Robin Wood Meeting

Committee members of Melbourne Civic Society and a local Ticknall resident met Alan Dowell and James Williams of the Forestry Commission at Woodside Farm to discuss the future of Robin Wood and access issues.

We were shown the recently cleared area and sections of the wood which had recovered after thinning out and the removal of conifers five years ago. The Forestry Commission, as well as removing conifers, was planting oaks and cherry trees. We were also given copies of the impressive 50 year development plan for the wood which describes how the wood will return to a mainly deciduous state (as it had been before World War Two). The habitats of raptors, owls and bats were also being protected. A tall dead tree has been left as a lookout post for raptors.

Mr Dowell assured us that access to the bridleway and footpath through the wood was protected and that they would both be better signed in the future. In all, a very positive morning's visit.

Offa's Dyke Photos

I have uploaded some photos of the first section of Offa's Dyke walk here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/histman/sets/72157624445144569/

I am hoping to add them as a slideshow in this blog when I work out how to connect Flickr to Picasa!

Slow walk on Offa's Dyke

On unfamiliar territory this week, as I have been walking my first section of Offa's Dyke, a path I have wanted to walk for years. The weather was not great on the first day and the walking is strenuous compared with around here! However the scenery along the Wye is glorious and both Chepstow and Monmouth are towns worth spending some time in. The villages of Redbrook and Brockweir also have a great deal of charm. It took me two days to walk the 18 miles from Sedbury Cliff to Monmouth. I was pretty tired at the end of the second day!

Ingleby - Lows and Highs

Route: St Brides, Robin Wood, Knowle Hill House, Seven Spouts track, Ingleby Toft Back Lane, Ingleby, John Thompson PH, Ingleby Toft, Woodend Lane, St Brides.

Today I decided to check the paths around Ingleby. After passing by the tree felling at Robin Wood (below) the bridleway which is usually very muddy was fine. In fact I hardly recognised the track! The route through to Knowle Hill House was easy to follow even when passing through crops and I managed to get a great view of the Landmark Trust property I hadn't seen before. Just beyond Knowle Hill House a stile was broken. Disappointing, as I had reported this some time back.

After crossing the lane that goes between Ingleby Toft and Seven Spouts the bridleway was again clear through crops. On reaching the Ingleby Toft to Foremark back lane I noticed a broken finger post and a missing one on the other side of the road. Instead of going straight over and down to Ingleby I decided to check a path that comes off the lane a little further west. This was a new one to me and I found it difficult to find the entrance in the hedge which was very over-grown. After hacking away at the greenery I managed to enter the field at the start of the path. There was a dead baby deer on my left, fly-ridden in the heat. The path should have been on my right. Unfortunately it was obstructed by a barbed wire fence. Another report to be made to DCC!

I went back up the lane, not wishing to tangle with the wire and non existent path, and came down to Ingleby by the bridleway. The John Thompson Inn was closed so I made my way up Ingleby FP1 which for once was actually marked through a crop. The rest of the route through Ingleby Toft, Woodend Lane and back to St Brides was luckily uneventful.











Above - Ingleby FP1 - actually navigable! A pity it's not on the DM line but you can't have everything!

Robin Wood deforestation

Lots going on at Robin Wood today.

An outfit called Euroforest seems to cutting down a large swathe of the section close to the Stanton/Ingleby bridleway. It would be nice to see the plan they are working to. I have written to the Forestry Commission for one.

Notice at entrance to the wood. The map referred to does not exist.

Logs being stacked.



















Coniferous trees being logged today.

Leicestershire County Council delaying tactics

Above: Castle Donington L87 blocked during the Download Festival

I am still waiting to hear from LCC about the closure of the Donington Path during the Download Festival.

I originally contacted them on 16 June. The Rights of Way Office then passed me on to their Highways Office in Mountsorrel. After hearing nothing from them I wrote to the officer concerned a week later. It has taken a week to acknowledge an email and letter sent to the officer. Today I have received a letter saying that I will have to wait up to 28 days or even longer to receive a reply.

Derbyshire gave me the information for the path on their side of the border in minutes.

Why do the wheels turn so slowly across the county border?

Some great writing

With the demise of the Ramblers' Forums (see below), a fair number of contributors have gone over to the Walking Forum.

There's usually something interesting to read there not least the writing of contributor "barewirewalker".

Here's a typical example of his breathless writing that I have enjoyed recently:

Waymarking

A lovely day in Melbourne

A great afternoon to wander down Melbourne FP12. The perfume of camomile was in the air and the red of the poppies contrasted with the fading rape flowers. The little storage hut is sadly in a state of collapse and probably won't last long.

We are lucky to have this path open and this is mainly due to the work done by Dave Adkins the former ROW officer for South Derbyshire.
So thanks Dave and good luck!

Donington Path (continued)

The director of the Download Festival says that he has a copy of a temporary closure order for the path on the Leicestershire side. However the Leicestershire ROW officers seem to have not been informed by the county's legal team.

This order does not cover the Derbyshire side though.

This issue is important as there is a history of path closure here which was supposedly dealt with firmly by the Leicestershire Local Access Forum in 2008.

Hopefully some answers will appear next week.

See post 149 here:

http://forums.downloadfestival.co.uk/m4659848-p8.aspx

Donington Path Closed Again - Download Festival

The Melbourne to Donington footpath has again been blocked.
I can't find any evidence yet of a temporary closure order on the Leicestershire side and Derbyshire CC have confirmed that none was applied for on their side.

The photo above was taken on Monday on the Derbyshire side which was blocked in two places, Further on, the entrance to Leicestershire was also blocked (see below).

More photos here:
http://tinyurl.com/doningtonpath