The Thirty-Six Steps

On the weekend of the 12th - 14th of May a small band of nine WMCV-ers travelled down to Dorset to help Bob Ashington (former ranger at Braywick Park) build some steps on an eroded section of path overlooking Lulworth cove.

Morning of day 1 and Bob is beginning to wonder whether any of us are planning on doing any work

Having moved some of the blocks into position (a job in itself, taking the whole morning of the first day) progress picked up after we actually started digging. Just after lunchtime on day one and having divided into two teams a few steps are already in place. Roger wields the sledge hammer while Gill sensibly wears safety specs in case of flying chips. She shunned the hard hat though.

Christine opts for the more stylish if less protective sunglasses.

Further down the slope, Tim (with hammer), Paul (holding), Bob (supervising closely) and Simon (staring off vacantly into space) demonstrate just how many volunteers it takes to hammer in a stob.

Morning of day two, and despite the mist it's clear we're making progress. 18 steps were put in position on the first day. Now Simon and Sally try to work out how they're going to make the two flights meet up while maintaining the gentle curve Bob wanted.

Afternoon of day two and we're almost finished. Some of the path was so badly eroded the sides had to be shuttered (lined with wood planks) to keep the soil in position. Now the mist clears and Bob realises just how far he's still got to go...

Thirty-seven stones (and thirty-six steps - one was a double) in place, the sun has come out and we've just left enough time for the traditional group photo. It's been an exhausting couple of days, but worth the effort.