West Vale Branch
Projects
Steppingstone Lane Bridge Restoration

[The webmaster was away (again) visiting Arts & Crafts houses in Norfolk. Orph Mable kindly contributed the following report of the day's activities.]

The day was overcast and the morning was broken up with short showers. The site was very wet with the dams almost overflowing when Chris & Orph arrived.

The first thing was to get "Bernard" working. Chris had manufactured some new seals that do not drop out of the connectors so easily as the originals. The pump was positioned close to the bridleway diversion on the western dam. Wanting to ensure that the inlet filter was into really deep water, Chris launched the pipe with all his might. It was a lovely throw, with the filter end landing squarely in the centre. Unfortunately Chris had forgotten to affix the connector end of the pipe to the pump so the complete pipe ended up in the pool!! After drying tears of mirth (who said work parties weren’t fun?) Chris rescued the pipe and connected the pipes to the pump.

The pump was primed and started but did not want to pump. The inlet pipe kept “floating” to the surface!! Orph checked the outlet and asked Chris if it was supposed to be “sucking”??? The pipes were quickly swapped around….. Well it has been two months since we last used Bernard! With the arrival of Phil Large, the inlet filter and pipe were attached to a plastic drum to keep it off the sludge at the pool bottom and the pump worked well for the rest of the morning.

The bridleway diversion from the field on the Shrivenham side and through the copse on the Bourton side were showing signs of cutting up where the horses had walked (galloped ???), so it was agreed that the priority was to extend the hardcore to improve the path.

The copse section was first. Firstly the membrane and wooden edges were laid. Then Chris used the digger to load wheel barrows operated by Phil and Graham. The barrow-loads were pushed up the slope away from the scalping pile, gradually getting further away. Orph used the rake to spread the scalpings once delivered to the desired spot. Pushing the barrows up the slope quickly took its toll on Graham who soon swapped tasks with Orph. It was warm work with Phil and Orph soon stripped down to soggy T-Shirts, but was finished in less than an hour and a half. Alan was then detailed into whacking – his favourite task!

We were well pleased with the finished product:-

After a short break for a warm drink and snack-ette, Alan and Graham were dispatched to check on the water level at the temporary overflow near Stainswick Lane. Chris, Phil and Orph set about the climb up to the field. Firstly Chris used the digger to scrape and smooth the surface. The membrane and edge boards were then positioned. It was then back to the serious effort of shifting the scalpings again. Chris again was operating the digger with Phil and Orph operating the barrows. This time the climb with loaded buckets was even steeper made more difficult by having to cross the ramps over Bernards’ pipes! Despite the effort, Phil and Orph made short work (oh my legs & back!!!) of the job so much so when Graham returned, he only had to rake and level the scalpings. This time Orph used the wacker due to an over long lunch break by Alan (was it 3 courses??). The results were considered to be a vast improvement on what was there before.

Alan and Graham set to and re-aligned the field drain to prevent it running into the eastern pool. There was a virtual torrent running into the canal at this point.

They also with help from Phil, cleared the drain behind the Crew-room cabin to help drain the old bridle-path. This area will need a more permanent solution before the end of the project.

Bernard worked well and by 2pm the western pool was virtually empty. This allowed the workings to be viewed:-

This “early finish” allowed us to have a planning meeting before finally calling it a day!