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Autumn 2015
This Autumn the Vale Path Volunteers have undertaken two path clearance projects using their newly acquired Stihl Brushcutter/Strimmer. This powerful machine easily chops and chews its way through any dense growth of nettles, brambles/briars and young blackthorn. At Baulking the nettles were at chin height but the brushcutter made short work of them. Earlier in the year two members of the VPV, Dave Cavanagh and John Gordon, received LANTRA training to operate the machine, and a Health and Safety Code or Practice has been drawn up so that all members on a site know how to work safely while the machine is in operation. Oxfordshire Countryside Access Team required that any members using power tools such as a brushcutter received this training. The machine was first used on a bridlepath near the village of Baulking and subsequently on an overgrown footpath in the Parish of Hinton Waldrist. Soon after completing the clearance at Baulking a horserider came along and she was informed that it would be now possible to follow the cleared path instead of taking a detour off the definitive right of way through woodland. The VPV have planned 7 more footpath clearance projects for the Autumn where the machine will be invaluable in assisting the team in tackling the vegetation growth. The photographs show the ‘before’ and ‘after’ effects of the brushcutter at Hinton Waldrist.

Before

After

Before

Project No 11 - Faringdon - Summer 2014
During the summer months the Vale Path Volunteer team has been working on clearing a footpath in Faringdon (FP 210/17). This is a metalled path about 250 metres in length, and about 8 feet wide, between low-height stone-built walls, that runs from the end of Volunteer Way to Southampton Street. It is an important pedestrian route as it links the town centre to a large health centre. One of the VPV members, Marcus Lapthorn, who lives in Faringdon, suggested that this might be a footpath that the VPV could tackle as it had become very overgrown with brambles and briars to the extent that it was barely wide enough for one person to walk through without getting scratched to bits by the briar tendrils.

Overgrown side before work

The responsibility for maintaining this path lies with the Highways Department of the County Council, instead of the Countryside Access Team. Therefore we asked the Department if it would be prepared to provide skips for the occasions when the VPV team were at work cutting down the vegetation; they were not.

Side overgrown

Consequently, as part of the work our team took about 25 large sack loads of arisings to the nearest recycling depot, several miles away.

Bagging Up

The team undertook three work sessions on May 2nd, June 6th and August 22nd, cutting and clearing away the overgrown brambles. During the second work session, Quidne IT Ltd, kindly invited our team into their nearby office for a mid-morning break of hot drinks and muffins etc. Our team was also complimented by the many pedestrians who were using the route while we were working.

Wall revealed

I am most grateful for the team members who worked on this project. They included: Rona Bingham, Dave Cavanagh, Robert Evans, John Gordon, Stuart Hughes, Marcus Lapthorne, Pat Lonergan, John Orchard, Cherry Scott, Tony Vincent, and Kath Wallis.

Completion of Duxford Project
The final stretch of the section of the Thames Path near Duxford was cleared on Friday 26th April. We also collected two large bin bags of assorted litter. The first photo shows a stretch before clearance and the second shows it afterwards - with a happy passing walker who was impressed by our efforts!


Project No 10 - Thames Path near Duxford
We had previously worked on this stretch of the Thames Path during the floods - but only on those parts that were above water!. On April 5th 2013 we returned to tackle the rest of the section.

Before the work

A stretch of some 30 m was cleared of bramble bushes on either side of the path. However, it proved a substantial job and much undergrowth remains to be cleared.

Work in progress

We will be returning later in the month to finish this section.

The cleared path at the end of the session

Project No 7 - Hardwell Lane near Woolstone

VPV team at Hardwell Lane Photo: Jim Parke

On Tuesday 11th February 6 stalwart VPV members braved the elements to trim back the vegetation of some 500 metres of Hardwell Lane in the parish of Woolstone. Hardwell Lane is a BOAT, i.e., a Bridleway that is Open to Authorised Traffic.
This Lane extends from Cowleaze farm at GR SU 283888 to a junction with the B 4507 at GR SU 289873. It forms an important route from the Vale southwards up onto the Ridgeway via Hardwell Wood. The whole track is quite wide from side hedgerow to side hedgerow but over the years the growth of vegetation, particularly briars and alders, had narrowed the useable stretch. There were also some ivy-clad young trees that had partly or completely fallen across the path.
The team assembled in the car park of The White Horse public house in Woolstone village and walked a short distance across some fields to the work-site. During the morning there were spells of drizzle and the occasional snow flake. By lunch time the team had cleared the upper part of the path but as it was flooded at its lower levels it was decided to stop and regroup for a well-earned lunch in the White Horse.
This is not the first time that the team has been prevented from working on a stretch of path because of floods. Another project at Duxford in the parish of Hinton Waldrist has been hampered by the fact that sections of the path have been submerged.

