Christmas meal at the Moss Trooper in Timperley on Saturday 5th December 2015

Our annual Christmas weekend takes place at High Wray in Cumbria, but this year that meant that our intended base lay squarely in the path of Storm Desmond. The accompanying gales and flooding proved too powerful: Desmond triumphed over Santa, and Christmas was cancelled. Almost.

Hazel managed to secure a table at the Moss Trooper pub in Timperley, and eight of us managed to switch our plans to meet up for food, banter and Secret Santa.



Pip sported her best Christmas hat, but Mick had gone the whole hog, or should that be reindeer, by dressing as Rudolph, with antlers, red nose and fetching onesie.

The food was hearty, and was interspersed by use of the penguin skittles and quick-fire quiz that came from two of Secret Santa's parcels.

 

Penguin skittles

Not quite a full strike!

 It wasn't quite the Christmas we expected, and some people ended up missing out entirely, but we were glad that some of us had been able to salvage some MNTV festivities among the howling gales of winter.







Hedgelaying at Mount Farm (Alderley Edge) on 13 December 2015

Eight of us met at 9:30 in the main Alderley Edge NT car park for a day's hedgelaying.  The hedge was at Mount Farm, five minutes away by car share, on the way to Hare Hill.  We parked in the lane below the farm and beside the field with the hedge.

We had a decent day's weather and by the time we packed up at 3pm had laid 10 metres of hedge.  The technique is to trim the vertical trees, nick their trunks at the base then carefully bend the trunks, weave the lain trunks together and pin them in place with stakes.  We laid the hedge uphill to match the other section of hedge laid by another group last week.

The ground on the near side of the hedge was a quagmire in places and it was essential we all wore wellies.  It would have been impossible to work without them.  We had our tea breaks beside the cars because they were close by and the field was so wet.

Neil and Adrian persevered all morning trying to light a bonfire to burn our prunings but could not get it to catch.  They stopped trying after lunch and from then on piled our cuttings neatly beside the fire site ready for the next volunteer group to burn.

Daniel’s Christmas tree chocolate cake was demolished at elevenses.  He took a photo with it before it disappeared:

Daniel

Felling silver birch at Thurstaston Common on Sunday 29th November 2015

On a wet and windy day, seven of us made the journey to the Wirral meeting Phil, the Ranger at Thurstaston, in the Royden Park car park. Five of us had travelled over in one car from Styal. Hannah and Jean went straight there. Three Merseyside Volunteers also met up there.

We walked from the car park into the area we were to be working. We were asked to cut down the smaller trees that we could see, mainly silver birch, so that the area could return to heathland. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest(SSSI) and it is hoped that once the tree's have been removed that it will return to a shrubland habitat, encouraging the growth of bilberries, gorse and heathers, and sightings of adders, common lizards and grass snakes.

Although we had intended to have a fire to burn the tree's that we cut down, the wind was so strong that it wasn't safe to. Instead we made piles of the tree's so they could be removed at a later date.

the area we were working in

As we worked, it got windier and windier and darker as the rain approached. We stopped for a mid-morning break but, by lunchtime, we decided that it was too dangerous to stay in the wooded area in such high winds, so we took our packed lunches over to the car park area and ate our lunch sitting on one of the benches before returning home.

It was a shame that we only had a short day. Phil was really grateful for what we'd achieved in a few hours. We heard from a some dog walkers that a couple of tree's had blown down during the morning so we knew it wasn't worth the risk to stay any longer. Hopefully our next visit to Thurstaston will be a longer one!

 

MNTV having lunch before returning home

Rhodybashing at Lyme Park on 22 November 2015

Six MNTVers braved the tail end of Barney the storm to meet up in the main car park at Lyme Park. After decamping to the top car park we made the short walk to the work site. The task this week was the continuation of rhododendron removal - an ongoing project the group has been involved with for a number of years and one that is starting to show amazing results.

