Finishing our repair work at Mickleden

Over the last couple of weeks we've been busily working on the Mickleden project, so we can move back onto Stickle Ghyll for a few weeks, and hopefully finish our work there before the weather deteriorates too much.

Much of this work has again been upgrading the old path to make it more user friendly. You can see in the photograph below a set of risers (a line of stones dug into the ground to slow down the rate of erosion). Originally these risers would have been dug in at ground-level or, at least, with very little stone showing above the ground. Over time, the soil has eroded out in front of the risers leaving behind large steps that are more difficult to walk on.

Path before repair work

As this section of path is next to a beck which has been known to overflow during heavy rain we decided to build a pitched path incorporating the old risers. This has helped reduce the height of the steps and will also help the path stand up to the rigours of flooding.

Completed section of path

Another important part of this project has been the landscaping. You can see by comparing the two photographs above how the side-stones that run in a straight line (top picture) have also been removed and replaced with larger stones, in a more natural looking way. Subtle changes like this are unlikely to be noticed by most people but it's all part of our work trying to make the paths blend in more sympathetically with the surrounding landscape.

Once the path and landscaping was done we finished off this section by selecting a suitably large, and flat, stone and moved it into position as a stepping stone. The beck, which flows out of Rossett Ghyll can be really difficult to cross after heavy rain, so with the new stone in position people will be able to get to the other side much more safely.

New Stepping Stone in place

With our work at Mickleden finished (at least for this year), it was finally time to take down the shed, so there's no chance of it getting blown down in the winter. It'll stay here until it's ready to be moved to a new site next year.

Flat-packed shed, ready to go

Footpath repair at Stickle Ghyll and Mickleden

Last week we returned up the fell for the start of a new season of upland footpath work.We started off the week by erecting our sheds up at Stickle Ghyll  and Mickleden which will provide us with a base to keep a few tools, and give us somewhere to shelter while we are having our lunch.
Since we had some good weather, we took the opportunity to put some grass seed down around the paths and in the plantations (on the left hand side of Stickle Ghyll). Grass seeding is an ongoing task, as it can often take several years for the grass to become properly established, and is very dependent on the weather during the growing season, the level of grazing, and also the amount of any trampling.

The shed site at Stickle Ghyll

During the week we also had a Fix the Fells volunteer group who came and helped us out at Mickleden. We started work on pitching a section just after the bridge and also landscaping with some large boulders to help narrow down the path. Unfortunately the weather deteriorated for the day but we still managed to get a decent amount of work completed.

The Fix the Fells volunteers hard at work

Pete and Leo narrowing the path

Towards the end of the week we were back up Stickle Ghyll starting work on repairing the stepping stones at the top of the ghyll. Before starting on the main stepping stones we had to create a safe crossing area that we can use as a temporary diversion. So we winched a couple of stones into place across the beck so that people can safely cross while we fix the main crossing, higher up the path.

Building the diversion

With the upcoming bank holidays the team are all taking a few days holiday to get some well earned rest.  So it will probably be a couple of weeks before the next update, hopefully this good weather will stay with us for a while longer!

Preparations for the Helicopter Lift

After a couple of weeks of rock collection the helicopter lifts are now nearly upon us. So we’ve turned our attention to getting everything in place ready for the lifts.

First of all, we went to collect sixteen 25kg bags of grass seed that will be used to revegetate around the footpaths; this helps slow down any erosion and also helps the path to blend in with it’s surroundings a little more quickly. The seed, and a few bags of fertiliser, will be flown up to this years work sites, and also to a few other sites where we have worked in the past that still require a bit more greening up.

Our stockpile of grass seed in the seed store

When we’re working up on the fells, we can often be an hours walk from our vehicle, so it is really useful to have somewhere near to the work site to store any equipment, tools and grass seed that we may need. So at each work site we generally have a shed flown in. Our shed also provides us with somewhere that we can retreat to for our lunch when the weather is particularly bad, or on rare occasions it provides us with shelter from the midday sun in the summertime.

Usually each shed lasts for many years, just requiring a little strengthening or minor repairs from time to time if it has suffered any damage during strong winds. When we’ve finished work at a site we dismantle the shed and flat pack it, secure it with tension straps and weigh it down with rocks (just in case of any gales) so that it’s all ready to be flown to the next site. Unfortunately, somebody had decided they wanted to take the tension straps we’d used to secure the shed next to the path above Stickle Tarn. So when we went to check that everything was ok with it, we discovered that the shed had been ripped to bits by the strong winter winds.

So last week we went to pick up a new shed. The shed is 7' x 7' and custom built so that it can be made with thicker wood than your standard garden shed which in theory should help it last that bit longer. But when we came to unpack the shed we quickly realised that whoever had ordered it had forgotten to ask for any windows in it, so our shed was more like a (very dark) box. Luckily we had some clear perspex so we cut it to size and set about putting a window in .

Glazing the shed

The next job was to strengthen it a little. We did this by securing each corner with three heavy duty bolts, and in addition the floor was attatched to the sides of the shed with coach screws. This tends to hold everything together much more strongly than if it is all just held in place with wood screws.

Drilling the bolt holes

Finally, work began on felting the roof. Although the rain always manages to find it’s way into the shed, and you can pretty much guarantee that at some point, late on in the year, at least one member of the team will be sat having their lunch whilst trying to avoid drips from the roof, you’ve at least got to make the effort. So a thick layer of waterproofing was painted on to the roof and the felt tacked on over it, so fingers crossed and we’ll see how it lasts.

Felting the roof

So now all that’s left is to put out a few signs on the paths where the stone is being moved. These help to inform everybody about the helicopter operations, so that people know what’s going on and that there’s likely to be delays and possibly diversions. Hopefully we’ll get some decent weather on the days of our lifts, though at the moment the forecast isn’t looking great.