A question often debated, by the various people who claim to know what they are talking about, is how wide should the path be.

We have the one side who would opt for the skinny single-file track, and then the other side who want to chop all the trees down, much to the horror of the people of Cawston.

Personally, I would happily trundle up and down the path in one of those Challenger 2 tanks that have been in the news recently. That would give us a 4-metre wide path and I could take pot-shots at grey squirrels, as I roar through the undergrowth. Nothing would give me quite as much satisfaction as killing two birds with one stone!!

I imagine now, that people think I have gone totally bonkers. Or maybe, there is some sort of logic to my madness. Behold, there is… And it is two-fold…

Firstly, if the path is 3-plus metres wide, people can walk two, three or even four abreast and have one of those old-fashioned things called a conversation, you know, where one person speaks and the other person listens, and then the other person speaks, and so on…

Secondly, the more sunshine that gets onto the path, the drier it makes it for pushchairs and mobility scooter users. It means more wildflowers will grow on the edges, which means more bees, butterflies and other pollinators will enjoy the habitat, which means more birds and mammals, and on, and on…

Oh, and an added brucie bonus – if people can see a good 100-yards ahead of themselves, they feel far less likely that the Cawston bogeyman is going to jump out at them, so feel less intimidated whilst pottering up and down the track.

Today we cracked on with re-staining the benches.

We only managed four, despite me over-optimistically thinking we could do the whole lot in two hours. I was mindful though, of using slow and deliberate strokes, after last year’s near catastrophe when Chris was let loose with a paint brush, and we all went home looking like spotted dick!!

It’s important to us that we look after and maintain the benches. Nobody will want to sit at them if they’re not in tip-top condition. I think we have done a pretty good job here, especially when you notice the battle-scars and war-wounds on each bench, as the stain is re-applied.

Marcus and Reece headed off southwards armed with litter-pickers, and came back with a bounty of litter. Nothing exciting, just the usual grot.

We then enjoyed coffee and cookies using our world-famous Cawston Greenway enamel mugs. People have been asking me when they are going to appear in the shop, and a dude in America wants me to ship one over to him, as soon as they are!!

Loads of people thanking us for the new temporary path up to the Cawston Bridleway. It’s getting a lot of use, so is obviously needed.

That’s about it for this week.

Get out onto the path and enjoy it!

Until next time!