An Other Foot Bridge Comes Down

At one end of Rock Walk 3 teams now drill into the cliff face, before there was only one team working there. Two thirds of the way along a walk way last used 12 months ago when Rock Walk was open to the public is removed.

All that remains lies scattered half way down the cliff face. Twenty minutes later when I went back even this wreckage had been removed. The Vertical Technology teams are not hanging about as they clear the unwanted debris and scrub before placing netting over the cliff face.

I have a feeling the next few days they will slow a little as the photo below shows there is a considerable amount of vegetation to be cleared and the rock face looks much more irregular and more difficult to work on.

Moving Fast.

At one end two workers drill in to a net covered cliff to fix the face with 2.5 metre long bolts.
And about two thirds of the way along 7 workers cut back the low lying vegetation prior to laying netting. The vegetation needs to be cut back otherwise when it grows in the spring it will not grow through the mesh and will lift the netting. Not a good idea. Above this section there is a foot bridge from the old walkways, it will have to go.

The remaining third of the cliff will. I suspect be harder than this bit, much more lose rock, this is where Devon Tree Services had the most problems with falling rocks when they were removing the trees.

Small Rocks

In one part of the cliff there are workmen drilling deep holes in the rocks to hold them in place with steel bars. Here the rocks are too small to get this kind of attention, there would be so many plates holding the cliff up it would end up looking like a giant Dalek. So these two are attacking the small rocks with pickaxes and sending little clumps of rock tumbling down the cliff. Don't worry there is no one standing at the bottom and there is a safety barrier to stop any rocks that might try and get onto the road. This is the section where, until recently a footbridge stood. If you look carefully you can still see the foundations.

Roots and Rocks

Here is what roots can do to rocks, little roots make their way in through tiny cracks, get bigger, crack gets bigger rock falls down. Takes time but roots have nothing else to do but get bigger and don't really care what happens when the rock lands on some one's head.

This section of the cliff was covered with vegetation until a couple of weeks ago.

Boring

These two intrepid workers, considering how cold and windy it was today, are drilling holes 2.5 metres into the rock face. Steel rods will then be inserted into the holes and metal plates will be fitted to hold the rock in place. It looks hard work down at street level and I am sure it is hard work 50 feet above street level. I'm not sure how many off these plates are to be fitted, but probably more than two or three will be required. Just to the left a couple of rods can be seen sticking out from the rock face, the pipe going down to the compressor for the drill is hanging from one of them

Rock Walk Bridge Gone

Photo below shows the bridge making it's first public appearance in 35 years. This was taken in February 2008 and the 2nd photo shows the rubbish below it.

And more up to date photos taken Dec 2008.

This section of the paths on Rock Walk first came into view in February when Devon Tree Services removed the trees and bushes from in front of it. The ground below the bridge and the bridge it's self was littered with rubbish, beer cans, plastic bags, food cartons and hypodermic syringes due to the area being used by a small group of less desirable tourists. The photo above was taken on Tuesday and when I walked by today, Friday it had gone.

Torbay's Rock Walk Exhibition

Torbay Council recently tried to whip up a little interest and excitement in Rock Walk by holding an Exhibition. For a couple of days it was on show in the Princess Theatre which is in the firing line if any 20 tonne rocks roll down the cliff. Then it was moved to the Library in Lymington Rd. This is it.

Not very exciting is it? The top bit has a few photos of Rock Walk as it was and the bottom bit shows an impression of what it will look like when it is finished. The work is expected to cost over a million quid so economies have to be taken where ever possible. The board on the right with the coloured bits of paper are for viewers, if the can contain their excitement, to express their comments, make suggestions and ask questions. I even went so far as to stick a little coloured sticker myself.

There is no sign of an existing foot path (see above) in the new plans and I asked why not. In the new plans there only seems to be one path up then the same path down. Surely we need two paths otherwise there could just possibly a bit of a bottleneck in busy times. And it's more interesting having more than one pathway. Mind who the planers may just see my question, realise they have missed out a vital part of the redevelopment and write me a nice letter thanking me. It could also add a few thousand pounds to the cost.

Netting the Cliff

I took this photo to show the workers removing soil and rock debris from the cliff face. It was only when I looked at the photo on the computer did I notice that part of the cliff had already got netting covering it. Once the vegetation has grown a little it will be extremely hard to see. Which should put one or two peoples' minds at rest, I had been told by some that the netting would look a bit of a mess.

