The destruction went on along the footpath, the Council sent in contractors with machinery.
This machine was sent into the part of the woodland we called 'The Primrose Wood' where Spring brought masses of Primroses throughout.
Rough stone was laid onto the torn surface.
This was laid all the way along up to the farm.
A couple of sleepers were laid over the stream and a fence put up alongside. The fence? To stop people from falling over the edge where the stream cut through down into the wood.
All this was done to make the walk safe and to tidy it up! This is absolutely true, there are people working on our Councils who believe the countryside is intrinsically unsafe and untidy for people. Therefore if there is money to waste, I mean available, then it should be put to good use in this way.
The track was then finished off with a layer of what is called dust and compacted down. Then they erected the fence all the way along. The owner of the farm was only too happy to allow them to do this. He has saved himself hundreds of pounds in fencing which suits him very well.
The legacy can be seen here.
Trees have been torn up.
The width of this small area of woodland has been devastated.
No Primroses have survived this. Horses now come into the area and have chopped the ground about until nothing exists.
The trees to the right are three Limes (Tilia × europaea) which were known locally as the Three Witches. Thankfully they have not been touched, but the area underneath them used to grow Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum) or Ransoms. But no more, thankfully we have a wonderful stock in the garden that can be picked easily.
The whole exercise was done with good intension no doubt. But also done in complete ignorance. The Council waller was a nice enough chap to talk to, partly because we did stir things up and he was handling us with kid gloves. But it's this kind of ignorance that is destroying the planet, little by little a section at a time.
He believes he was following the area that the original track used to run, which was true. But it had fallen out of use as a trackway for around 80 years. The area had formed it's own environment with the gradual claiming back by nature. But he could not see this argument.
Anyway we did what we could, but this area was out of our control. We can only look on the positive side. The new area that has been laid with stone is at least from a local quarry. The stone is Pembrokeshire Carbonaceous limestone. Within a few years plants that love an alkaline environment will dominate this area. It will be interesting to see what comes along over the years.
