Over the last couple of weekends some of our more dedicated members have been braving the colder (though fortunately still dry and sunny) weather to do some wall repairs at Threipmuir, in the Pentland hills. The following report is by Richard Love, our chairman, who was present on both visits.
I'm hoping to get some photos from Ray Clancy (see below) at some point - I'll post these here if/when I get them.
Threipmuir reservoir.
There is a fine looking red sandstone dry stane dyke on the south side of the reservoir, with shaped regular copestones to match. Several gaps have developed over the years and the water company and ranger service have been slow to engage our services since we were last there nearly 15 years ago. Most of the damage has been caused by large roots from the stand of pine trees alongside the track, which was confirmed when a team of 3 members on 15th (Richard, Dave and Alan) and 22nd (Chris replacing Dave) dug out the first section of about 5 metres.
We cleared the first section and rebuilt it in rather wet, drizzly conditions, albeit mild and mostly sheltered by the trees. One passer-by asked for information for a friend to come on a course. There were lots of dog and child walkers on both days (hold on to your lunch boxes!) and one elderly man (older than me anyway) insisted on putting a hearting stone on the dyke, then claiming he could now tell his grandchildren ‘I built that’.
On day 2 we welcomed Ray Clancy, a former journalist currently doing a photography course at Edinburgh College. She spent an hour snapping away fairly unobtrusively and offered to let us have some of her pictures for you to see. They’re definitely more ‘hands on’ than most of our previous shots. She chose the better of the two days, as the sun shone almost uninterruptedly all day, although there was ice on the ground in parts all day too.
This was our last practical day this year and I was slightly disappointed that some of our newer members were unable to come along. These extra days were partly for your benefit. We hope to see you next year, as I’m sure we’ll be back here again, along with Friends of the Pentlands too.
Thanks to all members who turned up this year. More next year, please. Thanks to Pentland Rangers for clearing branches and delivering enough stone for our needs.
I'm hoping to get some photos from Ray Clancy (see below) at some point - I'll post these here if/when I get them.
Threipmuir reservoir.
There is a fine looking red sandstone dry stane dyke on the south side of the reservoir, with shaped regular copestones to match. Several gaps have developed over the years and the water company and ranger service have been slow to engage our services since we were last there nearly 15 years ago. Most of the damage has been caused by large roots from the stand of pine trees alongside the track, which was confirmed when a team of 3 members on 15th (Richard, Dave and Alan) and 22nd (Chris replacing Dave) dug out the first section of about 5 metres.
We cleared the first section and rebuilt it in rather wet, drizzly conditions, albeit mild and mostly sheltered by the trees. One passer-by asked for information for a friend to come on a course. There were lots of dog and child walkers on both days (hold on to your lunch boxes!) and one elderly man (older than me anyway) insisted on putting a hearting stone on the dyke, then claiming he could now tell his grandchildren ‘I built that’.
On day 2 we welcomed Ray Clancy, a former journalist currently doing a photography course at Edinburgh College. She spent an hour snapping away fairly unobtrusively and offered to let us have some of her pictures for you to see. They’re definitely more ‘hands on’ than most of our previous shots. She chose the better of the two days, as the sun shone almost uninterruptedly all day, although there was ice on the ground in parts all day too.
This was our last practical day this year and I was slightly disappointed that some of our newer members were unable to come along. These extra days were partly for your benefit. We hope to see you next year, as I’m sure we’ll be back here again, along with Friends of the Pentlands too.
Thanks to all members who turned up this year. More next year, please. Thanks to Pentland Rangers for clearing branches and delivering enough stone for our needs.
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