time that restrictions to open access areas in the North York Moors had been imposed owing to fire risk since open access came into effect in May 2005.

With further hot weather predicted for later in August, the authority is warning of the need for visitors to remain vigilant throughout the summer.

Colin Dilcock, western area senior ranger, said: “Our ranger team has been busy taking down signs advising walkers of the closures and all open access areas throughout the North York Moors are now fully open for everyone to enjoy.

“We would like to thank the public for their cooperation with helping to prevent another serious fire from occurring, and we hope that locals and visitors will continue to be mindful of the risk of fire during any future periods of hot weather.”

A spokeswoman for the Peak District rangers’ office said all the access areas in the park are now open and there are no immediate plans to close any areas, but the authorities are keeping an eye on the weather every day.