The old wooden kissing gate by the Ridgeway path at Aston Rowant NR was narrow and overgrown, so the task for our June session was to dismantle it and replace it with a new metal mobility-friendly one. We were only 6 volunteers but we got the job done, though wrestling off enough stock netting to contain a herd of elephants took some time. The straining posts, of which one was to remain for the new gate, had been fixed as if for Alcatraz, so Bob’s jack came in useful. When even that couldn’t cope with the final post he resorted to hauling it out with his Landrover.
Sheelagh did a great job of clearing the nettles to make access to the field gate easier, though she felt somewhat rueful when a pair of Ridgeway Wardens turned up immediately afterwards and strimmed all the verges with powerful bushwackers. Coffee with iced buns and seed cake was a wonderful restorative.
Julia, 22/6/2014