Considering the tantrums Barney had thrown throughout the week the weather was actually fairly good - a bit grey with just a light covering of snow on the ground. As usual the temperature was a few degrees colder up near the moor than in Stockport but the massive bonfire and hard work soon warmed us up.

We left the worksite at three thirty and walked back to the cars by a different route taking in the pond where Colin Firth skinnydipped for a film version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Thanks to Chris the ranger for looking after us, setting the fire and providing another interesting work day.

Tim
(photo taken by Adrian)

Fencing at Hayfield on 15th November 2015 - cancelled

A few of us turned up in the Sett Valley Trail car park this morning to meet with the National Trust Rangers. However, it was decided that, due to the rain and wind, the workday should be cancelled on health and safety grounds.

The field we would have been fencing in was water-logged with a stream of water running off it. We couldn't have got vehicles near the work area so would have had to carry all the tools and equipment to site, which would have been dangerous as it was more than likely that someone could have slipped. Unfortunately there wasn't an alternative indoor task that we could do.

It was such a shame as working at Hayfield is always a pleasure (particularly when the weather is nice!!).

We look forward to the next time............................

Felling trees at Hardcastle Crags on Sunday 8th November 2015

Five stout hearted amateur lumberjacks braved the foul weather this week to make the trip into Yorkshire to Hardcastle Crags. The journey up was particularly arduous for one intrepid volunteer who thought he knew better than his sat nav and consequently went thirty miles out of his way. He arrived just in time which was fortuitous as he was leading the group that day.

After donning their rain gear the resolute five along with the ranger Drew and two of the properties regular volunteers venture into the tempest raging outside to make the steep walk to the worksite. The task that day was the felling of trees, manly birch but with some oak, to thin out an area of woodland allowing light to reach ground thus helping the growth of various ground plants and establishing a bio diverse understory. The felled trees some reaching twenty feet in height were left where they droped to rot down providing valuable habitat for various fauna and flora particularly invertebrates.

 With the task completed the happy if slightly damp crew escaped the inclement weather walking back to the ranger’s station, a cosy farmhouse, to have lunch. Unfortunately the weather started to worsen so it was decided to call it a day rather than risk working in the increasing wind and failing light. 

Thanks go to Drew for arranging for an interesting workday and the informative chat about the trees and funguses that infect then.

PS everyone got home safely, one person a lot faster than he had come.         

Thanks to Tim for the text and to Adrian for managing to get a couple of photo's on such a miserable day!

 

Hedge laying at Hare Hill on Sunday 1st Nov 2015

Thirteen keen MNTVers, including a new recruit, met in the car park at Hare Hill. It started out as a foggy morning but at least it was dry!

It was the last day of the season that Hare Hill was open to the public and Halloween activities had been organised for any children who visited so Jack, the NT Ranger, explained that he couldn't work with us today as he was needed to supervise the children's activities.

Before he did, Jack walked us for about 20mins to the hedge we were going to be working on, explaining that Hare Hill were able to receive funding provided the hedge was laid by the end of the year. They had already had erected a fence along the side of the hedge which made life interesting as it meant that we had to climb the fence over to get to the other side of the hedge, before we could even start!

Once over, we split into separate workgroups. Matt showed a few of the group how to hedge lay whilst the majority of people walked along the length of the hedge clearing any tree's that were in the way and tidying up the top and sides of the hedge ready for laying. Tim started removing the old barbed wire that was on the far side of the hedge but it was quite a task as I hadn't brought any wirecutters when I'd collected the tools:-(

It was a lovely day, great camaraderie and we got plenty done as, once the length of the hedge had been tidied, others in the group turned their hands at laying some of the hedge.

 

By the end of the day, although we were pleased we'd managed to get quite a long length done, the hedge was quite old and it hadn't really been tidied previously, so we all decided that it wasn't the tidiest hedge laying that we'd been involved with, but we'd made a good start on it.

Scrub bashing at Biddulph Grange Garden on 25 October 2015

Nine of us spent today at Biddulph Grange Garden clearing birch and brambles from a stretch of bank alongside Wellingtonia Avenue.  We cut back the brash with bowsaws and loppers, dug out the roots with mattocks and had a bonfire on top of the bank opposite.  The aim of the work is to return the bank to grass.

