Stoning the paths of Sharp Hill wood

17 March 2013: DNC is in the Friends of Sharp Hill Wood and we have noticed that the paths have become quagmires. We have spent time in the last two years laying wood chip on the paths, and they looked splendid in 2011. Over the rainy months of 2012 and 2013, there is almost no trace of the wood chip, the thousands of footprints have mixed it with the mud completely and now people have to walk in the undergrowth alongside the paths. The only solution is to drop stones on the paths.

It has become a sort of personal quest, and I am spending a few hours each weekend picking up stones and barrowing them back to the wood to lay on the paths. The barrow won't go into the wood, so they have to be bucketed in for the final delivery.
    At this rate, it will take a lifetime. It is not totally futile, because for thousands of years, since long before even the Romans, people have been turning muddy paths into roads by laying stones, and it worked splendidly. I just don't have a legion of Roman soldiers to help with the work.


This is what many of the paths look like, some are much worse than this. The photo shows a spotting of stones dropped in each wet footprint, and more than that. Some of the paths on the west side are becoming slightly walkable as the muddiest patches get filled in.

     I have an idea, which is to get a cubic yard of roadstone and have that parked at the entrance to the field - and a notice asking each dog walker to bring string bags next time and carry some up and drop them on the paths. All the dog-walkers I have asked have said they would, because the conditions up there are so unworkable! The work of a thousand walkers might be more effective that little old DNC picking each stone off the field.

Food and Drink at Hardwick

27 May 2012: The Sunday after a week of continuous sunshine, I went to do time on the Sharphill work party in the morning, clearing undergrowth from around some newly planted infant-trees, mostly on the fringes of the wood. 

The Peveril Solar house, seen from the pathway up to Sharp Hill. A sea of yellow rapeseed flowers.

 Sharphill wood is typical Nottinghamshire forest, with sunny glades and not overcrowded trees. This doesn't come totally naturally, work has been done on cutting out invasive species. I wish people wouldn't be so hard on Sycamore, but the argument is that a strong non indigenous species drives out the older species.

 We took the M1 up to Hardwick Hall, to see the Derbyshire Food and Drink festival 2012. Very well organised and attended, and plenty of stalls with food to graze from. Where did all the money go! :)
In this picture, there was an impressively shiny Airstream caravan as a coffee bar.