The old softwood picket gate
Although not strictly a job on the Right of Way network, on a warm and sunny morning, Mark and Paul from the Footpath Maintenance Group replaced the gate at Brick Kiln Pits fishing ponds for the Parish Council who own the land.
The old gate was a 3 ft. wide softwood gate which had been repaired on more than one occasion and was rotten in several places. It was to be replaced by a 4 ft. wide oak field gate on a solid oak post.
The old gate was removed in no time at all, we then had to cut back the undergrowth so that we could dig the hole for the new post. After fighting through the top layer of soil and roots, we soon discovered why bricks were made there in the past. We hit a layer of clean yellow clay which was actually easy enough to dig but stuck firmly to our tools. The post was large and very heavy so a wide deep hole had to be dug.
The new oak gate
Once the post was in place it was a matter of hanging the new gate and trying to align it with the existing post which was not vertical, in such a way that it looked as straight as possible.
A new automatic latch and closing spring were fitted, the Isaac Walton Anglers sign transferred from the old gate and the job was done.
Auutomatic latching to stop it blowing in the wind
Hopefully it will be there for many years to come.