Before and after

The worksite was beside a 'sound installation', one of the 'Dangerous Discoveries' art exhibits taking visitors on a journey through Biddulph's history, heritage and the structural intricacies of plants.  Every fifteen minutes we were treated to thirty seconds of Native American chanting coming surreally from one of the wellingtonias (a loudspeaker was concealed halfway up the tree).

Biddulph were excellent hosts - as ever - and we had lunch in the volunteers mess room in the basement of the house.  Paul, head gardener, provided complimentary biscuits from the NT shop!

Daniel

Pub quiz at the Hesketh Tavern, Cheadle on Monday 19 October 2015

Sue, Andy, Daniel, Megan, Lyn, Louise, Phil and Pete met up tonight at the Hesketh Tavern for their popular Monday night quiz. We didn't excel this time (didn't come 1st, 2nd or 3rd) but did win a £5 voucher in the consolation draw at the end of the evening!

Things we learned:

- the Grand Canal in China is the longest canal in the world
- pogo sticks were invented by Germans Max Pohlig and Ernst Gottschall (Daniel was confident he knew this but couldn't convince the others) (Po + Go from their surnames is a giveaway!)

Workday at Helsby Hill on 18 October 2015 - cancelled

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, the workday to Helsby Hill this Sunday had to be cancelled.

It's not often that workdays are cancelled and it's a shame when they are but hopefully we will have a good turnout at Biddulph Grange Garden next week.

MNTV Committee 

Picking rhody plants at Hayfield on Sunday 11th October

 

A beautiful Autumn day greeted eleven volunteers at Hayfield.

We worked up the slopes above Park Hall (by Little Hayfield) hand-picking small rhododendron plants that were re-growing from seed.

This is the size of the plant we were picking

The larger plants will be hand-sprayed by the rangers.

We had to scatter quite a distance to find the seedlings, as work over the previous few years (by our group and others) has cleared rhododendron from most of the hillsides.

We enjoyed the sunshine and the chocolate spice cake.

Text by Mick.

More rhodybashing at Lyme Park - 4th October 2015

As I once more slid elegantly down the steep muddy slope on my posterior, I contemplated the clear blue sky and thanked the gods of weather who seemed determined to confound the so-called experts at the Met Office who had forecast heavy rain for the day.  Having reached the bottom of the slope I turned back up the hill and surveyed the work being undertaken by the eight MNTVers who had turned out to continue the ongoing task of rhododendron removal.

The project on West Park Drive at Lyme Park is the creation of a mixed deciduous bio diverse rich woodland to replace the monoculture engendered by the rhododendron.  As a group we have been involved in the task since its inception and it is nice to see the ongoing progress.

We stopped for a brew at eleven and where joined by two lads and their dad for the remainder of the day.  The two lads aged nine and eleven carried out sterling work felling some very large trunks to joyous yells of ‘timber’.  After lunch some of the group went to a part of the site previously cleared to plant a mixture of oak, cherry, broad leaf lime and rowan, the base for the woodland - soon to be followed by an understory of hawthorn and blackthorn.

The day went well with plenty light-hearted banter and we left the site with a feeling of a job well done at about four o’clock.  Thanks to Craig the ranger for staying all day and looking after the larger of the two fires we lit to get rid of the rhody.

Tim
(photos by Adrian)

Stall at Styal Wood Fair, Sunday 27th September 2015

No conservation today - instead we were spreading the word about MNTV, and the wonderful things we do, to the general public at the annual Wood Fair at Styal. And hopefully we'd be able to bag a few new members too!

It was chilly with a heavy dew when four of us set up Daniel's gazebo in the mill meadow, but once the sun climbed above the trees it was very pleasant. Some long hours with scissors, glue and sticky back plastic had meant we actually had some up-to-date looking display boards this year, rather than embarrassing throwbacks to 20 years ago!

