OAKHILL 2009

During 2009 the group concentrated on parishes around Oakhill. Photographs of recent work parties can be found by clicking the links below

Oakhill Work Party Jan to Mar 2009

The culmination of each year's work is the August Bank Holiday Walking Festival when we invite people to walk our routes (and admire our handiwork!!)

The Team at Work

Mendip Ramblers Working Party work with the Rights of Way Department at Mendip District Council (MDC) to maintain footpaths and stiles throughout the MDC area. This year a great number of stiles, kissing gates and fingerpostshave been installed. We also constructed many plank bridges. The culmination of the year’s effort is the Walking Festival.

The tasks are varied and various and as our experience has grown so has our ability to tackle most situations we are likely to meet!

Mendip Ramblers Group has been working on footpaths in the Mendip area for the past seven years, organised and co-ordinated throughout by Bob Berry. Every year an area is chosen and routes selected within it to produce about a dozen varied walks. The work party group then walks these routes and identifies problems associated with them. Problems range from minor repairs to stiles and steps and clearing of undergrowth to complete reopening of totally obstructed paths. The work party then spends every Tuesday for a year correcting all the problems!! Often hedges have to be cut through and new stiles installed where none previously existed or have long since disappeared. Sometimes ditches and small streams have to be bridged and at others flights of steps are required up steep slopes and banks.

With publicity targeted more towards the local parishes we were pleased to have far greater numbers on this year's shorter afternoon walks. We had more on the morning walks too so altogether the Mendip Ramblers 3 day Walking Festival over the August Bank Holiday attracted nearly 300 walkers, despite the inclement weather on Sunday and Monday when low mist envelopped most of the area!

The starting point was the Oakhill Village Recreational Hall. After the walks tea and huge quantities of cakes were available in the Hall

The first of many stone stiles negotiated today

Bob and Celia horsing about

That's the way to do it!

A welcome break

Great views today