North footpath/bridlepath special. Mystery of Crescent bank solved. 22nd August 2023

Update on 26th August. I had this niggly feeling that I was missing a photo from my stomp around the north bridle path. Indeed I had, as I 'discovered' it this week on my cheapo, ancient compact digital camera. It was a photograph of the eastern end of the cleared route of the path.

I met a Cemex staff member who visited Manor farm restoration to check up on restoration and the route of the bridle/foot paths in particular. An Inert manager was with her to. They explained that a whole load of gravel will be dug out just north of the Bailey bridge and used to create said bridle and foot paths. The resulting hole will be filled in with material forming Crescent bank.

I have seen plans for the site where there is mention of digging up gravel from just north of the Bailey bridge for creating paths. So that is consistent.

Anyway, Inert were at work, digging out the western portion of the south bridle path, basically following the route of the former south vehicle track. The spoil from the resulting trench is being dumped on top of Crescent bank. There's an awful lot of it, which will make a very deep, big hole.

One aspect of the bridlepaths and footpaths that did surprise me, was how close they are to areas of open water i.e. Manor lake extension and Hawthorn lake. Whilst brilliant for birders and us photographers, it's bad news for wildfowl, as they would be frightened off by people being so close. And as for horse riders, being some 8 feet or more high in the air.

I will have to wander over to Fleet Hill farm and see how wildfowl cope with the bridlepath that runs around what I call south lake i.e. the lake to the south of the Longwater road entrance. There were some birds who weren't too bothered. I can't remember if the Great Crested Grebes were still in the lake.

As you read this update, please be aware that I have plans from WBC planning that contradict each other. One set has a bridlepath running all around the north part of Manor farm restoration. Another has a bridlepath only going part way round from the Longwater road entrance to roughly the middle of the north edge, where it turns north to follow an old farm track to the Lower Sandhurst road. What continues to the Moor Green Lakes Group car park is a footpath only. This latter plan makes more sense to me.

Anyway, on with another marathon photo fest of the route of the north path I photographed on Sunday after my tip off from a Finchampstead Parish councilor.  It was strange photographing with loads of light and no sunrise.

I've decided to tag my Tuesday stomp report on to the end of this posting as they are sort of related.

The Cemex representative was visiting Manor farm restoration to inspect progress, primarily of the bridle and foot paths. She was driven around the site by an Inert manager in a new shape Landrover Defender. I'm still in two minds about the new Defender. I love the old Defender, but the new one doesn't quite float my boat, as they say.  It is too smoothed off and like the plethora of bubble cars. It is sort of distinguishable from the generic SUV, but only if you pay attention. Some of the colour schemes I've seen on them are positively ghastly.

The Defender did very well, coping with the very, very uneven surface of Dell and Honey fields, also crossing some of the more boggy ground. Though they didn't cross over the very boggy ground that was the ridge.

Apparently, I am known to Cemex, and she asked walkers who talked to her if they were Angus. Gulp! I had visions of being carted off to the clink (handcuffed and slung in the back of the Defender) or being issued with writs for all the pithy comments I've made in my blog. Nah, nothing of it. We had a very pleasant chat, when we met. She was particularly excited about our resident Marsh Harrier - and who wouldn't be.

Anyway, enough name dropping, idle gossip. One with Inert's latest progress. The pace of which is exhausting. They are completing in days jobs that used to take them months.

A digger has continued digging the west bridlepath trench on the south side of Manor farm from where they left off on Friday. A truly substantial trench it is. The spoil from the trench is being dumped on Crescent bank, and will be used to infill a large hole Inert will dig to extract gravel for the various paths they are building.

I was very surprised how close the paths were to Manor and Hawthorn lakes. A lot of wildfowl will scurry off when people and horse riders come by. However, they will return at dusk when they learn that people do not appear. My very early morning forays onto Manor and Fleet Hill farms reveal plenty of birds.

Some pretty substantial fencing needs to be erected pdq. Said fencing needs mesh along it to stop dogs from getting onto the reserve and frightening off birds - particularly ground nesting e.g. Sky larks and LRPs, if the latter ever come back. LRPs need lots of shingle and gravel surfaces to nest on. I'm not sure if the design of the site accommodates this covering.

The Cemex representative did mention that they were thinking of putting a car park on Fleet Hill farm. We know that the Longwater road entrances to Fleet Hill farm are a very popular spot for parking cars. The only issue is sight line for drivers, as this section of road is still, perversely, 60mph! Though to be honest, most drivers only get up to 40mph.

I have seen, in a planning document, a statement saying that the speed limit will be changed to 30 mph, once the reserve becomes operational - open, in layman's terms. Actually, I feel 40mph will be more suitable. Words with local councils could speed up (no pun intended) the speed limit being lowered. Most all residents would be very pleased for this to occur.

Oh, I do hope that more than 20 spaces will be provided. This is a figure I've seen on a site diagram for a proposed car park on Manor farm at the Longwater road entrance.

Whilst we were stood chatting on the Bailey bridge, the Inert manager suggested lowering the footpath there by a metre or so. I'm not sure how that is going to work with the Bailey bridge. One plan by Finchampstead Parish Council is that the Bailey bridge would offer good site access for vehicles via Chandlers farm. It ain't going to work if there is a couple of feet or three drop on the north end of the Bailey bridge.

Oh, one huge surprise to me, which I didn't pick up on. There is a foot bridge on the east of the Bailey bridge. This used to carry the outflow pipe from the pump, and was obscured by vegetation. Now that the vegetation has been cleared, and the pipe removed, the foot bridge can be seen.  It needs a bit (fair bit) of work to bring it up to scratch. Can't see the point, really. The Bailey bridge is good enough.

Anyway, enough waffle, on  with progress slideshow.