Welcome one and all to Episode 11 of PRoWler’s Progress. This was the episode where I wanted to tell you that Ricky and Jonny had received their funding from Devon County Council so they could start on some of their projects.
It is with a heavy heart (and a very light wallet), that I have to tell you, dear reader, that no funds have been forthcoming. Ricky and Jonny have had “nice” emails from DCC that make promises, but to-date no readies. Not a penny. Tut!
Let’s hope better news is in the post.
Now… back to what the boys have been up to. This episode has several videos, so don’t forget to click the Play button.
Early April, 2025 – Let’s get rid of that blue rope
Back on Footpath 56, heading north east, just before Heather Bell, there is a wooden gate at the junction with Red Lane. This gate has never opened or closed properly between the gate posts and always needed blue nylon rope to secure it (when I say “never” and “always”, you know what I mean!).
The boys thought this a job that could be done with little £cost but some effort.
They decided that the gate needed re-hanging on a different face of the gate-post, but re-using the existing hinges if possible. This would place the gate centrally between the posts – just like nature intended.
“ Let’s get these hinge plates off. ” said Ricky. “ I’ll get the spanner. ” said Jonny. Lots of pulling and shoving simply rounded off the very nasty and rusty square headed screws holding the hinge plates to the gate-post.
“ Grind it! ” exclaimed Ricky. Jonny was taken aback. “ Oi! watch your language. ” he said (Jonny’s easily offended).
“ No – I mean we’ll have to use the angle grinder to remove the screws, then we can reuse the hinge pins and use new screws. “
“ Ahhh! I’ll get the grinder… ” said Jonny.
So they proceeded to grind the heads off of each of the screws to allow the hinge plates to come free. Sparks flew but it was only a matter of minutes (about 20!) before both hinge plates were free. A quick clean up and on went the hinge plates with new screws on the other side of the post.
Now that’s what I call a “job’s a good-un“. The boys might revisit the gate and change the spring handle as the original is a tad short. A job for another day.
An extra-curricular activity the boys got roped in to (more rope!)
Now here’s a thing. People often contact the PRoWlers for all sorts of reasons. A call recently led the boys up to the bridleway (BW38) leading up to Beacon Hill. The message was that “someone had blocked up a badger hole with rope”. Well as we all know, tampering with badger setts is unlawful. So off the boys went to investigate.
Good news and bad news. On arrival, they did some “Sherlocking” and the good news was it was not a human that blocked the hole, rather it was Brock Badger himself. The bad news was that the badger had obviously got tangled in some discarded nylon rope and had dragged it into the sett. The animal managed to escape but left a trap for themselves and any other badgers that were using that entrance.
Notice how the rope leads back from the hole and tangles around some barbed wire. Lovely !
“ It’s all got to come out! ” – they exclaimed in unison. With some digging, the rope was carefully removed from the hole and traced back several metres (or yards, if you are old-skool). The yellow rope (and there was a lot of it) was deeply buried in the bank – probably discarded by whoever was working in the field many moons ago. More digging – and… more rope was found (this time it was the orange variety) and they removed as much of that as possible as well.
This activity prompted Ricky and Jonny to “name” that end of the bridle path as “Hang Badger Hole“. This might be the start of something! We’ve already got “Black Bunny Corner” (FP56 near Goldsmiths Lane) and “Badger Alley” (FP41 south of Churchill Lane) – and don’t forget the “Stairway to Heaven” (FP34 off Churchill Lane) – so who knows where this might lead?
While up on the beacon, they noticed that somehow (!) the way markers had vanished from the new post they installed in Episode 9 leaving just the screws. Weird huh?
“ Hmmm…” said Jonny, “ do you think it’s mischief makers, more serious espionage or bovine baddies? ” Ricky thought about it, scratched his beard and decided to give “whoever” the benefit of the doubt and declared it “ An act of God! “. Well I never. They replaced the way markers then sat down for a nice hot cuppa with a Waggon Wheel.
A zapping time was had by all on FP36
Just recently, another call came in to PRoWlers’ HQ saying that an electric fence was blocking FP36 on Beacon Hill, close to Beacon Cottage, just on the northern boundary of our parish.
Note: Electric fences are allowed to “block” footpaths, but MUST have an insulated handle located at the block point to allow people to unhook, pass through and re-hook the fence on their travels.
Off the boys went. When they arrived it was pretty obvious what had happened. A new stock-proof fence had been erected along the field boundary, but the new posts were inset from the field’s edge. This effectively meant an existing electric fence (with handle) was now stranded and mis-placed.
This one was an easy (temporary) fix and simply meant relocating the way marker from the original post and adjusting the electric fence and handle to correctly and safely allow access through. The boys will get back up there and relocate the number tag and possibly remove the old (brown) post and connect the handle to the new (green) post when time allows.
Not perfect at the moment, but as we all know, perfect can be boring !
And Finally…
In the good ol’ days, News at Ten always signed off with an “And Finally…” item to lighten the mood.
Well, here’s our version. An out take from one of the videos and a smelly mess. The perils of being a PRoWler are many.
So until next time, you know the drill.
Enjoy your walking, follow the Countryside code and Shut That Gate!
Bye for now.