Hard Rock but no Cafe
It was a busy month for the Working Party members as we started to make improvements to the next Circular Walk (Evesham, Netherton, Elmley Castle) as well as maintaining footpaths on our other Circular Walks.
On 9 August five members met up in with Louisa from the County in Netherton to replace a wooden stile with a pedestrian gate and to clear a considerable amount of vegetation in a small wooded area in the quest to find a culvert. John and Phil set to with brushcutter and hedge trimmer while Alan, Dennis and Geoff tackled the old stile. It was a baking hot morning and we were thankful that the area we were working in offered partial shade. The culvert in question was soon found and was in reasonable condition so no bridge replacement was required. Replacing the stile proved to be more difficult as the ground was bone dry and rock hard. Phil had the bright idea of carrying water from a nearby cattle trough using a container found in Louisa’s van. After numerous trips we were able to soften the ground sufficiently to dig the holes and trench for the new pedestrian gate. We were all done and dusted before lunchtime.
On 18 August I installed two waymark posts close to Chapel Farm, Netherton. Hopefully, we can complete the rest of the improvements for this route on the next Working Party so that the walk can be launched.
On 20 August Glyn, Alan and Geoff worked on the riverside boardwalk (Round Evesham Walk and EVCW 1) in response to a report that some of the boards were loose and that it was getting overgrown. Using the recently acquired Club equipment we were able to complete all of the maintenance. Glyn was particularly brave venturing into the glutinous mud in his wellies, fearlessly wielding the brushcutter. On the same day EVCW 3 Footpath Champions, Malcolm and Elaine, reported an overgrown footpath in Middle Littleton which I was able to clear the following day.
On 23 August Glyn and I met Louisa below Hampton Vicarage to remove an obsolete kissing gate on EVCW 5 (Charlton, Cropthorne). We also planned to fence off a large hole by the side of the path. What should have been a simple job proved not to be the case as the kissing gate had been set in concrete. After ‘chipping away’ at the concrete for over two hours we eventually managed to release the kissing gate and dismantle it. The fence went up with no trouble at all.
It is pleasing that the system that we have in place for reporting and maintaining our Circular Walks is working well and this is down to the dedication of our Footpath Champions and the Working Party – so, thank you to everyone involved.
