Replacing the revetment at Cockshott Point

We've recently been replacing an old revetment at Cockshott Point on the banks of Windermere. It was put in place to protect the bank from washing away when the water level rises on the lake, especially after flash flooding. The original revetment was built back in the 1980's and was starting to look a bit worse for wear.

 The old revetment

Our first job was to remove the old revetment and salvage any useable stone. Some sections had also been cemented together so where possible we removed the rock from the cement.

 The old revetment stripped out

We brought in some new stone from a drystone wall that had been been dismantled and kept aside for future use. We also collected some rock from the edge of the lake that had obviously been pulled out of the revetment at some point.

 Digging in the first course

For the first course we dug in a deep line of stones as this would be the first line of defence against the rising lake and will help protect the rest of our work.

 Working our way up the bank

We then positioned some wooden rails to help us keep line as we worked up the bank. We progressed up the bank building one course on top of the other, similar to building a drystone wall.

 Progressing nicely

Once each section was completed we "leap-frogged" over each other to start work on another section.

Starting work on the next section

To improve access down to the shore we added a couple of low slate steps. Once all the work was finished we had a big clean up removing all the rubble and soil, and finally adding grass seed to the whole area.

The finished work

The work has taken a good few weeks to complete but it's a big improvement on what was there previously and should hopefully last much longer than the original work. You can see another example of the revetment we replaced at Cockshott Point in 2013 here... link

Replacing steps at High Close

After completing our work at Allan Bank we recently moved on to some path repair work at High Close gardens, just outside Grasmere. The house and gardens at High Close date back to the mid-1800's when they were purchased by Edward Balme Wheatley-Balme, a Yorkshire merchant and philanthropist, and planted up with many rare trees and shrubs from all around the globe.

The estate was left to the National Trust in 1951 and the house was leased to the Youth Hostel Association shortly afterwards. Much of the garden has been in disrepair for many years but recently a National Trust volunteer group has taken ownership of the garden and cleared back areas of rhododendron and unearthed much of the original path network.

Steps in need of repair.

You can see in the photograph above some old steps in urgent need of repair. Much of this original work has at some point been dismantled and the stone removed, presumably to be used elsewhere on the estate. This is not uncommon, as slate is an expensive resource, so as the garden evolved, pathways would have changed and it would have been decided that the stone could be put to better use.

New steps after a few days work.

We decided that the work should be in keeping with the rest of the garden, so it was on obvious choice to use slate from the nearby quarry.

Steep incline where new steps need to be added.

The slate was all hand picked at the quarry and loaded into our trailer. From there we drove it the short distance up to High Close where it was then moved by power barrow to each of the areas that needed to be worked on.

New section of steps

To build the steps, we used two or three large rectangular stones as the front of each step. These were filled in behind with smaller stones built in courses, much in the same way as a drystone wall. All of the slate had to be hand finished with hammers to make it all fit together tidily.

Starting work on another section

It's been slow work, with each step taking roughly a day to construct, but the effect looks really good and in a few years time it should blend in seamlessly with the rest of the stonework in the garden.

Shaping a stone

There's still plenty of work to be done in the gardens, and we're likely to be spending more time here in future years. To see some of the fantastic work that the volunteers have been doing to help restore High Close gardens click on the following link...Album of High Close garden restoration work

Completion of the Woodland Walk at Allan Bank

Since our last update we've been continuing the path repair work at Allan Bank. With the house opening to the public for the first time on the 31st March, we've had a job to get everything finished in time!

A lot of drainage work had been carried out over the years, but due to lack of continual maintenance it has fallen into disrepair. Much of the water entering Allan Bank comes through a gap in the wall at the top of the wood and is sent through a stone culvert underneath part of the path, and from there down to the walled garden. The culvert had collapsed and become blocked by stones and tree roots.

Blocked culvert

This meant that during heavy rain the culvert overflows and water is forced off-course so that it runs down the path, which has started to cause damage. It was therefore essential that we should make some improvements, so it was decided that the culvert should be taken apart and rebuilt.

Repairing the culvert

The first job was to remove the top stones to gain access to the drain. Next, the sides of the drain (which are like small sections of dry stone wall) were taken apart and replaced with more substantial stone. The culvert was also widened so that it would be able to cope with heavier downpours. Once any interfering roots had been removed, the top stones were placed back in position and wedged tight.

