ASHFORD RAMBLERS Fieldwork

Fieldwork - Sunday 07 July 2002

Barry Lowry again organised our fieldwork for the current programme.
The problem was an old, sleeper bridge over an old, colapsed culvert in Great Chart parish that forms part of both The Greensand Way and The Stour Valley Walk.
Abi Mansley of the KCC Rights of Way Mid Kent Team at High Halden and the landowner, The Godinton Trust agreed that the old bridge was beyond repair and was a too big a job to remove in total and that the best solution was a new, simple sleeper bridge that could be installed to the west of the old bridge. The problem was, this area was covered by an old tree covered with ivy.

And so it was, on a damp grey Sunday (this is, after all the British Summer!!) the Ashford Ramblers Fieldwork Team gathered in Godinton Park to install the new footbridge.




The problem - an old sleeper footbridge over an old, colapsed culvert.





The fisrt thing to do is remove the undergrowth and the old tree - Roy, Barry, Fred & Will all lend a hand.





Then you have a gap into which you can build a footbridge.





The next thing to do is dig a bedding area for the sleepers - Fred expertly wields a spade.





The first sleeper is manouvered into position, watched by two young walkers who'd turned up
with thier father, a trustee of the Godinton Trust who also helped to position the sleeper.





The second sleeper is manouvered into position.





The new bridge takes its first walker!.





Next, you position the handrail post - Roy, Terry, Fred & Barry make light work of a long post with the drive-all post driver.





Barry, Terry & Fred fix the central handrail post.





Meanwhile, Peter fixes The Greensand Way logo and direction arrow to the handrail post.





The completed bridge - L-R, Peter, Roy, Abi, Will, Barry, Terry & Fred.





The completed bridge - L-R, Peter, Roy, Will, Steve, Terry, Barry & Fred.

Whilst it looks like the new bridge covers a dry ditch, anybody who has walked either The Greensand Way or The Stour Valley Walk
during the winter and spring months will testify just how wet the ground gets and how these ditches fill up with water!!

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