Bridge and Boardwalk Repairs

Repair works on the long bridge at the head of the lake have been completed this week. The new pieces of timber are Larch and stand out against the old worn wood that was installed ten years ago. Regular readers may remember that this work began in March this year when the weather was a little warmer! See the blog post for details.

The replacement of the fifty metre long section of boardwalk behind the lake hide was also finished. The old wood will be graded into various piles; one for planks that can be re-used on the reserve and one of broken and or rotten pieces that will be taken away. You can see from the photographs that this area is especially boggy and therefore the walkway is essential for visitors.

The ready made sections were put into place and the side kick boards were then added.

This is the main route into Foxglove by foot and is the way that the primary school children use to walk to the field centre from the parade square (where their coaches must park). The old boardwalk was completely rotten in places and was beginning to become unsafe.

By the end of the day, the new structure was in place and the final touch was the addition of chicken wire between the sections to prevent the surface from becoming slippery when wet. Contractors were not the only ones braving the December Yorkshire weather yesterday as staff and volunteers were also working out in the heavy rain. One job was to fill the perpetual potholes on the main track in!

Young people from Northdale Horticulture helped out by filling up the bird feeders at the lake. First, they learned about the different types of bird food and the different species that are attracted by it. Afterwards, they sanded down a bench in the workshop to escape from the cold weather conditions.

Later in the afternoon, the team of volunteers split into two smaller teams. One repaired boardwalk on the red route and the other one harvested Willow for the Christmas Crafts Workshop tomorrow. 

Thank you to everyone involved, your dedication is appreciated!