Displays including some pictures from this decade!

Several of the group manned the stall all day while a few others came and went during the day. Sue proved to be extremely adept at extracting email addresses from passers-by, so hopefully some of those will turn into members that come out on workdays with us.

There was time for a wander in the garden in the sunshine, and a gander at the other stalls in the meadow. When the sun dropped behind the trees again it got decidely chillier, which signalled time to pack up.

Another rhodybash at Lyme Park on Sunday 20th September 2015

We had a good sized group of 13, plus Gary the Ranger and a youth Ranger who joined us for part of the day.

We continued the work done by MNTV the previous Sunday along West Drive and also by some mid-week volunteers who had been in to cut back and burn more rhododendron ponticum!

As the ground was dry, we were asked to work on the sloped area, keeping the flatter area at the top of the slope for any groups of volunteers who might work when it was raining or just after rain, when it would be too slippy to work on the slope safely.


the fire on the lower level slope

We split into 2 groups, one group started up a previous fire-site on the lower level and got the fire going quite quickly. The other group walked up the slope and started a new fire part way up. This is always a bit tricky as you have to be careful that the fire doesn't get too big and start to slide down the slope!

working on the higher slope

We stopped for 11's and had Sue's home-made banana cake. The work was going well and everyone was happy with the group that they were in and the task they were doing:-)

The weather was good for us and lots of people walking their dogs or cycling along West Drive talked to us to find out what we were doing.

After our lunch break we discussed a time that we should stop putting rhody on the fires to give them chance to burn down a little before we left around 3.15pm. It was a good day and we could certainly see the difference we'd made just in the few hours we'd been there.

We managed a group photo of most of us, including a 'new recruit' who'd joined us for the first time:-)

 

Rhodybash at Lyme Park on 13 September 2015

Thirteen of use turned out today to carry on clearing the rhododendron from West Park Drive, the rear entrance to Lyme Park.  After meeting in the main car park we drove to the smaller car park at the top of the drive and made the short walk to the worksite.  The site itself is situated on a very steep slope, but this proved to be no problem to the MNTVers who leapt about like a bunch of mountain goats making short work of the thick stands of rhody, one herd dragging the cuttings to the bottom of the hill for burning while the other set up their fire halfway up.

The site was visited by various dogs throughout the day and we attracted lots of attention from the public, many of whom stopped to take photos.  This ongoing task has been proceeding for a few years now and is really making a difference to the surrounding area.  The eventual establishment of native broad leaf woodland instead of the overpoweringly dark rhododendron will make for a lovely and far more biodiverse environment.

Thanks to the rangers for looking after us, staying all day and providing biscuits to supplement the cake supply.

Tim

Oak woodland clearance at Erddig, Sunday 6th September 2015

Today's workday almost didn't happen! After frantic attempts at setting up a workday, James at Erddig came to our rescue by agreeing for us to join the Merseyside and Chester groups.

Emails were circulated in the few days beforehand, and we managed to muster a good turnout, with seven of us attending (Lisa, Matt S, Tim, Neil, Tricia, Adrian and Emily enjoying her first MNTV experience). We even had to disappoint the odd person, capping numbers at seven to avoid having too many people overall.

This was our first trip to Erddig (near Wrexham) for many years, but the journey was shorter than anticipated, and the grounds very beautiful, with some enormous mature trees and dazzlingly colourful wildflower borders. And the sun was shining!

The worksite presented us with a wall of tangled greenery. Our task was to identify the oak saplings that were planted a few years ago, and then cut back everything else so the young oaks wouldn't be outcompeted by other trees and simply die off.

The plan is a long-term one. The area will become an oak woodland, with the weaker trees being thinned out in 15-20 years time, and the remaining trees growing tall and strong, ready for harvesting in about 200 years. I doubt we'll see the end result - even Adrian may have hung up his bowsaw by 2215!

