Path Building at Pen-y-Graig

The path ,which runs from the centre building at Pen y Graig along the
top of the wooded hillside, was just earth over slippery ground and tree
roots. Even in dry summer going was tricky, making it awkward for people
to contour directly on foot to the other areas of the wood, otherwise in
inclement weather and wintertime they spend energy struggling or would
be forced to route down along the bottom track.

Rough ground can be tiring and so where necessary we try to make
experience of the landscape easier by creating hard level surfaces.
Therefore, to improve access and make the woodland more amenable for
participants, we have been using stone from old collapsed walls to make
a low retaining wall and all-weather path.

The first section is 50 metres of steep ground from the centre to the
small quarrying site and beech tree, most of this needed retaining
walling and the creation of a hard levelled surface. Some sections only
required retaining wall and so an earth surface has been kept. We have
now completed the base layers of this section, cobbling the core of the
structure ready for dressing with some crushed stone before next winter.
The result will be a secure and stable path which complements the
landscape and blends back into the woodland.

In the immediate vicinity of the path we  found 10 to 15 tonnes of
stone, from very large boulders to small cobbles and gallets. This has
been built into a strong wall capable of taking a vehicle, although the
plan is only for foot traffic. In some areas the base went down a metre
below the final surface and includes various very large existing stones
of over a tonne that could not be shifted. We built the surface upwards
to lift footfall and encourage stepping over tree roots so as not to
damage them. We’ve used what was already in the woodland, and simply
folded it into the contours to invite an easier walk through the trees.

We used dry stone walling techniques with a focus on placing every stone
for optimum structure. This should ensure the path endures for much
longer into the future than the site has been used in the past.