Bath Skyline Conversation Task

Back in January Lucy and myself were part of a National Trust conservation task on the Bath Skyline. We have quite an affinity for the Skyline as we walk some part of it mosts weeks when out walking dogs from the Bath Cats and Dogs home.

The Bath Skyline is a 6 mile circular walk that offers wide and wonderful views of Bath and the surrounding countryside. Some of this you can see from the bus tour, but it's much more enjoyable on foot as you have time to appreciate the views and the nature around you. For more information and a PDF version of the annotated OS map, click here to visit the National Trust's page for the walk.

One of the many views

Back to the task at hand. There was a good turn out, so we broke off into two teams. One team starte with the steps. The other, our team, started with the hedge. The hedge was quite overgrown and really needed pulling back so it would throw up some new growth, let the air flow around it, and look generally much better. There was a lot of bramble growing through it and some of the branches of the hawthorn had crossed over into so many other hawthorn bushes that it was a real task to free them from the hedge. But we managed. We created a couple of  'out of the way' piles of prunings that will be free to rot down and give back to the earth. In the meantime they can be used for various creatures as home.

If only that was the lot!

After lunch Lucy and myself moved on to helping with the steps, which were being added to encourage walkers to use a particular route, rather than damaging the whole hill - which is what had unfortunately been happening. This required lots of tools as the going was tough. We used tools such as post hole digging/compacting bars, post rammers (blummin' heavy, aren't they), and pick trowels. It was great fun, especially as it included lots of sliding down the hill at the most inopportune moment. But we got the ground moved, the holes dug and compacted, before checking that the board looked right. We then rammed the posts in before cutting them at a slight angle to let rain slip away (rather than sitting on the post and speeding up the rot). With the board in place we pre-drilled holes and bashed in the nails. Then a quick backfill and treading of the replaced soil before a layer of grit was added to really set the steps off. What was great about this task is that we all got a chance to do everything.

It may not look a lot, but I think it will do the business.

Fancy helping out with the National Trust? It's real good fun AND they provide lots of biscuits and tea! Click here for more info.