Your Countryside from HCC

Since the last issue the teams have finished their summer vegetation cuts and are now working on the winter work programme of signage repairs, hard winter vegetation cut backs, surfacing and bridges.

Our volunteers have been working very hard across the county racking up over 3000! hours since our last edition. Very impressive!! The volunteers have been completing an array of different tasks from site inspections, vegetation clearance, installing kissing gates, surfacing work and installing sleeper bridges. Many thanks to all our volunteers!!

Photos below: Top image - Alton Ramblers installing sleeper bridges in Kingsley. Next Two: Chilbolton parish Volunteers clearing vegetation on the Marks Way. Next three: SSE make the difference volunteers surfacing in Havant. Last image: Winchester Ramblers installing surfacing on a well used path by the river Itchen in Winchester. 

A massive thank you to three groups of Sparsholt College Countryside Management and Conservation students who have been out with the Central East Access team recently improving a section of the Clarendon way. The Clarendon Way is a 24 mile long distance route linking the cathedral cities of Salisbury and Winchester.  This section of the route had become channelled due to its steep nature and the vegetation growth. The students have cleared back the vegetation, reprofiled and laid a new surface. The new surface is held in place using wooden boards to prevent future erosion.

For more information on the Clarendon Way: https://www.hants.gov.uk/thingst…/countryside/…/clarendonwa

(Pictured below: top left - path before works, top right path after, bottom left digging out for board installation & bottom right - filling inbetween boards with scalpings)