Last updated May 23, 2020

Work Party News

21 May 2008

 
We replaced two poor condition stiles with kissing gates at GR 248 835 and GR 247 834. These are on Circular Walk 20, near the Solihull/Warks border, just south of Sparrows Grove.

Before replacement, the stile near the SE corner of Sparrows Grove was sloping and wobbly as in photo on the right. The fence posts were made of elder, and rotten. However the fence rails were oak, still very strong and rustic after many years use. We therefore re-used the rails, and nailed them to a new post which also acts as a waymark post. The step however was in good condition, so has been re-used as a seat.

The second stile looked better before replacement, but was wobbly, broken and even harder to climb. The kissing gate pictured below solves that difficulty, and gives you time to appreciate the bluebells (bottom left of picture, but past their prime).

This is a wonderful walk, and especially good near the Solihull/Warks border. It is a remote path, far from any busy roads but with wonderful distant views. That’s fine for walking, but to deliver kissing gate kits and tools could be a hard slog – fortunately we had the use of three 4×4 vehicles on the day (SMBC truck, plus two ACWA members).