Year one.
The first task this year was to start on the removal of the old dyke that runs across the fenland this would then, roughly become the line of the new path through this area in the later stages of the contract.
The stone was required to be separated into different types for different areas on the hill so the finished path would match the geology of that area.
This proved to be very labour intensive as half the stone is required to be moved just to get to the other half.
The stone required for this year was a shist type and so only that material was bagged up ready for the helicopter lifts.
The main build of the path started at the top corner of the wall and at this point is an aggregate path with drainage features. At the end of the first section there is a dramatic gradient change requiring stone pitching. The path goes through an area of springs rich in minerals and with red list species, this area had to be protected which meant not only not disturbing the vegetation but also not changing the flow of water from the springs.
Above this section it flattens off briefly before rising again, here the path passes a small geological fault line where there has been some land form slippage. Careful consideration was required as to what route we could take through here so as to not disturb the feature and also to make sure the path wouldn't become a casualty if it was to slip again.
After-this, the path becomes a long section of steep pitching through a deep cut caused by erosion, lots of loose small stone and sandy soils characterised this bottom half the mountain.
As well as the main construction this year, thought was also given to how we could get across the wetlands at the bottom, to this end a few small sections of trial work were developed with the hope that over the next couple of years we could monitor how they did before proposing a final solution to the client.
The first task this year was to start on the removal of the old dyke that runs across the fenland this would then, roughly become the line of the new path through this area in the later stages of the contract.
The stone was required to be separated into different types for different areas on the hill so the finished path would match the geology of that area.
This proved to be very labour intensive as half the stone is required to be moved just to get to the other half.
The stone required for this year was a shist type and so only that material was bagged up ready for the helicopter lifts.
The main build of the path started at the top corner of the wall and at this point is an aggregate path with drainage features. At the end of the first section there is a dramatic gradient change requiring stone pitching. The path goes through an area of springs rich in minerals and with red list species, this area had to be protected which meant not only not disturbing the vegetation but also not changing the flow of water from the springs.
Above this section it flattens off briefly before rising again, here the path passes a small geological fault line where there has been some land form slippage. Careful consideration was required as to what route we could take through here so as to not disturb the feature and also to make sure the path wouldn't become a casualty if it was to slip again.
After-this, the path becomes a long section of steep pitching through a deep cut caused by erosion, lots of loose small stone and sandy soils characterised this bottom half the mountain.
As well as the main construction this year, thought was also given to how we could get across the wetlands at the bottom, to this end a few small sections of trial work were developed with the hope that over the next couple of years we could monitor how they did before proposing a final solution to the client.
