We have been working recently on the path that runs north from Six Ways down to Brook Glade. As the memorial bench to our late member Howard Aiken is situated at Six Ways, we have dubbed this path “Howard’s Way”.
Back in 2008, this path was very narrow and overshaded by trees:
Then in late 2011, contractors cleared the area and widened the path. At first, the area looked devastated, as shown in this photo from New Year’s Day 2012:
Now, nearly 10 years on, nature has completely regenerated and the new growth was beginning to encroach the path and narrow it. So we have been working to cut back the edge growth, coppicing the birch and hornbeam, while leaving the bramble edges. In this 2021 photo taken at the same position as above, one can see in the distance how narrow the path had become, while in the foreground, the work to clear the edges can be seen.