Still Dangerous

The blue barrier was erected by ISCA Scaffolding on the instruction of Torbay Council to protect passing walkers and drivers from falling rocks. And there have been a few over the past months. Now Vertical Technology have started their work to make the cliff face safe. At the moment his work involves workers hanging from ropes cutting back the vegetation that has grown up since last spring and also removing any scrub and vine roots, and dislodging any rocks that might fall from the face. To protect the trees at the base of the cliff wooden barriers were built round them. In the picture you can see 3 trees have barriers but the fourth tree doesn't. This is because there have been so many loose rocks dislodged that the barrier was blown away. Most of the rocks were no bigger than footballs and the tree seems to have survived. The blue barrier does get in the way of taking photos of the base of the cliff, to see what's down there you have to catch a bus and nip upstairs and hope the driver drives slowly past. Mind you it does stop rocks coming in through the bus windows.

OK not a brilliant picture but I couldn't get the driver to drive slowly, some of them just don't know how to drive at less than 30 mph.

Worker Injured on Rock Walk

One of the workers cutting back the vegetation whilst hanging half way down the cliff face was hit by falling debris. He was taken by ambulance to Torbay Hospital with neck injuries. He was waering a hard hat at the time and the injuries were consistant with compression of the neck due to a heavy weight landing on his head.
Construction company Vertical Technology is carrying out work on the site to remove loose debris.Site supervisor Paul Cook said: "There was an incident here on Friday. It involved a rope access technician who was struck on the head by some loose rock.
"He was evacuated from the site by the emergency services and taken to Torbay Hospital."
Mr Cook added: "The kind of injury he suffered is what we would expect from being hit on the head in this line of work.
"He was wearing a hard hat and all safety procedures were in place.
"Vertical Technology are investigating the incident in conjunction with the health and safety department of Torbay Council."
He continued: "It is the first time in 15 years a worker from Vertical Construction has been injured at work."
He said they have already tightened up working procedures at Rock Walk to ensure the safety of the workforce and prevent a similar accident happening again.

So far in all the work that has been carried out here there have been no serious accidents. The worker involved is now recuperating at home and hopefully will soon be fit enough too return to work.

Nice Hanging around in the Sun

One team have already been over this area hacking away with chain saws at the larger vegetation. Now a second team are covering the same ground to remove anything that might get in the way of the netting that will be placed over this area.

It looks quite pleasant on a sunny day but winter is coming and wind and rain will make this job much more difficult. Especially all the way up there.

Hacking Away at the Vegetation

Net sheet experts are ready to rock
From The Herald Express
Thursday, November 20, 2008, 08:54

TORQUAY'S Rock Walk is losing more of its greenery, but only temporarily.
Workmen are scaling the seafront cliff face to remove vegetation remained after the tree clearance last winter.
This is in preparation for the installation of sheets of rock netting to hold it in place.

The expert contractors Vertical Technology, based in Hampshire, are installing some 9,000 square metres of the netting — the equivalent of nearly five football pitches.
Site manager Paul Cook said it would look like 'metal knitting' to start with, but the vegetation will grow back over it and help knit it all together.

"It will look much better then," he said.
They will also be installing rock anchoring and soil anchoring bolts at strategic points.
The soil bolts are designed to go up to eight metres deep through the soil to the subrock.
Mr Cook said they will also be shotcreting — applying mortar using pressure hoses — in some areas. The £1million contract at Rock Walk is expected to take 28 weeks.