Project No.6 - Abingdon Footpath 27

Path No 27 before the work

On Tuesday December 11th the VPV team cleared a 140 metre stretch of Footpath 27 located in north Abingdon. This Footpath runs from North Avenue to South Avenue. Following the outcome of a successful Public Inquiry held in the Abingdon Guildhall in February 2006 it was added to the Public Rights of Way network in March 2006 through the efforts of a local Rambler, Ian Boyce and others. The path was a natural link between the then new housing estates in North Abingdon to the local shops but until the 2006 enquiry had lacked the legal status of a PRoW. Indeed attempts had been made from time to time to block it off. More recently the path had become somewhat overgrown and restricted and so Ian contacted Jim Parke, VPV Co-ordinator, to request the aid of the VPV to open up the path to its full width.

The VPV team at work

Left to Right: Ian Boyce, Jim Parke, Robert Evans

On a misty and frosty morning five members of the team assembled to start work. The team was aided by Ian Boyce and also Abingdon Town Councillor Helen Pighills. Pat Lonergan had brought his powerful Honda grass rotary mower which began to make short work of the overgrown grass verges. Mark Sumner, Field Officer South West Oxfordshire, had earlier ordered a large skip to be situated in Mandeville Close into which all the cut vegetation was placed. As well as the arisings two shopping bags were filled with litter comprising bottles, drink cans, paper and various sorts of plastic.

The cleared path

A local householder living in Mandeville Close kindly offered the team a mid-morning coffee and tea break with biscuits which was gratefully accepted. By one o’clock the path had been fully cleared, and the skip was very full. Job done !

A full skip

Path Clearance Projects Nos 4 and 5
Project No 4 followed on from No 3 on the Thames Path east of Abingdon, on the 7th November 2012. A stretch of some 200 m was cleared.
Project No 5 was a path clearance on the Thames Path to the east of Duxford along the southerly backwater of the Thames, on 26th November. Again a stretch of some 200 m was cleared - on the only part of the path that was above water!. There was extensive fooding in this area at the time.

Path Clearance Project No 3
On Wednesday 10th October the Vale Path Volunteers were in action again on the Thames Path to the east of Abingdon. The work for that day had been arranged by OCC Countryside Services, led by Sarah Piggott, and we were joined by two other National Trails volunteers. On that part of the Thames Path, which is between Barton Lane and the railway line, the vegetation has encroached onto the path making it quite narrow. The task was to clear back the bushes and small trees on the north side of the path to allow better access and open those areas to more sunlight. We cleared a stretch of over 300 metres in length, widening the path area by at least 1 to 2 metres.
In fact by working for less than three and a half hours we were amazed at how much we had cleared!. The photographs show the narrow path before and after the clearance, and the lunch break.

There is much scope for further clearance work along this path to Lower Radley and beyond. There will be more work days arranged so if you would like to join us please get in touch (contact phone number at the bottom of this page).



Path Clearance Project No 2 Completed
The second path clearance project was completed on Tuesday March 13th 2012. The footpath chosen for the work (Ref: Abingdon No 1) follows the track of the former Wilts and Berks canal from Drayton Road to the western edge of the town. The blocked section was from Francis Little Drive westwards for some 350 metres. That section had been blocked for some years with vegetation and debris. Six Vale Path Volunteers turned out to carry out the work, and we also appreciated the contribution of Cllr Penny McDougall. The group are pictured below with Mark Sumner, the Oxfordshire County Council Field Officer for the Vale, who arranged for two skips to be delivered at convenient positions.


This photo shows the western section of the path blocked by vegetation, before being cleared.

The eastern section by Francis Little Drive was blocked by vegetation, including elder trees and other debris such as a pile of building stones that had been dumped there.


The large builders bag was very useful for collecting the waste and makes the clearance more efficient.

Watch Digging Out a Stump! (Note: Hold the Control button down as you click for the video to appear in a new tab - then click on that tab at the top)

This shows that section after being cleared. We had to leave the large elder tree stump for the council to remove (it had us stumped!).

Another job done!

Vale Path Volunteers’ first project completed

The Vale Path Volunteer group was formed in recent weeks to provide effort to help Oxfordshire County Council’s Countryside Services in clearing and improving footpaths in the Vale area. An overgrown stretch of the Thames Path near Abingdon was identified as a suitable first project, and the work was done in collaboration with the Ridgeway and Thames Path Volunteer Scheme. The newly appointed Chief Executive of the Ramblers, Benedict Southworth, joined the group to take part in the work, on Tuesday 21st February. The volunteers, shown in the photograph above, worked for some four hours and successfully removed a redundant fence line and cleared a substantial amount of vegetation to allow better access and to let sunlight to dry out this muddy section of the National Trail. A good example of “many hands making light work” !

