-

Steps and Seats  

Volunteers have been hard at work replacing worn out facilities in the Wood.

First to receive attention were the steps down onto the old railway alignment, where the path from the western side of Cox's Walk comes into the Wood. The old steps were showing signs of rot and they had become uneven over time.
The new steps have been surfaced with hoggin, a self binding sand mix which provides a firm surface. 

Removing the old steps

New steps finished 


The work had just been finished when the Wood experienced a thunderstorm with very heavy rain. Unfortunately, the drains on Crescent Wood Road, which have been causing problems of flooding as they are not being maintained properly, overflowed. This resulted in torrents of flood water cascading down the path and steps to the tunnel and flooded the area.  Polluted water also contaminated the Am Brook and this will have flowed into the Dewey Pond. 

The following week, the bench which is at the foot of the new steps was replaced, as the old one had rotted and was collapsing. Unfortunately, the old bench had been bedded into concrete so it was impossible to make a straight replacement. New footing had to be dug, not an easy task given that the old railway track was laid on compacted rubble and ballast. 
Digging the new footings.


Job done and time for a rest.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
  Protecting our Wood The trees making up our woodland are a mixture of native species and garden survivors from Victorian development. Before the expansion of London, the Wood was used extensively to provide raw materials for ship-building on the Thames and timber for general building in domestic and agricultural use. As such, many species were coppiced to maintain a steady and reliable supply of wood. Species suitable for this type of woodland management include ash, hornbeam and hazel. When a tree is coppiced, its main trunk is cut down to the ground and soon new side shoots will emerge to grow upwards. Depending on the size and age of this growth, the shoots can be harvested for various uses such as canes, posts and palings. Coppicing can extend the life of the tree enormously and the resulting patchwork of light and dark increases biodiversity. Without coppicing, the woodland will grow old and degenerate, species diversity declines and ecological health suffers. Unfortunately,...
Read more
-
Image
Drains and More Steps   The drainage system on Crescent Wood Road has been causing big problems for the Wood. When there is heavy rain and especially during a thunder storm, polluted water overflows from the drain covers in the road and cascades into the Wood. This has caused damage to the newly improved section of path and steps near the tunnel mouth. It seems Thames Water thinks it has done everything it needs to do, however, the problem remains.  Consequently, the Wood's volunteers have started to put in place mitigation to help tackle this.  Slowly but surely, new steps are being added to the main path down from the Crescent Wood Road entrance. These should help where heavy footfall and water damage have eroded the path to make it uneven. The new steps use materials from the Wood such as branches as well as recycled material such as scaffolding and decking boards. The steps are backfilled with crushed concrete and then topped with li...
Read more
-
Image
Finding the Villas....Part 3 Fairwood Of all the villas along Sydenham Hill, Fairwood has left the best-known relic, the folly and its accompanying cascade. However , the re are other clues as to its existance. Just inside the fence along Sydenham Hill, there is a gate-post complete with ironwork, there are footings for greenhouses and, against the wall separating it from Beechgrove, there is lead flashing suggesting a hot house of some sort. There are also the remains of the main terrace and its cellars.     Remains of Fairwood.   Gate post for Fairwood's drive. Fairwood's cellar wall, in the background, a chute, perhaps for coal deliveries? Steps leading down from the terrace to the garden. The wall between Fairwood and Beechgrove. What was once a lean-to greenhouse, note remnants of a plaster coating and eyes in the brickwork for training vines.  O.S. maps show terraces in Fairwood's garden. The sudden change in level suggests this is one of them. Half way down f...
Read more