The next phase in the restoration of the walks laid out by Ada Lovelace and her husband William at their home, Ashley Combe, in the 1830s has started with the uncovering and repair of the dry stone walls that lined the sweeping drives and paths through the wood overlooking the Bristol channel.
Before and after the careful repair of one of the collapsed sections of wall
After a brief introduction by our expert wall restorers – and with their continued encouragement and direction – the volunteers cleared, sorted and then repaired two sections of the walk leading up to one of the spectacular views envisaged by the Lovelaces nearly 200 years ago, and now being sensitively recovered by the Ada in Porlock volunteers alongside Exmoor National Park Authority.
Taking care to only repair those parts of the wall that have collapsed and minimising disruption to the native species that thrive in this unique environment the work is painstaking but ultimately hugely rewarding as the ground-breaking vision of Ada comes back to life.
Further volunteer sessions will be taking place throughout the year, clearing, repairing and replanting key parts of the landscape to recover at least a small sense of the landscape that inspired the World’s first computer programmer and the illustrious visitors to her home near Porlock.
If you are interested in joining our volunteer group, please contact info@adainporlock.org