Mud hole difficult to pass

For as long as I can remember the path leaving the south eastern corner of Rochfords has broken away from the canal and joined Nursery Lane which is at a lower level. The path bends and slopes, and in summer there is rarely a problem either on foot or on bike.

Last winter the ground became soft and slippery as is to be expected, but in addition a hole developed near the top of the path which was difficult to get over or around the sides of when at its worst. Walkers risked a slip leaving their shoes and possibly clothes caked in mud, and what would happen to a bike's wheels became a gamble as to whether to risk riding or get off and wade.

Pot luck

The path in moderate conditions earlier in the year. Walkers slide, bikes dig in and stop or worse.

Rights of Way

This route out of Rochfords is an official footpath, and is used sufficient for us to request some maintenance.We knew the problem was under consideration but a couple of months back this appeared. It's is probably due to one of our committee bringing the problem to the attention of the rights of way group that lead to Slough Borough Council intervening, and not just doing a minimalist patch, but making quite a good job of it, for which we thank them.

New steps

This is the view looking down from the canal path. The steps are wide enough, and crucially also long enough for a pushchair to go down one step at a time and rest on each level, they are also quite shallow. The surface appears to have adequate grip in wet and dry conditions.

and for bikes...

It's not an ideal cycling solution - a wider margin on one or other side would enable bikes to ride down a smooth shallow slope, but in the summer months the greenery grows too close for this, but nevertheless it is a great improvement over what was there before. A bike can now be taken down the steps without getting shoes covered in mud.

Watch this space for the outcome of the bike and trailer challenge...