Torbay Council Press Release 19 Nov 2008

19 November 2008
For Immediate Release
Residents’ views sought on plans for Rock Walk
Mediterranean-themed planting, a viewing platform and creative lighting are just a few of the exciting ideas being put forward for Royal Terrace Gardens (Rock Walk) during a public consultation event next week (Monday 24 – Saturday 29 November).
The essential stabilisation works on the rock face are now underway and the council has turned its attention to the landscape restoration works that will follow.
Ginkgo Projects Ltd, working with Luck Associates, has led a team to produce an outline design for the area on behalf of Torbay Council. Now the plans will be going on show as part of the week-long consultation event and local residents, businesses and visitors are being encouraged to have their say.
Cabinet Member Councillor Chris Lewis, said: "The ideas being put forward for Royal Terrace Gardens are very exciting and are aimed at restoring it to a high standard, whilst capturing the essence of its history, in a contemporary way.
"The outline design is not set in stone and we now want to hear the views of local people and visitors on what features they like and any new ideas they may have before the design is finalised."
Some of the main features of the plan include:
* a pedestrian route up the cliff face will lead people to a viewing platform and onwards to Rock Walk
* a Mediterranean planting scheme with low level planting will open up the area, encourage people to enjoy the views across the Bay and also deter anti-social behaviour
* sensory plants, with distinctive scents and texture, will be used near seating areas
* wheelchair access will be provided along the lower gardens, however, due to the steep nature of the cliff it is not possible to provide access up the cliff. All of the steps will meet DDA requirements where possible.
* benches will be located at various points up the cliff face to encourage people to stop, enjoy the view and appreciate the Bay's Geopark connections with use of interpretation boards.
The plans and a virtual fly-through will be available for viewing at the Breezes Cafe Bar, Princess Theatre on Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 November from 10.30am until 3pm. The plans will then be available to view at Torquay Library from Wednesday 26 until Saturday 29 November inclusive and on the council's website at www.torbay.gov.uk/rockwalk from Monday 24 November until Friday 12 December.
The current stabilisation works are due to be completed in early June 2009 and it is hoped to start the restoration works shortly after this.

Work To Start November 10th.

WORK starts on clearing and shoring up Torquay's Rock Walk next week. Starting Monday 10 Nov 2008



The company which won the £1million six-month contract to stabilise the cliff face will be setting up site facilities and expects to start work proper on clearing vegetation and loose material off the rocks during the following week.
A substantial area of the rock face will be covered with rock-fall netting and certain areas will be fixed with rock anchors.
The seafront road will continue to remain open during the contract.

And now for something completely different

Click here for a short video about which pets you should keep only if you live miles from the nearest neighbour.

The Sea Front May Close Thursday Evening.

The forecast for Thursday evening is light showers, low presure, 990mb, and a 25 mph wind from the East. High tide is at 18:50. Shame it will be dark but if the rain isn't too heavy I will get down to the sea front with camera and tripod because the combination of high tide, low presure and an east wind usually mean waves crashing over the sea wall and flooding the main road between Paignton and Torquay.

The aternative to going down and watching the sea front flood is going a neighbourhood watch meeting.

Rock Walk as it Looks Now

This is what Rock Walk looks like now. Work should be starting in 10 days and I will be posting photos here once again, hopefully on a daily basis if there is anything to report.

Rock Walk work to begin in November

From the Herald Express
Tuesday, September 23, 2008, 09:20
11 readers have commented on this story.Click here to read their views.
WORK to repair crumbling Rock Walk will start in November after Torbay Council's development control committee approved plans for the second phase of its rescue.
A contract will be awarded on October 7 with work starting on November 7.
The latest date for completion is June 1, 2009, but Cllr Chris Lewis explained he wanted work finished by the end of April, before the crucial bumper summer season.
Half of Torquay's seafront road has been closed since the cliff face was cleared in the spring.
It is expected to cost up to £1.5million — more than twice the price originally estimated by Torbay Council — to stabilise the cliff face.

Cllr Alan Faulkner asked for the decision to be made before the full council so 'all councillors' could know the 'full cost' of what the council was facing.
But his plea was not backed by any other committee members,
The work, aimed at stabilising the crumbling cliff face, will use dowels, rock pins, concrete dentition ie filling in holes, rock fall netting and shotcrete, a method of blasting cliffs with concrete.
The work will leave only two paths going from the bottom of the cliffs to the top at Warren Road.
Cllr Chris Lewis said: "It's about health and safety.
"And this phase is to put Rock Walk right and make it safe. The last thing any of us want is for a Number 12 bus to be hit by falling rocks." (Oh no?)
He added that the third phase of restoring one of the Bay's prized assets was the exciting one and a capital bid has been submitted to secure funding for Rock Walk's regeneration.
Cllr Ruth Pentney said the committee had no option but to go ahead with the plans.
Cllr Terry Manning said: "Whatever it takes, it needs to be done and whatever it costs, it has to be done.
"The people of Torbay want their Rock Walk back and we have to do this."
According to the council's report, submitted to the committee for consideration, it will take 24 months for Rock Walk to return to its current appearance and the timber footbridges will be removed from the Grade II listed gardens.

