including Beech Bottom Dyke and Sandridge Road Wastes
Friends of Bernards Heath met with representatives of St Albans District Council and councillors Roma Mills and Richard Curthoys to review the current condition of the Lower Field. The new road across the field from the old fire station works well, but many objects have been left, seemingly at random, which make the area look untidy and in some areas, dangerous. It is hoped that contractors will be able to tidy up in the near future.
Continue reading “Objects left on the Lower Field”If you are unable to take a walk around the Heath using the excellent short or long guides produced by Peter Burley, you might like to follow the walk in pictures, mostly taken on a balmy autumn day in 2015. The walk took about 1½ hours.
We suggest you read at least the short guide before taking a look at the pictures. They deviate from the guide slightly to take in Townsend Drive, formerly Luton Lane.
The start and end point described in the guides is the Ancient Briton junction.
The wooded area of Bernards Heath includes an extensive network of well used paths. As many will know, several of these paths are now very muddy and slippery. They seem to be particularly bad this year, perhaps because rain has fallen with almost daily regularity in December and early January. The paths then have little chance to dry out.
Friends of Bernards Heath has been improving the paths over several years, the cost being shared with St Albans District Council. The longest, a new path extension to the Ancient Briton.
The paths have been dug to a depth of about 4 inches/10 cm and refilled with crushed road scalpings or planings. The resulting surface is much firmer than the muddy areas and drains more easily.
The sections may not always be apparent because of debris falling onto the path, but the image below shows clearly where the path surface is much improved beyond the lower muddy area.
We hope that the Council will continue to support us in our efforts to make the Heath a more enjoyable place to walk.
Does the rainbow over the Lower Field herald a change in the very mild weather we’ve had of late? Well, the temperature today (7 January) dropped to a maximum of 9°C, by contrast with the run of mild and dull weather over November and December (average 12°C). Our rainfall totals over these months were unexceptional compared with the north of England and Scotland.
Photo: PC.
To supplement the survey work that Hertfordshire County Council has carried out on the land it owns at Bernards Heath, St Albans City and District Council has similar survey works underway on adjacent common land that it manages.
To supplement the survey work that Hertfordshire County Council has carried out on the land it owns at Bernards Heath, St Albans City and District Council has similar survey works underway on adjacent common land that it manages. While this work is underway, the playground will be closed from Monday 21 December for a short period. The Council will open the playground again as soon as possible.
Richard Shwe
Head of Community Services,
St. Albans City & District Council
Still digging – efforts continue to ease access for residents of Fontmell and Bridle Close. Mud has been a real problem and now a third almost diagonal track is being developed across the Lower Field, this time with a more substantial base of sand and gravel, similar to that used on the Green Ring. It will be accessed through the old Fire Station Grounds.
This young tree on the upper field received unwanted attention recently – broken at the stump (inset A) and a broken retaining strap (inset B, shown on another tree). Straps have been broken on other support posts in the background too. If you have any information on the culprit, please let us know – click the FoBH icon in the sidebar.
While the unresolved problem of the sinkhole, or crown hole, has been less prominent in the news of late, activity has been focused on access for residents of Fontmell Close and Bridle close. It is still a very muddy, but at least residents have been connected to essential utilities. A shuttle service truck is shown alongside.
Access on foot has been improved by the extending the footpath from the children’s play area to the end of Bridle Close, but rain has made vehicular access a real problem.
Continue reading “Fontmell/Bridle Close access update”
Friends of Bernards Heath and St Albans District Council have shared the cost (50/50) of extending an existing path off Harpenden Road to the Ancient Briton junction, a length of about 100 yards. An overgrown area has been cleared and a hardcore path laid.
