Rangers, field staff, apprentices and volunteers with National Park Authority have been hard at work improving the surface of the famous Daffodil Walk in Farndale.

Each spring, thousands of visitors walk the route between the tiny hamlets of Church Houses and Low Mills to see the yellow carpet of wild daffodils that grow along the riverbanks.

Until now, only a third of the route has had a definitive, hard path. As most of the trail is along the edge of fields, the remaining two thirds are often very muddy and boggy making it difficult for people to complete the route.

But an agreement with the landowner, tenant farmers and Natural England means the National Park Authority has got the go ahead to improve the route by laying a combination of aggregate and flag stones along the unpaved section.

Frank Pickles, Senior Ranger at the National Park Authority, said: “The Farn-dale Daffodil Walk is one of the most popular trails in the National Park but because the daffodils are only out for a few weeks, we get a tremendous amount of footfall in a very short period of time.

"The new path will make the route easier for people to walk but will also protect the daffodils and surrounding vegetation.”

Laying the new surface and carrying out maintenance to the existing path has cost in the region of £16,000.