trail building/refurbishing

Boffington

my local trails need a bit of TLC at the moment. that main problem is nettles and spiky plants growing over onto the trail, in some places they're over 6 foot and thick as feck. whats the best way to get rid of them?

Filligan

Man in forestry he say industrial (heavy duty) Petrol strimmer....

Otherwise get your mitts on a few scythes and get out there with your pals and some cold liquid and munchies will take a while but it's worth it eh!!!???!!!

Boffington

yeah there really good trails but i'm short on petrol strimmers and sythes to be honest

Sikora

Get some gloves and pull them out with your hands then

Boffington

i hate hard work but yeah it'll work in small areas where plants can just be pushed back and i've done quite a bit but the problem comes with thicker patches of things like brambles which are tough stemmed and theres a couple of parts which are unridable because of the sheer volume of nettles
any quick ways or tips on clearing vegetation?

danhx

Boffington wrote:

i hate hard work but yeah it'll work in small areas where plants can just be pushed back and i've done quite a bit but the problem comes with thicker patches of things like brambles which are tough stemmed and theres a couple of parts which are unridable because of the sheer volume of nettles
any quick ways or tips on clearing vegetation?

Few cans of petrol and a match?

Seriously though be prepared to do some hard work and follow the sugestions above, there really is no easy way.

dave_hill

If you're talking public rights of way, you could get your local authority to do it for you (who will probably charge the landowner for the privelige).

Be careful if you're talking about "cheeky" trails as you may be leaving yourself open to accusations of vandalism...

David Lund

Brushcutter

dave_hill

No it's true!

Boffington

i went out today and found the best way is to cover yourself from head to toe and wade in there wielding a spade. with some trampling and spade work you get through it quite quickly, still time consuming though.
ooh yeah any tips on dealing with boggy bits? you know your come across bits of ground which seem to never dry out! in a couple of places i've put sticks perpendicular to the trail to create a kind of north shore type thing which works but is labour intensive and needs a lot of up keep as they just don't stay!, any other ideas?

metallica

drainage?

Boffington

do you mean out some drainage in? coz the only access to the tails is a 10 minute ride and a couple of fences to climb its gonna be quite a job to move all the nessesary equiptment to the trails, then dig them up and re-lay them
also, the trail as a whole is well drained but theres just a couple of spots where puddles turn to bogs

metallica

lol ok then ignore what i said lol

Boffington

you only said "drainage" which i didn't understand so i thought you meant put some proper drainage in, which is a lot of work and is unecassary

Sikora

Is it possible to dig a trench on the side the boggy ground slopes to? Should help with carrying any water away and give the area chance to dry out

strodey

Just put some trousers on or take the nettle stings like a man

jpembroke

Formic acid makes you go faster

Boffington

yeah it is in one place, which i kinda started but one place its kinda in a dip between big tree roots and big rocks. i just don't want it to erode away into a huge hole

Airnimal

Try reporting the blocked trail on http://www.clearthattrail.org.uk/
I quote:
If you can’t get down a right of way, it’s obstructed. Fallen logs, overgrown bushes or locked gates are all obstructions, and the local Council has a duty to keep the trails clear for everyone to use. Councils can’t be everywhere, and if they don’t know about a blocked trail, they can’t fix it. So if you want to get it cleared, you have to report it.

Milkie

Try reporting the blocked trail on http://www.clearthattrail.org.uk/

http://www.clearthattrail.org.uk/obstruction/751?key=bac33338a5
Hope they clear it soon!!!! I won't hold my breathe though!
:?

Boffington

i've let the sun do its job and the trails fine and most blocked trails eg fallen trees can pretty easily be turned into jumps/rollers

thats if they're yours to build on though