Look very closely and a stile can be seen!
A fine dry week so a session planned for Sunday. At 8.30 am it was pouring with rain but, fortunately, it stopped soon after 9 and the sun came out so Richard, Peter and Paul from Milwich set off, with Malcolm from Fradswell coming along to make sure we did the job right.
It was a warm humid morning so the horse flies were out in abundance, not surprising as we were on the Fradswell boundary!
Heavily overgrown but sound underneath the vegetation
I think when we got to the job the team thought I was joking as there was no stile to be seen, nor any path for that matter. After some clearance we found the first stile heavily covered in ivy. Richard set to and cleared it and declared the stile was still solid (if not level) but the step was rotten. Further hacking at the undergrowth found us at the second stile, also in a similar state.
We therefore decided to install replacement steps on each and also a second higher level step at the same time.
Peter proving the stile is sound. Well that is his excuse for leaning on it. Or is that why it has dropped on the right?
Hard at work installing new steps
The ground was quite dry and stony but once we got through the upper level it was not too bad. We got the steps done on the first stile before breaking for a coffee. It is far from level but we decided to leave it as it had a natural rustic look.
Coffee break time, Malcolm, Peter and Richard
Honest, it is level!
This one really is level
Peter, Paul and Malcolm having finished the second stile.
The ground by the second stile was even harder so took some digging but eventually two steps were completed and we just needed to clear up our tools and old material into the trailer before setting off for the Green Man and a well deserved pint (or two!).
A path between the two stiles is now possible