Rock Walk repairs delayed

Below is an article from the local paper.
Basically what is happening is Torbay Coucil have decided that before they start work they have to ask for planning permission; from themselves. Lets hope it isn't refused. One question, why did it take them this long to work that little detail out? Next question, what else haven't they done that needs doing?

Monday, September 08, 2008, 09:34
9 readers have commented on this story.Click here to read their views.

WORK on 'shoring up' Torquay's Rock Walk is to be delayed.

Torbay Council has decided it should ask itself for planning permission before the repair scheme is started.
The cliff stabilisation and protection works should have started at the end of October but have been put back by at least four weeks.
Four companies have been short-listed to do the work.
Cllr Chris Lewis (pictured) has once again reiterated that the work is necessary for the safety of residents and visitors.

A council spokesman said the council had decided it should submit a planning application to itself.
"Initially it was thought we didn't need planning permission, but then when it was investigated it was found another seaside resort had done similar work without planning permission which had caused problems when something went wrong during the process," the spokesman said.
"It was decided that permission would be sought as a precaution. Originally we planned to start the work at the end of October, this has been delayed because of the planning permission until the end of November."
Half of Torquay's seafront road has been closed since the cliff face was cleared in the spring.
It is expected to cost up to £1.5million — more than twice the price originally estimated by Torbay Council — to stabilise the cliff face.
A geological survey revealed parts of the former garden are more dangerous than first thought and will need extensive works.
Cabinet member Chris Lewis said: "There is a huge amount of planning that goes into a project like this before work can begin and the council is making great progress.
"A Rock Walk steering group has been set up with relevant members and officers to help keep the project on track.
"A planning application has also been submitted for the stabilisation work, which we endeavour to start during the first week of November and is expected to take 28 weeks.
"Earlier in the year the council received nine expressions of interest from companies keen to be involved in the essential rock and soil stabilisation works and following reference and financial checks we have now short-listed four very experienced companies," said Mr Lewis.
"The council has now invited the companies to tender for the contract with a closing date of noon on Tuesday, October 7.
"I would once again like to reiterate that this work is being carried out for the safety of our visitors and residents and to protect the long-term future of Rock Walk.
"Officers and members involved in the project are committed to ensuring that the work is carried out as quickly as possible and will be providing regular updates of the progress.
"In the meantime attractive boards have been placed around the harbourside providing residents and visitors with information on the project and these will also be updated as it progresses."
An ecological survey of the gardens has been started by external consultants and should be complete by the end of this week.
Cllr Lewis added: "We are working on a funding bid for £350,000 that has to be in for next week for the restoration planting and other work, and a capital bid is in for council funding for the stabilisation work."

Repair Bill To Rise to £1.5 Million

THE bill to repair Torquay’s prized Rock Walk could rocket to £1.5million — more than twice the price originally estimated by Torbay Council.
A new survey released yesterday revealed parts of the cliff face are more dangerous than first thought and will need extensive works.
Deputy mayor Cllr Kevin Carroll said: “I am quite prepared to say it will be £1.5million, it wouldn’t surprise me if that is what it comes out as. We started looking at this costing £600,000 at the beginning of the year.”
Cllr Carroll vowed Mayor Nick Bye and the Conservative administration would not ‘run away’ from the problem.
He said: “Whatever it costs we will do it, this is about Torbay and its heritage. It is about the Royal Gardens and we can’t just walk away from this.”
admitted the administration had taken a ‘lot of heat’ over the decision.
The report released yesterday by Tavistock-based consultant engineers Frederick Sherrell Ltd reveals clearance of shrubs in January showed Rock Walk had a ‘very irregular rock head profile with numerous unstable pinnacles and areas of loose, fractured bedrock which were not visible during previous inspections’.
There are two areas of rock face deemed ‘very high risk’ by the report, another labelled ‘high risk’ while other areas are deemed ‘medium to high risk’ across the 10 sites identified needing repair.
Cllr Carroll said: “The most important thing to say is this report proves we were right to strip away the trees and identify the real problems, because if we hadn’t done that there would still be problems we couldn’t see.
“The professionals, the engineers, and the cultural services people were concerned behind the growth there was a big problem waiting to happen, so we took the decision on the advice of the professionals because of the risk to public safety.”
It means the focus of the Royal Gardens will have to change too, as the geological reports says only the ‘central and easternmost paths’ will remain once the stabilisation work is done.
The work will include installing rock fall netting, removing footbridges, digging six exploratory bore holes, installing six-metre long rock anchors and cutting back further vegetation.
Torbay Council has also submitted a bid for Government funding specifically for cultural and heritage projects towards works of art and a viewing platform for Rock Walk which could grace the newly-repaired rock face.
It is expected the barrier around the crumbling site will remain in place during the works which are estimated to take eight months to complete.


