New fence for old

A new part of the fencing project with Stroud Valleys Project started today with the fence line in the main reserve that borders agricultural land. Unlike other areas where we have several months to complete, this line has to be stock proof at all times. So the strategy is to clear the scrub in front of the fence, put the new fence in front of the old, and then remove the old.

The area near the river was quite densely scrubbed, and was tangled with a pretty old dead hedge and mature hawthorn growing through. There was a lot of untangling to do.

Once we had cleared to the fence line it became clear that some further temporary repairs would be needed.

Several tree branches had fallen on the old fence, weakening the tension and damaging the posts. When it had dense scrub in front, that effectively made it stock proof, but with that now removed, the fence would be easily breached by cattle.

So we inserted a temporary post and tensioned the existing wire to that post. Unfortunately, time became tight so we secured another part to a tree which is earmarked for removal. Next time we’ll have to insert a second temporary post and remove that tree.

A very warm day and beautiful clear sky on the reserve. It feels like it’s finally starting to take shape with all the borders well on the way to being secured.