Running surface water washes particles of soil away, and often turns into a miniature stream in heavy rain. Small gullies form, and soon become enlarged. This speeds up the soil erosion. Embedded stones are uncovered, and the underlying rocks become exposed. People naturally prefer to walk on the soft grassy bits to the side of the gully, rather than get wet, muddy boots in the small stream, or risk injury on the exposed rocks.
Process starts again to the sides of the eroded path.
Erosion problem spreads. As the erosion process continues, once acidic soils become alkaline due to the loss of vegetation and also chemical weathering by running water. This further compounds the problem as the native vegetation cannot grow well in the altered conditions. This igneous rock included feldspar and granite, and also trapped large chunks of both Skiddaw Slate and Borrowdale volcanic rock. On the right-hand edge of the picture are the craggy hills of Low Rigg and High Rigg, while the valley to the left of them is St John's in the Vale.