This bench, which faces Heath Farm Lane, was badly damaged by an attempt to burn it. Now RM, with help from some pupils at Sandringham School, has done an excellent job of repairing it. The wood is English oak, which is very expensive – it fact it would cost several hundred pounds to make a bench like this, not counting labour.
Unfortunately, there have recently been other incidents of senseless vandalism. Attempts to burn other benches and rubbish bins as well as spray painting – it only spoils the Heath for the majority of users.
A well planned act of wanton destruction took place on the path between Spinney Cottage and Harpenden Road last Thursday or Friday, 23rd/24th August. A fence that was recently repaired was taken apart and sawn up to make a ramp for people on bikes. It is very dangerous.
If you saw any activity in this area, we would like to hear from you (use FoBH Mail in the side bar). Any witness responding will not have their name divulged to anyone other than the police.
If you’ve walked along the narrow path between the Lower Field and the Heathlands School gate you’ll be aware of several short stumps which were a trip hazard. No more – we have now removed them.
This heavy branch (top photo) )was left across the track from Townsend Drive to the Ancient Briton as the result of Storm Doris. Our chainsaw was faulty, so we were reduced to muscle power and bow saws (inset). As a result this precariously perched branch was moved out of the way. A fallen tree in Harpenden Road caused traffic to be diverted to Townsend Drive/Waverley Road on Saturday afternoon.
Japanese knotweed, showing its characteristic zig-zag branch structure
There have been several outbreaks of the not unattractive, but very invasive plant Japanese knotweed on the Heath, mostly near the old Fire Station and behind the Judo Club. It is a major problem in that it grows very rapidly and can cause serious damage, especially to underground structures. A garden outbreak can easily be a reason to refuse a mortgage application.
A verdant sward of new grass now runs across the Lower Field towards Fontmell Close. This was recently an unsightly mess following attempts to provide access for residents of Fontmell and Bridle Close after the sinkhole appearance last October. Photo: MN.
Will secateurs and loppers do the job? Maybe we’ll need something more serious!
Friends of Bernards Heath made a big effort to start clearing paths at Beech Bottom Dyke on Saturday morning. Thank you everyone who took part.
Where, and what is Beech Bottom Dyke? It is a major pre-Roman ancient earth work that begins at the junction of Townsend Drive and Batchwood Drive and runs for the first part parallel to Beech Road, then on across Valley Road to the railway embankment. The Dyke is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM) under the protection of Historic England and owned and managed by St Albans District Council. The Google aerial view below makes the prominent part of the location clear and shows where we carried out path clearance work. Read more about the Dyke here.
Work started this week to restore the Lower Field. The photo on the left shows how it looked after the Fontmell/Bridle Close sinkhole episode and the photo on the right shows how things are beginning to look now. Photos: MN Peter Bone, Senior Surveyor – Public Sector Services, Lambert Smith Hampton writes:
I should like to let you know that remediation works to the area of ground that was disturbed by the original temporary access route to Fontmell Close and Bridle Close will be commencing next week. The works will comprise levelling of the rutted areas and cultivating the topsoil ready for grass seeding.
The reinstatement area will need to be temporarily fenced off with cones and tape whilst the works are carried out, and the fencing will be left in place after the area has been seeded to give the new grass a chance to establish itself. The advice we have on that is that it would be best if the reinstated area could be left for the grass to re-establish the root system until May 2017 if possible. It would therefore be helpful if you could help to let users of the field know that a period for the grass cover to regenerate itself will be beneficial in the longer term.
We are also arranging for other works such as grass cutting, weed spraying, and a tidying-up of branches across the larger field area.
A quick strim of cow parsley has improved access to the interpretation board in Townsend Drive, which provides an excellent succinct history of the Heath. This board and the two others in Harpenden Road and Sandridge Road were installed by the Friends of Bernards Heath. The boards are now beginning to show signs of weathering and replacements are being considered.
