Update and Work Parties

Many thanks to John and Ted who have cleared Route A (Hinton- Winterdyne) with the mower and this is now much easier to use. It does now need a work party to cut back the overhanging branches.

Chris has cleared some of the overhanging branches on Route F.

We are still waiting for the council to come back to us regarding a number of issues we have raised with them. We will keep chasing them.

We will arrange work parties in the next couple of weeks to clear the overhanging branches on Route A (Hinton – Winterdyne) and also to clear brambles and overhanging branches on Route M (Walters Lane – Hill Houses). Routes J and K (Back of the Mounts and across the common) would also benefit from some clearance work.

Please let John or Chris know if you do any bridleway clearance work as we can book the hours to show the council the work we are doing on their behalf!

Routes Cleared and Marked

work-party-1--23aug13 work-party-2--23aug13John, Chris, Clare, Pete (and Lando, pictured, and Oz) cleared the new permissive route and linking bridleways and put in some way-markers (complete with some very smart finger markers made by John). This should help people find their way but we could probably do with another couple of posts at points to make it clear which is the correct way to go.

The route is lovely to ride and makes a great addition to our network of off-road riding options.

Thanks to all who have helped get this opened (see previous post).work-party-3--23aug13

Padlocked Gate

padlocked-gate-routeTThe route which was blocked by haylage bales has now been padlocked. We will need to report this to council.

Note: This route is an option to get through to The Nunnery (other route is better). It  is very wet and usually has horses in the field so rarely used but the council did spend a lot of money putting in new gates and a bridge to make this accessible.

Work party open up new route

work-party-route-K--01

A group of us met on a cold winters day to open up a bridleway that is on maps but had disappeared and was no longer used. The council have put a lovely new gate in off the road but there was no clear route. Well armed with brush cutters, loppers, chain saw we cleared the route K from the road down to where it joins an existing track (see below map). This is now usable and hopefully will not get too wet. We will come back and put way marker posts up in due course.

 

We also started work on the new permissive route (P2) which joins route K to route J and avoids the road. This route is not yet usable as there is a very wet patch where we plan to put in a drainage pipe. We hope to do this as soon as ground has hopefully dried up a little more.

Watch this space for updates and info on work parties.

New-routes-K-and-P2

 

work-party-route-K--02work-party-route-K--03

 

 

Work Party Saturday 23rd Feb 10:00 – 12:00

Work party before nesting season starts to clear permissive route at back of The Green and route from new gate to 3 springs (Route K).

Hope to get a good turn out and then we should be able to finish in no more than a couple of hrs.

Please bring gloves, loppers, brush cutters, saws etc.

Meet 10:00am on the car park at The Mounts unless you hear otherwise.

Contact Chris 01299 270514 for directions

 

Improvements

The council have moved the gate at the Nunnery end which is now much safer and easier to open. They have also done some drainage work but we will have to see how well this works. They have also put in a new gate at the north end of the path just up from the cattle grid (there was no gate there before but this is where the route should start). They have not cleared the route from this gate and it is not clear which way to go on the common. I have spoken to council about this. If they do not do anything we may need a work party to clear the route.

Now that this route and new gate has been put in we can look at the permissive route around the back of the green to join up with route J.

Council Due To Start Work Soon

We have been told by the Coucil that they will do some work on this route very soon. The aim is to move the gate at bottom of Nunnery Lane further up the track away from the steep bank. They have also said they will do some drainage work here. This is needed as when we rode it yesterday water was running down the path even though it has been dry and I can see it getting very boggy if something is not done.

We expect that they will also put in a new gate onto the road past the cattle grid at the north end of the route and reinstate the official route which has disappeared. When this is done they will arrange the permissive route paperwork with the Shropshire Wildlife trust to join routes J and K without having to go on the road.

Site Meeting with Council

Site meeting held with John, Chris and Phil Betts (Shrop Council) to review options. Agreed that most practical option is option A.

See Post below for details of options and map.

The council will clear the route of the existing bridleway from the road near to the cattle grid but off the common down the side of The Green and diagonally accross to ultimately meet up with the Nunnery Lane bridleway. They will install a new gate off the road adjacent to the Green  (there is a suitable  pull in). For those wanting to stay on the common it is possible to find their own route onto the road on the common side of the cattle grid.

The council will arrange necessary paperwork with SWT for the permissive route around “The Green”. When this has been agreed we will need a work party to lay a drainage pipe behind the Green. Might get away with doing this by hand to keep costs down and hopefully will not need much stone. Phil is looking into whether council can provide drainage pipe and stone (also needed for the Prescot route).

The other issue of the gate onto Nunnery Lane was discussed. The council will look into moving the gate further up the lane away from the steep drop. Hopefully this will be done by the council at same time as doing the other work above.

Hope to get this route open in next few months.

Initial Proposal

We would like to open up a permissive route from the back gate of The Mounts accross common. This is a historic route and has been ridden for many years but in last 2 years has become impassible due to gorse.

Initial meeting with SWT 2 options were discussed.

Option A – Route to go back to road and then use the route of the official bridleway (K). The route of the official bridleway will need to be found and cleared. There is a very wet area on this route which will need to be drained. Should be relatively easy as it is caused by an outlet overflow from a pond which could be piped under the bridleway.

Option B – Use the route from the back gate of the Mounts which has been used for many years and used to be a suitable route. There are now 2 wet areas which will need some drainage. would be fairly major job. Some gorse clearing will also be needed.

The gate off the common onto the lane by the Nunnery needs to be improved as it is difficult to use as no room for horse to turn by the gate. SWT are happy for this to be moved and suggested moving it a few yards up into the lane. Need to find out who owns the lane. Need to discuss with Council byways officer.