Last week the mid week group were working hard to rake leaves off the path and stairs beside the Water of Leith. This week, they went back to finish off an even harder job!
A 300m stretch of drainage had to be dug out along the side of the path. This involved a lot of digging with mattocks and spades to try and uncover the drainage gravel which had been placed down in previous years. Soil and rubbish had accumulated in the drainage ditch in the past year as mud and soil was swept down the very steep slope leading down to the path. Therefore, every year or so the drainage ditch needs to get re-dug to prevent the path from being waterlogged.
In total, over 30 wheelbarrows full of soil were removed from the ditch to allow better drainage of the path and the end results were fantastic with a clear gravel ditch visible running alongside the path. At the same time, some volunteers were sweeping and clearing a large flight of steps at the far end of the path. This got rid of a lot of unsightly and slippery material which had been accumulating on the steps making them a lot safer and a lot nicer to walk down! All in all, a very productive couple of days down at the Water of Leith and spirits stayed high despite the slightly damp weather.
The end results. A clear drainage ditch is ready for action!
Nice clear steps – it’s a very long way up!
Smile! 🙂
Hard at work shovelling soil from the drainage dicth.