I TOO have walked the Malvern Hills for 40 years and am in total agreement with Martin Reed's letter.

All the points below have been found on the Malvern Hills Conservators website.

* Byelaws 1999 - Duties of the Conservators; (1) They shall preserve the natural aspect of the Malvern Hills and protect the trees, bushes and turf from spoilation.

* An excerpt from Footpath degradation of the Malvern HIlls by Stephen Britnell. "Mountain bikes are twice as erosive as people ... Horses are four times as erosive as people."

* "Willow Warblers prefer the higher lightly wooded slopes and Chiffchaff the lower woodlands."

The trees should be left alone, especially the established oaks and hawthorns, they are a have for countless species of flora and fauna, and help prevent erosion on the slopes.

As for the pathways, the woolly mammoths (cattle) do far more damage than walkers, bikers and horses put together, the end hills are a prime example of this where the erosion is clear to see.

From April to October 2009, sheep and cattle were continually on the North and Table Hills, electric fencing cutting across the pathways. It was shocking to see the aftermath. All the precious grasses were decimated, as were wild flowers and fungi. (No harebells were to be found that year). However with the grass gone the brambles, bracken and gorse thrived, so much so that farm vehicles had to be used to break down the bracken on the lower slopes of North and End Hills.

Surely the best solution would be to restrict grazing to one third of the hills at a time, (northern, central or southern), to prevent erosion of pathways, and leave the trees as they are. Maybe the Conservators should read what is on their website!

MRS NICOLA PROBERT, Ebrington Road, West Malvern.