More news as it comes in. Work should start in Septemebr and I will cover as much as I can.

Split in rock

This is due to roots forcing the rock apart. Strong things roots.

Test

Monday 23 June 2008

Rock Walk, Turning Green

June 2008

This is Rock Walk as it looks 3 months after the work to remove the trees was completed. The survey has been carried out and there has been little word from the council other than the repairs might cost a 'bit' more than expected.
No one seems to give a damn about the place now the road has been reopened. Not even the slight Rock Fall last Saturday has created a stir.
Work should start in September when the visitors have gone home.

Rock Fall

A Story from the Herald Express

ROCK FALL DAMAGES ROCK WALK BARRIERS
03 June 2008
Torquay's Rock Walk has been hit by a rock fall.The special barriers erected after the cliff was closed off were damaged in the fall on Saturday afternoon.The damage occurred at the Torbay Hotel end of the cliff face.The cliff was closed off earlier this year after diseased and dying trees were removed from the rock face. It was then declared too unsafe to reopen the inland carriageway of the main seafront road.
Torbay Council is still awaiting the findings of the geologists' report into the state of the cliff face so it can start work on the repairs and reinstatement.Deputy mayor Kevin Carroll said: "We can confirm that there was a rock fall on Rock Walk on Saturday."A collection of rocks and soil fell at the Torbay Hotel end of the cliff landing on the lower path."There was also a larger rock, weighing approximately half a tonne, which caused considerable damage to the fencing below."We are unsure as to whether the rock was projected from the top or rolled down the cliff face."Cllr Carroll added: "Over the last few months there has been a huge amount of misunderstanding relating to Rock Walk."Some people have blamed the council's recent work for the rock falls and we would like to take the opportunity to reiterate the following."At no time did we remove any lower tree trunks or roots during the work."Geologists had already deemed the rock face to be unstable and the council cleared the area to be able to determine how bad the situation was - we did not create the problem, we have simply exposed the extent of it."We are now waiting for the geologists' official report, due out in the next two weeks, which will tell us what needs to be done and approximately how much it will cost."The safety barrier will remain in place until the necessary works have been carried out."It had been hoped to have the geologists report this week but the council has now asked for additional information on the potential cost of the restoration work.Staff at the Torbay Hotel and the nearby Pier Point restaurant were unaware of the fall.

Such a slight fall that the main barrier wasn't even reached never mind damaged.

ROCK WALK COULD BECOME £1M 'GEOPARK'

I was begining to wonder what was happening. The report was supposed to have been out on May 1 but has been delayed while the council decide how to tell us it will cost even more than they expected.

From the Herald Express
20 May 2008

The true state of Torquay's crumbling Rock Walk won't be known for another fortnight.News of a delay in the geological reports comes as it has been revealed the cordoned-off cliff face could be transformed into a giant artwork as one of a series of £8.2million cultural projects for which Torbay Council could seek £4million from the Government's new Sea Change cultural regeneration funding.

Councillors are tonight being asked to agree a shortlist of projects including the £1million Rock Walk Geopark art scheme, £2.8million for a new arts centre and more at Cockington Court, a contribution to the £1.8million Berry Head restoration project, and £1.35million harbour front improvements scheme for Brixham as part of its fish market regeneration scheme.

These would leave Torbay Council to find £4.2million, including £2million from the South West Regional Development Agency and other sources such as the Heritage Lottery funding for Berry Head, and other council sources included sums included in budgets and not yet ring-fenced.



The report says the council has had 'positive discussions' with the RDA who are 'in principle prepared to provide a contribution to the Sea Change match funding subject to the normal business planning and appraisal processes'.

It had been hoped the Rock Walk report would be published at the end of last week. But Cabinet member Chris Lewis has confirmed it has been held back so the findings of a topographical survey could be published at the same time.

"It looks as if we will need more netting than expected to secure the rock face, but we don't know much more than that at the moment," he explained.

The geological report is needed to allow the consultants to design the redevelopment plan.

Both surveys have now been completed and are being amalgamated. The final report and recommendations are expected by May 30.

