Kidsty Howes, Improvements to the Coast to Coast Route.

Since our last update we've been busy working on two different projects, one in Easedale, just outside Grasmere (which will appear in a later blog post) and the other at Kidsty Howes in Haweswater, where we've been repairing a section of Wainright's Coast to Coast Walk.  As our base is near Grasmere, it took us around 2 hours to get up to the worksite while working at Haweswater, and this commute considerably ate into our working days there.

Flying the stone on to site

Due to the amount of exposed bedrock, this part of Kidsty Howes can be difficult to descend and this has led to extra routes developing as people try to avoid the bedrock areas. As the Coast to Coast Walk is being upgraded to a National Trail, it was decided that access through the area needed to be improved and these improvements would also help reduce the risk of increased erosion brought about by the potential increase in footfall. 

Section 1 (before)

As you can imagine, the work was particularly challenging as it entailed breaking through the exposed bedrock with crowbar and sledge hammer, to create six sections of stone path.

Section 1 (during)

The first section was through a deep gulley, which created additional difficulties with landscaping. The large peaty bank on the left hand side had to be graded back to produce a more natural looking bank. The soil generated was used to fill in other areas that had been eroded just to the top right of the path and also below it. We then had to cut turf from areas that were well away from the site and we used this to cover over the areas of newly exposed peat. The areas where the turf had been cut were then seeded, to help them recover.

Section 1 (after)

The next section had even more exposed bedrock, meaning that even more of it had to be chipped out to get the path in, and the deeper into the rock you go the harder it gets! This is because the exposed surface of the bedrock has generally been weathered and broken down to some extent by the elements, whereas the deeper rock is unweathered and therefore much more solid.

Section 2 (before)

Section 2 (during)

With so much exposed bedrock, the area had to be carefully landscaped with large stones against the edges of the path and plenty of turf to cover over the rubble and bedrock.

Section 2 (after)

Section three of path followed the line of least resistance through the bedrock via a natural water-worn gulley.

Section 3 (before)

Progress on all sections was slow, with generally no more than one step built each day, and many days were spent just breaking the bedrock.

Section 3 (during)

You can see in the photos above and below how the path follows a natural fault in the rock. Each rock for the steps has to be carefully selected to fit the gap with very little room to spare.

Section 3 (up close)

 

Section 3 (after)

Section four involved pitching the path through another gulley to remove a narrow awkward drop off.

Section 4 (before)

Section 4 (after)

Further up the path, section five again followed the line of the gulley. Working in these tight gullies meant there was often not enough room to swing a sledgehammer, so the rock had to be chipped out using only crowbars and any fine tuning was done with a small stone hammer.

Section 5 (before)

Section 5 (after)

The final section was a short length of path, and again the side of the path was turf lined to cover over the rubble that was generated and to give a more natural feel to the surrounding area.

Section 6 (before)

Section 6 (after)

 

In addition to the work above, we also added five stone cross-drains to remove rainwater from the path, which should help prevent any further damage.

It's been a very challenging job, but it's made a huge difference for people coming down the path carrying large heavy rucksacks, which made it a struggle for them to safely navigate the bedrock, meaning they were forced to take other, less sustainable routes.