Somewhat of a mess…
…and unsafe
On a glorious sunny morning under a cloudless blue sky, the original five members that set up the Footpath Maintenance Group two years ago got together to tackle the latest project. Neil, who spends most of his time working(?) in Russia was home, so it seemed like a good opportunity to get together. The stile above was high on our priority list but has not been accessible for a year due to the wet conditions. However, now it is very dry underfoot and access was straightforward.
The old stile was quickly removed as much of it was rotten below ground.
As the ground was lower on one side and can get extremely wet at times, part of the team set about installing a short sleeper bridge which would make the stile easier to climb from the south.
The remainder started digging holes for the new stile. Fortunately there were no roots and only a small number of rocks and stones to contend with.
Progress was reasonably quick and we soon had the new stile installed and then it was time for a well earned coffee break.
Coffee Break
Once refreshed, it was on with installing the steps. Because the north side of the stile could be very wet after rain, we installed a longer than normal step to make approach to the stile easier in winter.
All that remained was to make good the pieces of fence that had been removed and we were complete, perfect timing as The Green Man was just opening.
Job complete
Mark, Richard, Neil and Peter
Paul, Mark, Neil and Peter
