Fen Management Handbook - Scottish Natural Heritage

11.6.4 Boardwalks
Boardwalks are notoriously expensive to construct and maintain, but are often
the only option on fens on deep peat, particularly those overlying lakes or broads
that have filled up with organic material which has not yet consolidated. The great
advantage of boardwalks is that they allow visitors to see and feel fens as they really
are: to enjoy the full ‘fen experience’.
The choice of material for boardwalk construction is influenced by specification,
anticipated level and type of use, capital and maintenance costs, available resources
(manpower as well as financial), environmental impacts, and objectives for site
management (see Section 5: Fen Management and Restoration). Traditionally
boardwalks were made of wood, which suffers few problems with decomposition
in deeper anaerobic peat and water. Recycled plastic is more durable, particularly
where exposed above the fen, and has become increasingly popular on many sites.
Treated timber should not cause pollution problems provided it has been seasoned
after treatment to prevent preservative leaching into water. Any sawdust created
during construction should be removed from the site. European larch is more
durable than other varieties of larch and can be used untreated.
Further details of boardwalk construction can be found at http:www.snh.org.uk/
publications/ nline/accessguide/downloads/6_2%20Raised%20Boardwalk%20
with%20Edge%20Rails.pdf. It is essential to specify that the boardwalk anchors are
firmly embedded in the substrate rather than to try to specify a standard length.
A board walk at Bagno
Ławki-Szorce, in the buffer
zone of Biebrza National
Park in north-east Poland,
enables visitors to venture
into the fen even when the
water table is high and
to watch the rare aquatic
warbler (Acrocephalus
paludicola)
(M. Street).
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