Six MNTVers met Ranger Stu on a warm and sunny morning to do various fencing tasks around Bank House Farm. This is in preparation for cattle to be grazed in the surrounding fields.
The first job was to repair a couple of gateposts. The base of one support post had rotted away but was still embedded in hard ground. It needed lots of brute force with various post hole diggers and bars to clear it out.
The second gate had an unstable support post that was still usable. Once the upright was reseated and level, stones and soil were used to anchor it in place. As good as new!
The second job was to put a patch on a section of fencing that had been completely cut through by vandals. A fresh strip was cut then ‘woven’ into the existing fence, filling the gap.
The last job was footpath repair. A new path has opened up the area near Giant’s Castle steps for walkers but erosion has increased near the boardwalk. This is at the bottom of a steep slope so we had to wheelbarrow stones down the hill and lay them amongst tree roots as a protective layer.
A picture of a pile of stones isn’t of much interest - unless you turn it into a group photo. This was an unusual day, lots of smaller jobs instead of one big one, but it shows how the NT is balancing use of the area for farming and leisure.
Jean
