Wednesday 28 March 2007

Some Good News

Dave Adkins of SDDC tells me that Melbourne FP12 is being put back in by its recalcitrant* landowner.

The pallet blocking the Swarkestone Causeway path towards the north end has gone though it seems to have been replaced by wire meshing. The sign is still missing here also.

The problems in Ticknall have been reported and more have come to notice elsewhere.

*my description not Dave's.

Tuesday 20 March 2007

March 20 Update

The Isley Walton farmer who has to be constantly pushed to put back Melbourne FP12 from Wilson Lane to Station Road has been served "notice" by DCC. Let's hope this has some affect upon him.

The Stanton path from the Village Green to the Hills will definitely get a prominent metal FP sign.
Thanks to Dave Adkins of SDDC for working on these problems.

Sunday 18 March 2007

Update to March Status Report (11 March)

The Stanton-by-Bridge path (from the Turkey Oak to the Hills) is to have a new metal sign to replace the decapitated wooden one.
There is a query about the (new) gate here.
Has there always been one here (as the house owner claims)?

Troublesome Ticknall

The paths on the Calke estate are generally well maintained but cross the road in Ticknall and things become a lot harder.

It's the usual story, local farmers not putting paths back in after ploughing. The Scaddows side of Ticknall can be tough going with the heavy clay.

Two paths this weekend have been very difficult. The first one starts from behind Orchard Barn on the Ashby Road. After crossing a narrow field a rickety stile takes you into a large field with no discernible path. The route eventually leaves the field through a twin metal gate over a small stream heading towards Top Farm.















Looking back to houses on Ashby Road. Heavy clay - no path.

On the return leg of the walk the path from the Hartshorne Road is a nightmare crossing heavy ploughed up clay. This path has been a problem in the past. Is it ever properly maintained?















Footpath from Ashby Road. Over the stile things get difficult!

Sunday 11 March 2007

Status report - March 2007

Looking back over the past few months I summarise below what the present status is with path problems reported in the Melbourne area to Derbyshire County Council.

Unresolved problems:

Swarkestone Causeway - missing sign and blocked access (reported December 2006).
Melbourne FP12 - route not put back after ploughing in Autumn 2006 (many reports over two years).
Melbourne Pool to Pool Farm - collapsed stile only partially repaired.
Stanton by Bridge - missing finger post on path that starts opposite Turkey Oak on the village green. 13/3 - a gate has now been installed across the path.

Resolved:
Melbourne FP12 - signs placed on Station Road and Wilson Lane.
Melbourne Cockshut Lane - redundant sign removed but no sign through Loake Court complex.

Saturday 10 March 2007

Proper signposting - La Gomera, Canary Islands
















Crossing the Valle Gran Rey, Encardo, La Gomera
Have just spent a week in remote La Gomera and was amazed by the quality of the footpath sign posting.
Even better than some local paths in Leicestershire.
As to some South Derbyshire local paths ....
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Thursday 1 March 2007

Melbourne Pool stile repair??


The stile by the Pool has had "some sort" of repair job done but not a great one! Compare this with the photograph taken in January.
Click here
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Somerset CC's online map

Over on the Footpath Guardians closed discussion group (www.ramblers.org.uk) is a thread about county council online mapping and problem path reporting.

The Somerset CC system is slow (at least on my system) but footpaths are labelled and problems can be reported directly on the map. The name of the reporter is kept anonymous but dates of reporting and action are available.

The Somerset site is here:
http://tinyurl.com/2pqrtr

There's also some good information about the Definitive Map on this site.