Lowther were appointed by the Field Studies Council to design and install a 130-metre raised timber boardwalk providing disabled access at the organisation’s training centre at Castle Head, Lindale in Cumbria.
Overview
Castle Head is the Field Studies Council’s training centre in south Cumbria, situated on a sensitive area of wet, marshy grassland prone to regular flooding. The boardwalk was required to create accessible routes across ground that was previously impassable for visitors with mobility requirements. The design brief called for an environmentally sustainable solution with a long service life, delivered without unnecessary disturbance to the site.
Works Undertaken
Lowther designed the boardwalk using FSC-certified British Redwood timbers, selected for their natural resilience and sustainability credentials. All timbers were sourced from sustainably managed UK forests and carry the lowest carbon footprint of any mainstream building material, realising negative net CO2 emissions. The timbers were sensitively pressure and vacuum treated to a minimum designed service life of 15 years.
Works were completed within a seven-day programme, with teams adhering to stringent working practices throughout to minimise ground disturbance and protect the sensitive nature of the site.