Lisa's lemon drizzle cake went down a treat at break time, and by 3pm the three groups had collectively cleared a large area where the oaks now had space to breathe and enjoy clear views to the sky. We burned the remaining brash, with Neil taking the prime role tending the fire.

At 3.30 we were ready to head back down the M56 after a great workday. Hopefully we'll be back at Erddig in 2016!

Wonderful Wharfedale Weekend, 29-31 August 2015

Twelve of us had enjoyed a superb weekend in April in Snowdonia with glorious weather, outrageously gorgeous scenery and a healthy slice of entertaining banter.  Our next weekend in Upper Wharfedale promised to be just as good!  At the end of the weekend in Snowdonia I may have kindly or stupidly said that if nobody else was willing to lead our next weekend away then I would. Kind or stupid?  You decide.

My weekend started with a train trip to Skipton.  Upon my arrival in Skipton I was met by Neil who had kindly offered to help me with the shopping, of which our bargain buy was marmalade for 27p.  After doing the shopping we headed to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales to a place called Buckden in Upper Wharfedale.  We were early to meet the ranger Roisin so we headed for the local pub.  30 minutes later we met up with Roisin.  She showed us round the bunkhouse which is lovely.  One of the rooms is even ensuite as is the leaders’ room!  That evening Neil and myself dined on pizza & salad with the others arriving throughout the evening, these being Tim, Louise, Jo, John, Nita, Sam and Sam’s very good friend Carbe.  That evening we took part in a little libation and swapped stories.

Saturday dawned cool and cloudy with some low cloud still lingering on the hilltops.  We were up early but Richard must have been up earlier than any of us as he had left Stockport at 6.30 that morning and arrived with us just after 8am.  Breakfast consisted of cereal and toast and we broke with tradition with bacon and eggs on offer too.  We were ready to go at 9.30 when ranger Peter and new ranger Patrick arrived.  They told us that we were the first group to use the basecamp and that the day’s task would not be rhody bashing as expected but laurel bashing.  Peter drove the pickup and Patrick walked with us to show us where the worksite was.  We didn't use the cars at all for the time we were there which was a change.  Having walked along the river and up into Redmire Wood we reached our worksite for the day.  It was on quite a slope but we weren't going to let that get in the way of our work.

The wood was created for Buckden House which was the residence of Sir John Charles Ramsden and his wife during 1831-1879.  It was then lived in and cared for by the Stansfield Family until 1938.  The woods themselves were used as a pleasure park and so had lots of interesting trees and built features.  There were many carriage tracks going up the side of the hill for folk of years gone by to enjoy views of the valley.  It was this we were trying to get back.  It will never be as it was as there are some very large trees, some of which are quite rare.

The laurel had been left and was out of control and so we were getting rid of it.  We did this by dividing into three groups and cutting and dragging cut laurel into large piles.  We worked hard and at break and lunchtime enjoyed cake and biscuits.  Richard had made some very tasty shortbread.  Maybe this is why he couldn't join us until Saturday morning?  Roisin had been baking cakes for the Malham show which was taking place on the Saturday.  She had left one that hadn't gone quite right at the basecamp for us the night before so we enjoyed that.  We gave it first prize!  We ate our lunch in a clearing and saw dark clouds lurking and just as we were finishing up the R word happened and it was torrential for a while so we all dived for cover under the trees.  Once it had eased off we got back to work in our waterproofs.  We finished work at 3pm and Peter and Patrick took us to see four very tall Giant Redwood trees and we had a game of how many MNTVers can we it round the trunk?  Answer: 4.  After this we headed back to the pickup via a viewpoint, onto the basecamp and straight to the Buck Inn.  We spent a while there and that evening dined on pasta bolognese, garlic bread, salad and for pudding meringues with strawberries and cream. My thanks to Louise for her help in the kitchen.

