Winter appeal: can you help improve paths?

Thanks to the support of visitors and the Friends, we’ve successfully improved many paths across the Commons over the last few years. Now, we want to do more. 

This time, our focus is on paths in the Putney Heath and Roehampton areas, where several routes urgently need improving to make them safer and more visitor friendly.

Exploring the paths on Putney Heath takes you through almost all the habitats that can be found on the Commons, including heathland, woodland and ponds. The landscape supports the local Roehampton and Putney community, and those from further afield, to exercise and encounter nature. But in the wetter months, many of these routes become impassable or so uneven that they are no longer accessible to all.

Here are some of the paths we have already improved:

Which paths do we hope to improve next?

If we can raise the funds - which is ambitious - we hope to improve up to four popular paths that link Roehampton and Putney and the Commons. 

1. Scio Ride - from the ‘Frying Pan’ to Roehampton Underpass: This route provides a vital link from Roehampton High Street and Ponsonby Road through the woods and Scio Pond and then into the wider Commons. It is a shared cycle path, horse ride, but the current condition is poor with puddles and vast muddy sections forcing users to skirt the edges, making the path wider and damaging surrounding habitats.

2. Scio Path – from Scio Ride to Scio Pond: This unmade path becomes impassible in winter.

3. Roehampton Ride: Sections of this path, particularly between Roehampton Underpass and the junction known as ‘Five Ways’, becomes a hugely muddy.

4. Seven Post Pond to Kingsmere Pond: This path travels through woodland and by heathland. It’s a beautiful walk, but the low lying path becomes heavy waterlogging in winter makes it difficult to enjoy and the protected heath is getting damaged.

This winter, we’ll be carrying out a hydrology study to identify technical solutions that keep paths accessible while directing surface water to the habitats that need it most—rather than letting it pool and create muddy, impassable routes. 

Find out where these paths lead to: Highlights of the Heath.

What will these improvements cost?

It costs around £50 per metre. Path restoration is a big undertaking due to the amount of material needed and the equipment required. Our maintenance team can repair sections, but for major paths, we need to employ an external contractor. Improving sections of Scio Ride alone will cost around £25,000. The more we can raise the more paths we can improve. 

If we are successful, then work can begin in summer 2026.

Can you help? Donate to the Big Give this Christmas 

To kickstart this project, we’re taking part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge, hoping to raise £14,200. During this one week campaign, donations can be doubled, meaning your support goes twice as far! But the more we raise, the more path we can improve. 

For example, if you donate £50 to improve 1m of path, your donation will be double to £100 - helping to improve 2m!

Please Save the Date for the Big Give and join us in making Putney Heath and the Commons accessible for all.

Between 2nd and 9th December, donate via the Big Give and double your donation: Click here to donate today!

Why is improving paths important?

Good paths make the Commons accessible and enjoyable for everyone—walkers, cyclists, and riders—while protecting the fragile habitats that make this landscape special. We follow a prioritised programme based on condition, footfall, and the need to safeguard our legally protected SSSI and SAC areas.

When paths deteriorate, problems escalate quickly. Muddy sections and puddles form where rainwater collects in low spots, especially in shaded woodland. Repeated wetting and drying weakens the surface, while constant foot, horse, and vehicle traffic compresses it further, reducing drainage. Leaf fall adds to the issue: as leaves break down into mulch, they turn damp areas into mud.

Over time, these depressions deepen into potholes, trapping water and eroding the underlying material. Freeze–thaw cycles and prolonged saturation accelerate breakdown, leaving paths uneven and unsafe.

The best time to repair is during dry, warm conditions, when materials bond properly and the surface can be consolidated. But major repairs require specialist contractors—and that means funding.

If you love exploring the Commons, please donate to our path appeal. 

Between 2nd and 9th December, donate via the Big Give and double your donation: Click here to see our Big Give campaign