Calstock river path improvements October 2026
Calstock river path improvements - 7th-22nd October 2026
A charity day organised by an engineering consultancy 'Arcadis', based in Plymouth, saw about a dozen volunteers arrive at the Calstock Wetlands on 7th October armed with mattocks, spades, rakes and wheelbarrows to work on two 19-metre sections of the river path west of the footbridge in preparation for laying down of new surface material. The aim was to improve some of the path which has been prone to accumulations of mud and water during the winter months and provide an all-weather surface to walk on. A 50-metre section east of the footbridge was completed by a contractor in March of this year so this was the second phase of improvements.
The volunteers, under the supervision and assistance of two TCT trustees Pete and Dave, spent most of the morning levelling out lumps and bumps on the two sections and cutting thin trenches on either side so that wooden shuttering could be installed and pegged in place. By mid-afternoon this was mostly completed and the team began to run wheelbarrows along the path to pick up and bring in as much surface material as they could in the last hours before they returned to Plymouth. This got the project off to a good start and over the next few days, more aggregate was laid down before a final effort was made on 20th and 22nd using a motorised barrow to take the remaining materials out to the path and then apply a final top layer using an impactor to complete the job before rain set in. Hopefully a few more lengths of path can be upgraded next year if funds permit. Thanks to Arcadis for providing help and to Steve Darbyshire, Calstock's handyman. DW
