New funding has been secured to help conserve and improve walking routes on Ilkley Moor as well as at Scammonden and Cant Clough reservoirs in the upper Colne valley.

The Watershed Landscape project will focus on the expanse of upland moors and peat watersheds in the South Pennines and will be spearheaded by regeneration group Pennine Prospects.

More than £1.9 million has been allocated to the scheme from a deal between the Heritage Lottery Fund and local authorities.

In addition to revitalising the walking routes, the cash will also go towards mapping and interpreting Bronze Age cup-and-ring stones on Romblands Moor as well as to the restoration of drystone walls and shooting lodges.

Pennine Prospects chairman Pam Warhurst told the Bradford Telegraph and Argus that the announcement is great news for walkers and ramblers.

“More than a million people live in or around the South Pennines yet the uplands feel remote, wild and exhilarating,” she added.

In other news, work to implement the all-England coastal path can now begin after the government approved Natural England’s Coastal Access Scheme.