Sunday dawned bright but cloudy.  Sam and Carbe left after breakfast and today our ranger was Roisin.  We spent the morning carrying on with the work we had started the day before, but because there were less of us we only split into two groups.  During our break Roisin produced some of her prize winning cakes - the flapjack was particularly nice.  We finished working at 1pm and upon arrival back at the basecamp we again headed to the pub.  I should point out here we are not alcoholics just enjoy each other’s company!  After a drink we went back to the basecamp and had lunch which was leftovers.  It was after this that people started departing.  As Neil and I were staying until Monday we said we would clean.  John went for a walk. The last to depart was Richard - he left at about 5.30 which left Neil, John and I.  We ended the weekend with a trip to the pub for our evening meal.

My thanks must go to Neil for all his help and the lifts and to the committee for their belief in me organising the weekend!

Ally

Himilayan Balsam bashing at Dunham Massey on Sunday 23rd August 2015

13 of us met John, the Dunham NT Ranger, in the main car park. We then walked out of the main entrance and down a lane to Brick Kiln woods. John showed us 3 area's where the Himilayan Balsam needed pulling up and the roots snapped off below the lowest nodule on the stem - this is so they can't re-root and grow again after they've been discarded on the ground.
We also had various styles of slashers we could use to chop the Balsam off as close to the ground as possible but most of us were quite happy pulling the Balsam up rather than using the slashers.

We worked steadily, avoiding brambles and other trip hazards, stopping for cake and coffee in a clearing in the sun mid-morning.

By lunchtime we'd finished pulling up all the easily-accessible Balsam so we gathered our First Aid kits, slashers and other equipment and walked back into the Dunham car park where we set ourselves up for lunch using one of the empty Dunham picnic tables.

After lunch, we met up with John so he could lead us all in our cars, slowly!, through the park past the visitors and deer and out on the main drive where we parked our cars near the stile. We then climbed over the stile, crossed Charcoal Road and started tackling the Balsam in an wooded area close to the golf club. There was so much Balsam in these woods that we felt we hardly had chance to make an impact by the time it was time to leave.
Let's hope other volunteer groups are lined up to continue this mammoth task before the Balsam seed heads 'explode', scattering their invasive seeds far and wide, making the spread of Himilayan Balsam even greater:-(

Footpath work at Bosley Cloud on 16 August 2015

Six of us went to Bosley Cloud today to continue the job we began six weeks ago repairing a stretch of the Gritstone Trail near the summit.  We worked alongside Cheshire Countryside volunteers Colin and Jim and spent the morning returfing eroded sides of the path by 'plug planting' heather sods cut from the heathland on either side.

The heather had come into bloom since our visit in July and the hillside was carpeted lilac and loud with the drone of bees.  In the afternoon we changed jobs and redefined and rebuilt drainage channels across the footpath that we had built or repaired last time.

Tim Ryan (Ranger) had chalked up an A-board to explain the work we were doing and why and who was doing it:

During the day lots of people walked up and down the path and we chatted to several of them.  Many expressed their appreciation of the work we were doing.

Lunch was taken at the summit where we had fabulous views north to Shining Tor, Shutlingsloe, Sutton Common, Macclesfield, Manchester and Alderley Edge.

As a treat for everyone Daniel had baked a Battenburg Cake and this was enjoyed at elevenses and at the end of the day.

Log-splitting and other jobs on the Styal estate on Sun 9th August 2015

Eight of us met Ashley, one of the new members of the Ranger team, at the wood store. She had brought the log-splitter with her on the tractor and, once we'd all assembled, she told us what jobs needed doing.

Four stages had previously been upturned and were being used as storage for logs. These logs were now 3 years old and suitable to be sold to the tenants of Oak Cottages for their wood-burning stoves so the logs were moved by wheelbarrow and added to a pile of 2 year old logs which were in another part of the wood store.

Moving the 3 year old logs and removing the stages, created a space where a newly acquired machine for making planks could be moved undercover to protect it from the rain. Ashley was thrilled that we managed to get all this done before elevenses! Fortunately Sue had brought carrot cake and chocolate cake to fortify everyone at break time so there was no slacking after a short break!

We were shown how to use the log splitter, an easy way of breaking up large sections of tree trunks into pieces suitable for use in the wood-burning stoves.

