BRUNSWICK

First there were trails to walk, now there are benches upon which to sit.

As a result of fundraising efforts by residents of Thornton Oakes Retirement Community and the Brunswick- Topsham Land Trust, four new locally crafted benches have been placed along the Crystal Springs Farm trail network that straddles Pleasant Hill Road.

The benches, rough-hewn and rustic-looking, were made by hand by Topsham resident Tad Hunter in his Foreside Road garage. They are spaced along the recently finished loop trail to provide rest areas for walkers.

The trail network itself is relatively new, and about as done as it’s going to get, according to trust officials.

Gary Fogg, the land trust’s volunteer trail supervisor, organized a local volunteer work crew to reorganize and revamp the unofficial trail system that already existed on the farm’s north side into a marked, easily accessible pedestrian loop. The crew worked through the relatively mild early winter weather and finished last December.

Numerous unofficial trails — called “pig trails” — existed already, worn into the landscape by individual hikers.

“The main work involved creating a loop, and a lot of the other work was closing out pig trails and dealing with wet areas,” said BTLT associate director Caroline Eliot.

Official signage went up in May.

Two additional benches were purchased by an adjacent property owner and placed on the south side of Pleasant Hill Road.

Trail maps, directions and parking information is available at www.btlt.org.