Jim Parke, our Path Volunteers Co-ordinator, describes the work in the report below and the photographs show the group at work and the improvements to this section of footpath.

Project No 1 - Thames Path
Twelve members of the Vale Group responded to the invitation to set up a team of volunteers who would be interested in undertaking light maintenance and footpath improvements in the Vale of White Horse group’s area. The team was christened Vale Path Volunteers and contact was made with the Countryside Service (CS) of Oxfordshire County Council (OCC). The main contact is Mark Sumner, the Field Officer for the south west of the county who oversees footpaths in the group’s area. Mark was very pleased to hear of the group’s initiative and offered his full support. An important role for the CS will be to undertake any necessary negotiations with relevant land-owners prior to the commencement of work. The CS will identify possible locations where this sort of work is necessary and there could be others which the Vale Group’s members will bring to the attention of the team. The first project of the team was undertaken on Tuesday February 21st. I was contacted by Martin Fry (OCC National Trails Officer) based at the Countryside Services’ offices at Eynsham and John Orchard, Vale group footpath secretary, about the poor state of a stretch of the Thames Path National Trail near Abingdon. This is a 250 metre length where the path is very narrow and muddy with many potholes.

Part of the fence line before being cleared

There is a redundant fence line of fence posts together with strands of wire that restricts the path to a narrow line. At several points along the fence line there are brambles and small elder trees that needed cutting down and cleared away. As a result the path is often in deep shade and therefore sunlight is not able to penetrate and dry out the surface as it should.

Another part of the overgrown fence line before being cleared

Once this stretch has been cleared the intention will be to undertake a twice-yearly cut or a mow on the edge to keep the vegetation down. There was a full turnout of the team who were working in collaboration with National Trail Volunteers under the general supervision of Sara Piggott - National Trails Assistant. As a result the team gained practical experience of safe working conditions and also an insight into the general organisation of path maintenance work. We were delighted to be joined on the day by the recently appointed Chief Executive of the Ramblers - Benedict Southworth - who had expressed a wish to come and take part in a day’s path work.

Some posts had to be dug out

Old fence wire had to be cut

Pat Lonergan chats to Benedict Southworth during a break

Fortunately the weather was kind to us, being dry and warm, and good progress was made in taking out about thirty posts and many long strands of fencing wire. After a mid-morning coffee-break the team tacked the tougher problem of cutting back the thick undergrowth of tangled brambles and briars that caused the path to be unacceptable narrow.




By two o’clock the full stretch had been cut back and cleared.

Job done!

It is appropriate that a Vale Group walk scheduled to take place two days after the project will pass along the Thames Trail towards Oxford and the results of the team’s work will be seen. The team already has another project lined up and scheduled to take place on Tuesday March 13th. This is to clear a stretch of Abingdon Footpath No. 100/1 in the western part of the town. The section to be cleared is approximately 300 metres in length and runs from Francis Little drive to the edge of the housing estate. If there are any members of the Vale Group that would like to join the Vale Path Volunteers I would be pleased to hear from them.
Jim Parke, Co-Ordinator, Vale Path Volunteers
Contact: jmh.parke@btinternet.com

The setting up of the Vale Path Volunteers
The Vale Group Ramblers Committee has agreed to a recommendation that we should set up a team of volunteers from its membership who would be interested at least initially in undertaking light maintenance of footpaths in the Vale of White Horse Group’s Area. This stretches from Kennington, Abingdon, Kingston Bagpuize and Faringdon in the north and west to Wantage, the Hendreds, Grove and the villages as far south as the Ridgeway.

The team would work in close partnership with the Countryside Service (CS) of the Oxfordshire County Council. Our main contact in the CS will be Mark Sumner, the Field Officer for the south West of the County who oversees footpaths in our Group’s area. The CS would identify possible locations where this sort of work is necessary and there could be other locations which our own members could bring to the attention of the team. The CS would undertake any necessary negotiation with relevant land-owners prior to the commencement of work.

The work to be done would involve the cutting back of overhanging vegetation and/or undergrowth and hedges where growth has narrowed the footpath to a unacceptable degree. Similarly there may be stiles where the hedges on either side have grown to an extent that they cause difficulty in climbing over them. The tools to be used would include hand, or battery-operated heavy duty, secateurs, small pruning bow-saws and loppers.

Any work undertaken by the group would be covered by the National Ramblers Insurance Policy and need to comply with relevant Health and Safety procedures followed by the County Council.

At this stage it is difficult to estimate the degree of time commitment because the amount of path clearance work that may be needed is an unknown quantity. However, as a rough guide, it is likely that the team would work on site(s), perhaps, one day or part-day a month, probably at the weekend.

If any member is interested in joining such a team could they contact Jim Parke, who has agreed to act as co-ordinator. Contact him by e-mail: Jim Parke or by telephone 01865 730664 if you have any queries.