The Osmington White Horse Restoration

Okay – I admit it – I just couldn’t face climbing the Horse again today! I took the easy option of driving to White Horse Farm and taking some long shots. The problem was that the sun was playing hard to get so as usual, a large number of photos went into trash. I just wish I had thought of it yesterday when the sun was shining bright……..

When we planned this lift, we aimed for a lift of about 110 bags, but the Veritair guys had carried on yesterday until the light failed them – and by then they had lifted close to 130 bags (65 tonnes)! By the time I got there this morning another 20 odd had been lifted and this time I got a close up view of Duncan doing the unhooking – in a matter of seconds.  It really is a very slick operation.

During a brief re-fuelling stop I took the opportunity to ask Wes and Duncan why they needed to take the curved flight-path rather than just go straight between Horse and drop area.  I learned that helicopters lose height by going forward and the route taken gave the necessary distance to achieve this.  Apparently if helicopters lose significant height without moving forward they risk creating a vortex of dirty air which means they can drop much too quickly for comfort.

With that important lesson under my belt I retreated to a safe distance and left them to their last few lifts before needing to head back to Cardiff. In the end they managed to lift 173 bags in the time available to them – over 50% more than we had originally planned. 

This was an incredible operation to watch – and I have spent the last hour or so editing up a short video which will give some idea of the level of skill and professionalism from the Veritair guys.

Greg Walker and team will be back up there next week and Veritair will be back in action on the 4^th November – weather permitting.  And, of course, I am looking forward to climbing up there to take some more pictures……….

Well the sun is shining today and all seems set fair for the transfer of the first loads of scalpings from the White Horse to the farm below, starting tomorrow.

 The Veritair helicopter will be working for most of the day from about 9.00am on Thursday 21^st and Friday 22^nd October.  As the flightpath crosses the footpath from Osmington to Sutton Poyntz, the helicopter will only be able to operate safely if this path is free of walkers. 

 Although we are not closing the footpath, we would greatly appreciate it if walkers would avoid the section below the White Horse when flights are in progress. The Coastal Ranger service will be manning the gates at each end to explain the situation and suspend the operation if safety is compromised.

 Our apologies for any inconvenience and for the noise over the next couple of days .

During the next four weeks work will be continuing with the Osmington White Horse restoration project, following renewal of Natural England funding for this work.

The aim of the current stage of the project is to remove the remainder of  the 140 tons of stone scalpings spread on the figure by the Challenge Anneka TV programme. Earlier this year a huge amount of progress was made with the help of the Royal Engineers and the Army Cadet Force who filled builder’s bags that were removed by Royal Navy helicopter.    

Local contractors Gregorys are now being brought in to bag up the remaining scalpings, which will then be taken off in two separate lifts by Veritair helicopters who have previous experience in this field.

Chairman of the Osmington White Horse Restoration Group, Geoff Codd said: “our aim has always been to remove the stone scalpings from the hillside by the end of this autumn, and we are then intending to move on to the next stage of the project preparing for the restoration of the outline of the figure.”

Images taken by LAPhot Vicki Benwell from Photographic Section RNAS Yeovilton. These images are Crown Copyright.

From the Sea King cockpit

 [slideshow custom=1]

A meeting of the Osmington White Horse Restoration Group has once again reviewed progress, using the experience gained to assess the viability of a number of options that are open to us to complete this phase of the project. The Restoration Group expressed their deep appreciation for the outstanding help that has been provided by the army, the Dorset ACF and the local community thus far, but there was also great sensitivity to the fact that the aim must now be to complete this current phase as soon as it is possible to do so.
 
The removal of the remaining scalpings may have to involve a combination of several methods. These may include the further use of a helicopter lift in order to minimise any adverse impact on the surrounding SSSI area, and possibly the use of chutes where this is found to be practicable. Discussions are taking place with various parties who are able to offer their services in completing the current phase of this challenging project.
 
Restoration Group attention is also now being focused in more depth on the tasks that will need to be addressed when this phase is complete. These include the methods of identification and delineation of the restored outline of the figure, and the way in which the restored surface of the figure will need to be stabilised in due course.

Coming back to reality, after one week of being completely out of touch with that reality, brings home to me how the personal drive and enthusiasm of a small group of people can achieve so much so quickly, and provide such an interesting story for the community to tell.
 
As a most reluctant absentee when so much was happening on the ground, and as chairman of such a worthwhile enterprise, I feel deeply indebted to all of those who provided such an outstanding contribution both personally and through their teams. The planning leading to the extremely hard work on the hill, the landowner collaboration, the photographic recording of all aspects of the work, the PR through the local media, and the development of our dedicated website record, are all most impressive and a real credit to those responsible.
 
I will today be writing to express our gratitude to those responsible for the organisations who have been so helpful to us in this venture, and to express the hope that that support may continue to be available to us in one form or another in the future. We are still at an early stage on a long journey – and time is not on our side if I am to be in a position to get back in touch with HRH Prince Charles’ office early in the new year.
 
By that time we should not only have completely cleared the scalpings, but will also need to be well on the way to stabilising whatever surface we decide is appropriate and to have the delineation of the monument edge well in hand. That all provides an undoubted challenge for all of us, but one that I am certain we will overcome, particularly with the help of those who have been so helpful in this community venture thus far.

I had a day away yesterday and as I headed home, down Church Lane, I saw the effects of the heavy shower on the hillside. As expected, our “White” Horse was showing more than a hint of brown!

I say “as expected” because having spent four days with my nose very close to mother earth up there, I knew that this is indeed the colour of the soil and stone mix that is both on the surface of the Horse and also appears from the many freshly dug rabbit holes on the hillside.  The good news is that it gets a lot lighter when it dries out .

This morning I managed to find the time to edit up my video of the Commando helicopter operation.  I am afraid it was a bit windy up there, even in the quiet moments, but it gives an idea of the superb operation and the flight-path towards Osmington at one extreme and Sutton Poyntz at the other. 

It also shows that the worst of the dust at White Horse Farm had been blown away by the time these bags were delivered – the first delivery was in a total white-out.

And then this afternoon, I opened the Dorset Echo (read it here) to find the story on page 6 with John’s fantastic photo of the operation.  It quite made my day!