Kenilworth's Abbey Fields have received some much-needed attention in the past week as the path on the north side of the lake was resurfaced and the annual earth-quaking work completed.

Walkers in Abbey Fields may have seen contractors from Warwick District Council working on the path from the ford entrance going round the north side of the lake.

Residents will be aware that that stretch of path can get very wet and as a result, unpleasant to walk along, even for ardent dog walkers. 

The district council had received complaints about the paths, and has now completed the much-needed works in order to resolve health hand safety issues and to keep users safe.

As a result of the footfall the path was worn out; the surface of the stone path had worn down to the base coat and in places the base coat itself had disappeared, and the substrate was exposed. This resulted in puddles, mud, slipperiness and complaints. 

In the past few weeks the path was resurfaced and repaired to remove the water collecting in the low areas in the middle point and to provide a safe walking surface. 

Walkers can now enjoy safer, dryer walking along there, although there may be a few children, even some adults, who will miss the puddle jumping.

Work to the footpaths comes less than a fortnight after Warwick District Council Parks and Green Spaces were working in Abbey Fields.

A tractor pulling a machine which was leaving parallel lines behind where it had cut the soil.

The final photograph in the gallery at the top of the page was taken in Abbey Fields a week after the work was conducted and you can see just how quickly, after a little rain, the soil settles down.

This process is called earth-quaking and is carried out regularly In Abbey Fields, normally annually, to de-compact the soil and help drainage.

The machine used is called a linear decompactor and is designed to revitalise heavy wear areas by relieving soil compaction, improving aeration and removing surface water. It inserts vibrating blades into the ground.

The vibrations shatter the compacted soil in order to reconstitute the natural tiny fractures that help drain the ground.

The Imants ShockWave, used for this task, is reputed to be the world's fastest PTO driven rotary, linear decompactor. The ShockWave is designed for use on fine turf and sports fields.