Workday on the Ashby Woulds Heritage Trail

Anybody cycling along the Ashby Woulds Heritage trail between Moira and Donisthorpe over the last few years will have seen an improvement to the surface of the path.

Following a review of the route several sections were earmarked for improvement.  Being based on an old railway line is beneficial in terms of being traffic free and generally flat or only facing slight gradients.  However there are challenges in maintaining cycle paths based on railway lines due to the vegetation coverage that surrounds the embankment and cuttings. 

A section before the workday

Over time the vegetation fall onto the path and builds up and eventually turns to mud which when wet creates a poor surface.  Scraping the surface of the path is not easy and requires hard work, which has fortunately been done for us by Community Payback teams.  Certain sections have since been worked on by the Leicestershire County Council ranger team in terms of cutting back the vegetation to minimise the effect of the vegetation going forward.

This work has been done in-between Moira and Donisthorpe except for 1 small section just south of the Youth Hostel.  With Community Payback teams focusing on other areas of priority in Measham we decided to have a workday to resolve some of the problem areas on this small stretch used by cyclists, walkers and park-runners.

Plenty of tools needed!

We had advertised the workday amongst the local community and park-run to attract help and give people an insight into our work but ultimately it was our rangers Shawn, Robert, Alan, Megan, Chris and Myself that met at the Youth Hostel. We then walked down the path and worked around 2 areas of obvious concern although they had dried out since our last inspection.  Using shovels and spades we did what we could scraping the mud off the surface back to the gravel layer.

Alan, Shawn, Chris, Megan & Robert take a well earned breather

After the work.

We faced a challenge from the fact that the path seemed to act like a bowl on the embankment with no real for of drainage so a couple of small drainage channels were dug in where appropriate.  It would have good to have had some material to place back on the path to level it out but this is something to look into going forward.

After a couple of hours of graft and some words of encouragement from the passing public we then retreated to the nearby Youth Hostel Cafe for a drink, cake and a meeting.  We'd discussed how the scraping was difficult and had noted that there were sections of path which were currently ok but had early vegetative build-up that could be brushed or scraped away more easily.

The next project.

Shawn working hard with the brush.

We decided to put the theory to the test on some of the paths near to the Youth Hostel and Campsite at the junction of the Conkers Circuit.  This section is a good tarmac surface with a little build up of vegetation on the sides.  Armed with stiff brushes and more enthusiasm we started to brush back the build up.  Sadly Robert's brush didn't match his enthusiasm and came to a sad demise after a short time.  Within an hour though we'd made some good progress and will look to continue the work in the near future.

Moira Furnace Museum

As well as looking after the cycle routes through the National Forest we also like to promote the area and its attractions.  One of the attractions is the museum at Moira Furnace which is situated on NCN(63) in the village of Moira just a few hundred yards from Conkers Waterside entrance.

The furnace from the new path from Measham Road - a boat trip ready to depart.

I must have cycled past Moira Furnace hundreds of times and have wanted to have a look at the museum but been unable to find the time.  On returning from a family day out recently whilst travelling through Moira I noticed the loft doors open from a distance and decided to have a family visit to the furnace museum.

The Furnace Museum is only open between 11am and 4pm at weekends and bank holidays between Easter and September  and Tuesday to Sundays during the school holidays (Leicestershire) and is operated mainly be a team of friendly and helpful volunteers.  The price is a very modest £2 for adults and £1 for children.  Boat trips are also run from the museum along the Ashby Canal towards Donisthorpe again for a modest cost.

The museum consists of 3 main areas; The Loft, the display area and the World War 1 kitchen. 

Entrance to the loft

The Loft area is reached by crossing the canal on the footbridge and then walking up the ramp back over the canal.  The loft has several interactive
displays and follows the process of how the furnace was supposed to work(!) and also a display of what the area would have looked like in it's short working life.  There is also an area specifically for children - ideal for groups and includes costumes to dress up in.  The view from the top is worth a look too.

View towards Moira with new link on right

The World War 1 Kitchen is pretty much as named - a kitchen typical of the World War 1 period - well presented.

View towards Donisthorpe

A forthcoming event currently being advertised

The main section is the entrance and shop and has a presentation relating to when the furnace was used for housing and tells some of the stories from those who lived there.  There are also picture displays and a reconstruction of a dressmaking shop and a cobblers from the period too.

The shop sells a selection of local books and also drinks and ice creams.  Aside from the museum there is also the country park surrounding it and also the lime kilns a couple of minutes walk away.  There are toilets and a cafe within the park close-by and parking is free too.

However, as the Furnace is situated directly on NCN(63) cycling is certainly an option for travelling. With the link to Hicks Lodge soon to be completed the cycling traffic through the area should increase significantly.

It is certainly worth nipping in to have a look around.  More details can be found via www.moirafurnace.org