The finished culvert



Since the last blog post we have completed the restoration of a further four sections of stone steps. The steps in the photo below had become unstable and the ground had eroded beneath them, meaning they were on the verge of falling out



Old steps in need of repair

The original steps were completely stripped down and then cemented together to add extra strength. An additional step was also added.



The restored steps

To help gain height up to the steps, five wooden risers were constructed just below the new bottom step. It's hoped that eventually the risers will be removed and replaced with more stone steps which would be more in keeping. But due to our tight time scale and lack of materials, wooden risers were the only option.



Steps with the added risers

We have also continued to improve the quality of the path surface. The path below was a particularly steep section with bedrock and large boulders just below the surface. If this had been left unattended it's likely that the path would have eroded away to the rock below making it extremely difficult to walk on.

Steep section of path before commencing work

A series of wooden risers were built to make it easier walking down this steep slope and also to prevent the soil from eroding.



Section of path with new risers in place

The Fix the Fells volunteers once again helped us move the wooden edging into position next to the risers.

Moving the edging into position

With the edging now securely staked into position it was time to gravel the path.

Gravelling and edging the risers

With only hours left before opening time, we finished off the final bits of gravelling and edging. Our last job was to walk the path and put in marker posts to direct people around the new trail.

So if you get the chance to visit Allan Bank, we'd love to know what you think. Either post a comment below, or if you're on Twitter, tweet us a message @NTCentralFells.

Path improvements at Allan Bank

As part of our ongoing improvements to the network of footpaths at Allan Bank we've been working on a section of wooden risers (steps) that run from the slate steps to the entrance of the tunnel. We decided that wooden risers were needed for this section as it's pretty steep and if left alone it's likely that the path would have deteriorated.

Constructing the risers

The risers are constructed using wooden posts and rails. The rail is cut into lengths the width of the footpath and once the ground level has been established a trench is dug out for the rail to sit in. Once this is done, two posts are knocked in at either side of the rail and the rail is then nailed to the posts. Another one or two lengths of rail are then attached depending on how high you want each step to be. This is repeated until you reach an incline that is less steep and therefore less likely to erode.

Once all the risers were in position the next thing to do was to edge them with timber. Several small trees have been recently felled both for safety reasons and also for thinning the woodland. So we took advantage of this and cut them into suitable lengths and put them into position against the edge of the path.

 

Edging with some felled tree trunks 

With the edging in place it was time to gravel in between the risers. For this we were assisted by the Fix the Fells volunteers.

 

Moving the gravel 

With all hands on deck we shifted the gravel with a fleet of wheelbarrows and we soon had the new risers filled in with a good layer of gravel.

Freshly gravelled risers

After a lot more shovelling and many more wheelbarrow loads we were finally gravelled all the way into the tunnel.

Entrance to the tunnel

Repairing the steps at Allan Bank

Since our last update we're still busily working away at Allan Bank, in preparation for opening the doors to visitors at the end of March.

Our first job was to repair a section of slate steps. There are several sections of similar steps scattered around the woods at Allan Bank but over the years they have all fallen badly into disrepair.

Steps in need of repair

Firstly we removed most of the moss from the steps and photographed them for our records. With this done it was time to take them apart.

Stripping the steps down

Once the steps had been dismantled we began to re-assemble them but this time we used cement between the courses so there would be no risk of the steps coming loose. For their intended purpose they would have been fine without the cement (although we did find a few patches of mortar when we took them apart) as few people would have ever walked up them. With the gardens soon to be opened to the public it is important for them to be much more durable.

Battling on through the snow

After just over a weeks work the new steps were all finished and ready to be used.

 

The completed steps

To improve the bit of path leading to the steps we rebuilt a couple of sections of retaining wall (revetment) which is there to stop the path from falling away as it is built across a slope. There was an old retaining wall, but little of it remained so it was a case of stripping down what was left of the old wall and rebuilding it more or less from scratch.

 

Retaining wall during construction

Once the wall was finished we topped it with some slates, to tie it in it's appearance with that of the steps, and put down a layer of gravel to improve the surface.

Finished wall with the gravel in place

For more news on what's happening at Allan Bank why not pop over to Facebook and give us a "like"? Just click on this link...National Trust Allan Bank Facebook page