The County Council asked if we could investigate a stile that had been reported as a problem on footpath 10 at the Milwich boundary. On doing so it was found to have no step and the step supports were rotten. As there were a number of similar problems around the parish, Richard and Paul spent the morning of Thursday 21st November sorting some of these.
Step Missing
The previous 24 hours had been extremely wet; travelling light with minimal tools and materials in the back of Richard’s Subaru, we set off to sort this stile. Although it is on the Milwich boundary it is at 460 feet above sea level and inaccessible by vehicle from Milwich. Therefore we drove to Gayton and then to Hartley Green before travelling across the fields to the stile. Richard coped manfully with the very wet and muddy conditions and we made it to one of the higher parts of Milwich parish.
Should be easier now!
We decided to replace the step and put in a second one as this stile was difficult to get over. The ground was initially stony and then clay so it took a while to get the steps in place but the finished job made navigating this stile much easier. After removing large quantities of mud from our boots it was back down hill to the next two jobs.
Step collapsing due to rotten support
Whilst in Gayton parish we decided to improve two stiles on footpath 11; although outside Milwich this footpath features in our Walks Booklet. The first job was to straighten a step; we did this but the uprights are rotting so we will need to replace it next spring. The second stile step had sunk on one side due to a rotten support so we replaced both step support uprights and the step. A cup of coffee was needed at this stage before driving back to Milwich.
Should be good for a few years
We then headed to the opposite boundary of the parish near Dayhills. We replaced a stile step where the footpath from Dayhills joins Butterhill Lane. Strictly speaking this is in Sandon parish – but only just! Then down to Oulton House to put a new step top on a stile there.
At this point we were running short of material and the Green Man was beckoning so we decided to call it a day.
