Four ramblers have been hospitalised following a freak thunderstorm that hit three neighbouring Lake District walking areas.

Walkers on Lad Hows, which forms part of the 852-metre Grasmoor peak, Crag Hill and Whiteless Pike were all affected by the adverse weather, which caused the foursome to be airlifted to hospital by helicopter.

Royal Navy Sea King helicopter HMS Gannet was first called into action to help a man who had dislocated his shoulder after falling from Jack’s Rake, Grough reports. It then travelled the short distance across to Las Hows as a 50-year-old man was left unconscious after being flung about 30 feet by a lightning bolt.

Moreover, it was then called to go to Crag Hill to aid a woman who had injured her leg after lightning struck near her, before airlifting a woman whose head was singed by lightning while she was walking on Whiteless Peak.

Despite all being taken for medical treatment, none of the ramblers are believed to have sustained serious injuries.

Wasdale Head is gearing up for its traditionally busy summer season as walkers flock to enjoy England’s highest point in the warmer weather, Grough reports.

Scafell Peak, which is 978 metres high, is situated near the tiny Lake District location, meaning that the village is overwhelmed with visitors in much the same way as the Somerset area of Pilton when the Glastonbury music festival takes place every June.

The local community often struggles to cope with the increased amounts of litter and traffic congestion, but has this year prepared for the arrival of its visitors.

The Wasdale Head Community Partnership is working alongside the Lake District National Park Authority in order to try to improve facilities in the region.

Measures taken this year include spending £30,000 on a temporary toilet block that will stand for the next three years and enhanced parking and litter facilities. Residents hope that these investments will ensure that the village remains undamaged by the sudden influx of walkers.

The Five Sisters of Kintail is the latest addition to the National Trust of Scotland’s (NTS) series of guided walks around some of the highlands’ most demanding mountains.

NTS launched the series of walks – which cost £25 each – earlier this month with treks on peaks including Bidean Nam Bian, Buachaille Etive Mor and Buachaille Etive Beag. Grough reports that ramblers participating will get the opportunity of seeing some of Scotland’s rarest creatures – including red deer – while on the walks.

As an added bonus for walkers on the new specialist trail, the Munros of Sgurr na Carnach, Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe and Sgurr Fhuaran will also be viewable on the Kintail walk.

Good quality hiking equipment is essential for all those planning to take part on the new walk, as the Five Sisters is always a challenge for both novices and experts alike.

Walking writer Cameron McNeish recently said that the best view the Kintail area has to offer can be found on Sgurr Mhic Bharraich.

The Open Spaces Society (OSS) has pledged to continue fighting against the decision to allow a landowner to build a riding area on the path leading to the iconic Poohsticks Bridge in the Ashdown Forest.

The bridge was made famous by AA Milne’s children’s book Winnie the Pooh, where the bear and Christopher Robin played in the House at Pooh Corner, has had its path disrupted by the owners of a riding school from nearby Faircote Hall.

Members of the club have been granted retrospective permission by the local authority, Wealden District Council, to build a sandschool across the path.

However, this ruling has been met with sadness by the OSS, which has said the path, which is in an official area of outstanding natural beauty, should be returned to its previous state.

Kate Ashbrook, OSS general secretary, said: "We are dismayed at this decision. The sandschool was built across the public footpath, illegally blocking it."

Gavin and Stacey star Ruth Jones is to be in an upcoming comedy television series about ramblers called The Great Outdoors.

Jones, who co-wrote the hit comedy series, will play a lead role opposite Mark Heap in the show which the BBC says will follow the "hikes, heartaches, friendships and rivalries of a group of ramblers".

The three-part series will screen in the summer on BBC Four as part of the station’s outdoor season.

BBC executive producer Paul Schlesinger said: "Rambling is such a great British institution. It’s a brilliant subject for a character comedy."

Mr Schlesinger added that in Jones and Heap, the show had secured two of the country’s most accomplished comedy actors that will attract viewers to the programme.

Rambling-loving duo Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley, who have previously worked on shows such as Black Books and Armstrong and Miller, are the show’s writers and the series is to be filmed on handheld cameras to offer the viewer a true sense of what it is like to walk in some of Britain’s most scenic locations.

People planning to visit the North York Moors are being warned to be vigilant due to the continuing risk of forest fires in the National Park caused by ongoing dry weather.

Despite the fact that temperatures have been relatively low recently, the lack of any rain in the region has heightened the risk of fire, leading to the Park to post signs around the site and also offering special advice to visitors on how to avoid such hazards, its official website stated yesterday (May 20th).

Bernie McLinden, the North Yoirk Moors National Park Authority’s head of park management, said: "Lack of rain has made the Moors very dry and, as past episodes have shown, under these conditions moorland fires can spread extremely quickly causing significant damage to the landscape and its wildlife."

Mr McLinden added that visitors should avoid lighting fires and not discard cigarettes matches or bottles as these can all be fire hazards.