People who go along the wooded part of the Rec (mainly dog walkers and dam building children) will know the section of the leat where the bank had collapsed due to erosion.

The work started well before 8am by the sound of piles being driven. By the time I got there just after nine, work was well underway. Poles and willows had been unloaded, granite delivered and posts positioned and some driven into the bed of the stream.

The posts were positioned by a man standing in the stream, while another with the power hammer was lowered above the post by the digger driver. In this way, the initial post barrier was constructed.

Once in position, the poles had to be trimmed and retaining cleats and wires placed over them ready to be attached to the bank.

The drilling to insert the cable cleats was a very strenuous business and took much longer than one would expect, due probably to the weight of the machinery and the condition of the terrain.

Once the post were secured, the willows were brought in bundles down to the stream and while one man sorted them the other started to weave them around the posts. This appeared to consist of as much jumping up and down on them as weaving for the first few layers.

In the meanwhile, the digger driver was collecting the infill soil and loading the dumper truck. Before the soil was deposited, a hessian sheet was inserted behind the woven willow to retain it.

In front of the woven willow curtain, the granite blocks were placed to cushion the flow of the current around the bend and keep the soil in place, to give the willow a chance to take hold and grow.

I had to leave on Thursday by 4pm to get my horse home from the field before dark. They were still working (with lights) to well after 6 and again the next morning, consolidating the bank and tidying up.

Everyone who has seen it says what an excellent job has been done. All that is needed now is for nature to apply a healing covering of green and for the willows to shoot.