Saturday was a milestone. We had not one, not two, but three work groups out simultaneously. At Low Cottages the main group had to pull out sufficient service ducting from the drum to feed 9 properties, feed that bundle through a chamber, then through piping because there was a section where it couldn’t be buried. All of this on a very constrained site. So we had Colin and Derek pushing at one end, William and Peter with their heads down a hole pulling and Roger keeping metres of coiled ducting in some sort of order. In the meantime, team 2 - Martin and Pip - were fitting house kits and whilst all this was going on (in that sort of mizzle that isn’t really rain but makes you wet through) over at Low Park David was working with B4RN contractors as team 3. Here they began laying all the ducting from Gatebeck Lane up to Urchinrigg and Low Park itself. In the end it took two and a half days. There is still a day or two's work to get under some walls etc. before we are ready to blow the fibre for Phase 1 of the Low Park Route. All in all - hard work physically even though little digging - but strangely very satisfying. JPL Apologies for the delay in posting updates but it's been a busy time. The last couple of weeks haven’t been the easiest. In fact they have been quite hard. The ground in the "Jungle" to the east of Low Cottages was difficult. We had to clear brambles etc. before we could even start to dig and then came across plenty of tree roots but thankfully fewer rocks than previously. Thanks to all the volunteers and David Wilson for their help. However we have made gradual progress and covered a lot of ground. For the Core Route which feeds the south of the village we only need to go under a wall to get into the open fields. Running alongside that work we will be running out the service ducting to properties along Dove Nest Lane / Low Cottages. As ever, any offers of help would be gratefully received. This is a community project. If you see us coming near you please get in touch (via the Contact page). Every little helps! |
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