Merry Christmas!

Loath as we are to mention the C-word so early – we hate the ads for hideous sofas and jingle-bells jollity just as much as anyone in the midst of dark, miserable November – we have come across a festive gift for the fellwalker who has everything.

If you despair at the thought of trying to buy something original for the well-kitted walker who already has the latest Gore-tex, Scarpas and electronic mapping wizardry, how about buying your favourite mountain nut a piece of footpath?

Well, actually, it’s not the footpath itself that’s on offer, but the gift of restoration of some of the Lake District’s most damaged rights-of-way, and the warm glow that comes with knowing you’ve done your bit for helping the struggling hill terrain of Cumbria.

For a tenner, you can buy your loved one a footpath restoration certificate, which will pay for a metre’s worth of pathside vegetation. If you’re feeling a bit more generous, £25 will get stone moved to an upland restoration site. And if your magic numbers come up tonight, you can splash out on an hour’s helicopter hire to get materials to the top of the fells for £600.

The Christmas gift scheme is run by Fix the Fells, a charity set up by the Lake District National Park Authority, Natural England and the National Trust to repair some of the damage done by the thousands of boots that tramp to the top of the Lakeland hills every year.

And for every pound donated, the Heritage Lottery Fund will triple it.

The five-year project is hoping to raise £5m. According to Fix the Fells, 74 footpaths are still in dire need of repair; 102 upland routes have already had work done on them.

Project adviser Richard Fox said: “Buying presents can be a nightmare, so we thought up a novel way of easing the pressure and helping preserve the stunning landscape into the bargain. It’s a great way for walkers to give something back.

“Donations can be made online where an instant certificate can be printed out with a personalised message, showing how the money will help.”

Ten million people are estimated to take to the Lakeland fells every year, leading to severe erosion on some of the more popular routes. Generous friends and family of walkers interested in buying a Christmas gift certificate can get details on the Fix the Fells website.