A report to Cabinet tonight says the council knows it needs to spend 'a substantial sum' on repairing the cliff face and it is considered Sea Change funding could create an opportunity to match this with a further £1million enabling the creation of 'a powerful artistic statement' as a focal point for Torbay's Geopark status.

The report says: "The site would be integrated into the 'string of pearls' idea for the Geopark across the Bay with particular emphasis on the links to transport interchanges, the seafront, coastal footpath and, in this particular case, the Cockington project."

The Cockington Court 'creative hub' project has been valued £2.85million with a £1.9million bid to the Sea Change pot of funding.

The scheme envisaged is for Cockington and its surrounding area, including linking the country park with the seafront.

Innovative ideas might include a park and ride, dedicated cycle hire and cycle tracks and sculpture trail.

Not Much Happening

There were a couple of men down at Rock Walk with surveying gear a week or so back. They were pointing their instruments at the rock face so I suppose they were checking if anything was moving. So far it all looks the same but all the plants and trees are budding now so it should start to look a little greener over the next few months.

If there is anything new to report I will do so as soon as I hear any thing.

David

Before and After

Rock Walk January 2008

Rock Walk March 2008

From the Herald Express 12 Dec 2007

ROCK WALK CLOSED FOR SAFETY REASONS
10 readers have commented on this story. Click here to read their views.
11:00 - 12 December 2007
Torquay's famous Rock Walk has been closed for safety reasons.

Rock Walk, opposite the crumbling seafront and a landmark location for decades, will be shut from today until 'extensive improvement works' are carried out.Torbay Council said that bad weather has made the walk's decay, first revealed in a report earlier this year, worse and the area will be fenced off until the improvements are carried out later next year.As part of the repairs in late January, Torbay Road will be closed between the Pavilion roundabout and Belgrave Road as a large crane is moved in.

It's not yet known how long the main road will be closed.But deputy mayor Kevin Carroll, said speculation that both seafront lanes may be shut for up to six weeks was 'not a possibility'.He said: "I did hear that it was being proposed. We have said that can not happen. One lane perhaps but not two."A preliminary inspection of Rock Walk took place in January followed by a more detailed review in March.The report highlighted issues relating to the stability of some of the larger trees, but after this weekend's bad weather the situation has worsened.Cllr Carroll said: "Following a rapid change in the weather with strong winds and heavy rainfall and no predicted let-up we have had no choice but to close Rock Walk Gardens."

Fences will be put in place from today to prevent access to the public via the seafront road as well as the footpath off Shedden Hill and Warren Road and will remain in place until the necessary improvement works are carried out."We had hoped to keep the gardens open until the improvement works were carried out. Unfortunately this has not been the case and the bad weather has forced us to close the gardens as a precautionary measure."

Rock Walk; Before the assault.

These are just a few photos to show how neglected Rock Walk has become over the years. People are saying the council should have done something years ago and blaming the poor sods that are in charge now. But it needed work doing 30 years ago and this lot have only been in since Last May and are doing some thing.
Only in one spot could you actually see anything other than trees.

If you could have sat on that bench this is all you would have seen.

And Rock Walk from Torr Abbey Sands on a bright summers day.

Day One, Mon 28 Jan 2008

The road has been closed and workmen are preparing the road for the crane, which will arrive this evening.



And the buses are starting on their diversion.

Day Two; Tue 29 Jan 2008

Monday 28 Jan, the crane arrived the evening before and was to start work at 7 am but some equipment hadn't turned up.

Later that day the top of the first tree was removed.

Day Three; Wed 30 Jan 2008

The crane, big isn't it?

The first tree for the chop today.



And here it comes, floating serenely down not knowing it's fate.


Two men with chain saws and a big shredder

take 7 minutes to reduce it to wood chip.

Day Three; part two

The Safety Manager was heard muttering a little prayer.
And here's why.

Day Four; Thur 31 Jan 2008

Wet and very windy, so the crane stands idle

and a couple of workmen do some maintainance on a support vehicle.

Even the post box and the poor, brand new, lonely bus stop feel completely neglected.

Day Five; Fri 01 Feb 2008

A slow start as the weather was bad but some work was done.

The top of an other tree heads for the wood chip machine.

Day Six: Sat 02 Feb 2008

The Crane is still working

but he doesn't seem to be.

And there are all shouting, "Get a move on, the rugby is on the TV at 4."

England lost by the way.

The crowd is begining to drift away.

So up he goes.