including Beech Bottom Dyke and Sandridge Road Wastes
After determined efforts, Friends of Bernards Heath has now opened up the Dyke so that it is possible to walk along the bottom from the entrance near the Ancient Briton junction to the railway embankment, a distance of about one mile. We are very grateful to all those who came along on a last Saturday morning to clear the area from the rifle butts to Valley Road.
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.
A slippery steep slope made access difficult during our efforts to clear the bottom of Beech Bottom Dyke, and this has now been addressed by clearing a path near the Ancient Briton Junction. The arrow shows where we started.
For the time being, it is not only the new entrance, but also the only exit, unless you are a mountain goat!
Photos: PC and RM
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.
Continue reading “Beech Bottom Dyke Action Day 1 – FoBH clears the way”
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.
We are urgently looking for someone who would be interested in becoming the School Crossing Patrol for
The pay is £7.20 per hour (plus holiday pay and retainer). If you are interested or would like further information please contact Heather Hill on 01992 556815
Can we please remind you that it is a parental responsibility to get your child to and from school safely.
Hertfordshire County Council, Transport, Access and Safety,
County Hall, Pegs Lane,
Hertford, SG13 8DN.
Tel: 01992 556815
March 2016
Bernards Heath provides a safe landing pad for the East Anglian Air Ambulance following an accident today involving a cyclist and a car in Lemsford Road.
Continue reading “Air Ambulance on the Heath”
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.
Last October the country thrilled to the drama of the sinkhole on Bernards Heath – and the story is not finished yet.
Much was written and said in the media, but there is nothing like being on the spot to hear an explanation of the factors which came together to ‘make the earth move’.
Over the summer, Roger Miles, member of FoBH Committee, longtime resident of the Heath, amateur archaeologist and local historian, will be leading small group tours of the Heath on the theme of the sinkhole.
Geology, industrial archaeology, local history and even literature all figure in the story, but there will be nothing ‘difficult’ to understand.
If you would like to join one of the tour groups, which can be on a weekday, weekend or evening – state preference – let us know, plus how many you would be. You will be notified when a tour is planned.
