A better day today, weather wise, for Jak, Jerry, Graham and Angus to go to Rough Hey and install a section of steps at the start of the footpath through the woods (see map below for details). This work was originally scheduled for Monday but the torrential rain meant a change of plan.
As with the previous work along this path, it has been funded by a generous donation from the Russell family - a big thankyou to them.
Work area circled in blue.
While we had previously worked on this section, the path was beginning to become very muddy and extremely slippery because of a lack of sunlight and an excess of water dropping from the overhanging holly trees.
Today's task was to scrape the mud from the surface and build a section of steps with the aim of making the passage along this section safer.
The path, well more like a mud bath !
We cleared the surface as best we could and identified six points where steps were to be fitted. Fortunately the ground was soft so hammering-in the stobs was relatively easy . . . although getting a firm footing was an entirely different matter!
Having got the steps established, we had to find a source of in-fill. Fortunately, there was a very old, ruined wall which had become smothered by the holly trees next to the path. We were able to re-purpose a number of stones from this section to stabilise the tread areas of the steps.
First of the steps being set-up. Glutinous conditions underfoot!
Starting to back-fill the step sections with stone re-cycled from a ruined wall.
It was hard going to maintain balance on such a muddy surface while carrying large pieces of stone but with care things started to take shape . . . albeit in a crazy-paving style.
It wasn't long before the newly laid stones were also covered in mud.
After a few hours things started to take shape. We had managed to stone from the start of the muddy section to where it becomes firmer - a distance of about 18m. This section is now much easier to negotiate but there is still some work to do - mainly tidying up and securing oddments of stonework.
Additionally, we put in three grab-posts next to the barbed wire fence surrounding the adjacent field. These posts these were placed between the existing fence posts to give a bit of protection and security to those using the the path.
The finished section. Not the prettiest but certainly less muddy and safer to negotiate.
