The Restoration Begins...

Despite the huge job ahead of us, inclement weather & yet another tree blown down and resting on the pitch, we got stuck in to the restoration of the stone work on the West Corner Terracing and set about removing 50 years worth of overgrown moss, dirt and rubbish from this, probably the best surviving section of the 1947 terracing still present at the park. Tough work but we slowly got

through it, clearing tiny sections at a time with a small blade and wire brush. We are determined to do this correctly and ours is a very gentle restoration and preservation of the stone underneath and we are assessing the underlying damage being done by tree roots that surround each of the 5 surviving

terraces. Ultimately the task will be to coppice and then remove all of these trees and rebuild the terracing all the way around the ground. However, our plan would include simply grassing over the missing terraces and maintaining the overall look of this old sporting amphitheatre, whilst leaving the trees surrounding the park's exterior intact and keep Cathkin as picturesque as possible. And so after Week 1 of our frankly exhausting work, we have restored our first section of terraces and are working

hard to clear the steps leading down to the pitch wall which are hazardous at the moment and really unsafe to walk on. Had really nice support from the local dog walkers and residents so far about the difference we are making and have cleared 6 bags of rubbish from this patch of the ground alone!

Comparing the two photos above demonstrates how far we have to go but highlights the difference we have managed to make already, despite the snow, ice and rain! And already the past is emerging from the thick moss and Old Hampden is slowly but surely coming back to life...