Sitting in a deckchair in warm sunshine, eating sandwiches for lunch, with gulls circling and screeching above, we could almost have been on the beach! However, it was old ballast under our feet – not sand or even pebbles. Plus no ice cream sellers in sight at Two Hedges Road.
Tuesday 1st April
More overtime for two members of the team! Roger and Martin, attended a training course on the use of abrasive wheels and cutting discs. This was run by Greenway Training, conveniently at Guiting Power, not that far from Winchcombe.
Thursday 3rd April
Seven of the team attending today.
Jonathan continued with the repair work on the Ford Ranger. The towing hook electrics are now reinstated in a way that should reduce damage when traversing rough ground or changes of slope. He also started repairing the Timberwolf chipper, this had failed after ingestion of some hard materials. Unfortunately he was unable to complete this repair as it required access deep into the engine area. A useful odd job accomplished was relocating our stack of concrete chamber lids – use of the telehandler made this much easier and safer. This is part of the tidy up of Winchcombe yard; associated with the demolition of the old C&M wooden workshop. This is very much a multi-department project; also involving PW, C&W, C&M and S&T.
The other six of the team headed for Two Hedges Road at Bishops Cleeve. Martin and John first fitted a removable cover over the up side washout lid of the (pseudo) syphon cross drain 40A. Constructed from two blue mesh chamber lids and four lengths of wood; this will adequately mark the location for now. We have abandoned the attempts to undo the seized nuts and bolts of the washout lid for the present.
The removable cover over the washout lid of cross drain 40A in the up cess. |
Nigel and Dave commenced cutting back vegetation on the vehicle track on the down (Cotswold) side at the top of the cutting. We are going to need to bring in bulk materials along this track in the next few weeks.
Peter and Andrew started on the main task for the day – the inlet of the stream that comes down alongside the former Bonsai World site. First was a dye test, this time adding dye to the circular chamber with the 90 degree bend at the top of the cutting. Even after half an hour; the water tricking into the down side cess chamber in the cutting was still clear. So this indicates the source of that water is further upstream; we suspect it is leaking around the inlet bore. However, to check that we need to first arrange access to the adjoining property.
Green tracer dye added to the 90 degree bend chamber. |
Coloured water quickly appears at the pipe exit. |
But no green water appearing in the cess chamber. |
Then the commencement of the laborious task for the day – excavating under the one remaining length of 600mm diameter twinwall pipe in the crest ditch to get this to sit with a 1 in 80 fall. Removing large stone, clay and hessian liner from under a large pipe in a ditch is not at all easy. With the other jobs completed; the team size grew first to four; then to six.
Team effort resetting the section of 600mm pipe - wellingtons required for those at the exit end. |
Finally we removed sufficient material to get the section of pipe to sit correctly. Then after lunch, we excavated a bit more around the exit of the pipe. Then we laid hessian sand bags filled with a sand and cement mix around the base of the pipe. Hopefully this will prevent any backflow of water there.
End of day state at the pipe exit - more sandbags around the exit to be added; then backfill to bury the pipe. Plastic twinwall pipe will eventually degrade if left in sunlight. |
Last job of the day was to examine the rest of the crest ditch – a task made easier by the dry conditions in March leading to a much reduced flow. Before the end of the cutting; all the water seeps into the cess through fissures in the cutting side. Our current plan to deal with this is to install a pipe in the affected section of ditch. We will need to widen, but not deepen, the ditch in places to enable use of 450mm diameter twinwall pipe, That is the diameter of the inlet pipe to the 90 degree chamber – so we are not introducing any further constraints.
Another benefit of passenger trains running is that the Coffee Pot cafe at Winchcombe is open. Thus our end of day cuppa tea is al fresco. (Left to right, Nigel, Martin, John, Dave, Jonathan). |
Wildlife report: There is
certainly a large diversity of bird life at Bishops Cleeve, probably
because of the combination of habitats – woods, fields, gardens. We
positively identified the flock of lunchtime gulls as Lesser
Black-backed gulls. Earlier in the day a single Red Kite swooped very
low over us. Other birds noted were wood pigeons, blackbirds, robins,
magpies, crows, blue tits, nosiy sparrows, and great tits. On the
vehicle track / footpath at the top of the cutting we spotted a
muntjac deer. Insects noted included bees, tortoiseshell, brimstone
and an unidentified blue/black species of butterfly. On the
vegetation front the most apparent sights were the abundance of
flowering dandelions and celandines; plus the blackthorn blossom
which was probably at its peak. On the way back to Winchcombe, we spotted the first signs of pear trees blossoming. Less welcome we
noted quite a few brambles and ash sampling sprouting along the
section of the down side cutting which our clearance contractor had
cut back in the autumn. The wet winter and warm (so far) spring is
ideal growing conditions for a lot of our lineside vegetation.
Blackthorn blossom |