Fence inspections, erosion control and transporting scaffolding!

Last week was a very varied week for me. I spent some time on the high fells checking the state of the fencing around old mine shafts. We do that at quarterly intervals. There are a number of open vertical shafts in some places and we obviously don’t want anyone falling down them.

I also spent a day driving the boat to and from Derwent Island. The main task there was to help remove the scaffolding that had been taken over for work that has been recently carried out on the house on the island. So I had a really nice day as boat driver.

Then, as reported briefly before, I’ve been working in Stoneycroft Ghyll with the footpath team and the estate rangers where we were winching a boulder to clear a route through the watercourse. This is a very large boulder about 2m x 1.5m x 1.5 m in size. It had probably fallen into the ghyll at some point in the past and was too big to ever be moved on through the entrance to the pool. So, with a combination of winches and some hard graft, we were able to move it to the side of the ghyll to clear a through route for scramblers. It took some doing but we think it will prove to be well worth the effort.

 

               

             

 

          

Some scramblers who were coming through on the day were very pleased with the improvement for them but I have also asked outdoor instructors to use the chute and pool and to let me know of their views. From the Trust’s perspective, it will be successful if it encourages users to stay within the watercourse rather than cause erosion by leaving to walk around the obstruction.

As always, we are trying to find the best ways to follow the Trust’s ethos by creating a balance between access for all whilst still protecting the special qualities of our landscape.

Daisy here;

I’ve had a great week - up on the high fells, running around on Derwent Island and then playing in the water. It’s great.