We were also given axes and a few of us chopped the tree trunks into pieces the hard way! Christine really worked hard on this and spent hours chopping the wood with an axe.

We were also asked to go into a nearby area where the school children have activities and remove any trip-hazards. Neil volunteered for this job and, after spending quite a bit of time 'working hard', he admitted that he'd found a hammock hanging between 2 trees and felt that he really ought to try it out from a Health and Safety point of view!!!
He also decided to 'paddle his own canoe' - who knows where he was trying to get to:-)

As we were making so much great progress on our tasks, Adrian volunteered to spend his time re-painting the MNTV tools with our signature yellow paint, so that they can be easily spotted if they get left in undergrowth. He managed to get all the tools painted. This was great news for the MNTV committee members, as we had already offered to give up a Saturday in a few weeks time to get the painting done - so many thanks Adrian for completing the job for us!

Just before lunchtime, Louise came to join us. She hadn't been able to start at 9.30 but thought she'd come along to help out for part of the day. Phil also came to visit - she wasn't able to stay and work but stopped off to say hello.

We got everything done that was asked of us and Ashley was really delighted with everything we'd achieved and .............................................we even remembered to take a group photo of the day!

MNTV social - walk around the Styal estate and drink at The Ship on Friday 7th August 2015

What a lovely evening for a social:-)

Four of us (plus Honey the Jack Russell) met 'early doors' and had a meal at The Ship Inn at Styal. The food was lovely and the portion sizes were very, very generous! As we sat chatting after the meal, others who were coming on the walk around the Styal estate joined us. We met the rest by the Norcliffe Chapel sign on the old Altrincham Road at 7pm.

In total, 10 of us set off for the walk plus Honey and Archie(a lurcher-Bedlington terrier cross).

Julie, John and Honey are frequent walkers around Styal, so they offered to take us on a circular walk they often use. It started along the side of Norcliffe Chapel heading into the woods, up and down some sets of steps, over a couple of bridges, coming out at one point along the side of the airport runway (where we stopped for a photo opportunity), returning back to the Norcliffe Chapel sign
90 minutes later. It was a lovely walk with everyone chatting and sharing anecdotes as we went along. We even had the opportunity to inspect some fencing which was done by some members of MNTV a couple of months earlier.

After our walk we all went into the beer garden at The Ship for a drink and a chat.

Thanks to everyone for coming along and, in particular, to Julie, John and Honey for sharing their walk with us.

Balsam bashing at Hardcastle Crags on 2 August 2015

A new venue for the group and an old task that may well not be needed in a few years time. We were in the beautiful woodlands at Hardcastle Crags near Hebden Bridge and the task was pulling up Himalayan Balsam. Ten years ago, this was the first NT volunteering weekend and task that Pip and I had done.

The balsam on the estate is now reduced to a few patches in the woodland and the group reduced that even further. The reason there might not be a need for the pulling in a few years is that there is a trial of a natural control starting in the next valley. This is a rust from its mountainous home which only thrives on Himalayan Balsam. If it succeeds it should spread throughout the country at a rate of 100+ km a year. It won't get rid of the balsam entirely, just stop it being so widespread.

From a grey start the day brightened over time until there was warm August sunshine. We ate our lunches outside the cafe at Gibson's Mill after a short (or long - opinions differed) stroll through the woodland alongside Hebden Water and enjoyed a sociable, straightforward task.

Mick

Moving logs etc at Edale on 26 July 2015

Today seven of us carried on the task of the group out at Hayfield on 31st May (log splitting), moved logs for the Edale bunkhouse fire and went up to Mam Tor to collect larger timber felled in the car park woods. A short tale to tell of the day, but it included morning sunshine, beautiful views and some refreshing Derbyshire rain. Not to mention the microwaved (!) lemon cake.

Mick.

Deer herding and thistle thrashing at Lyme Park on Sunday 19th July 2015

Nine of us met Ranger Gary in the main Lyme Park car park and, instead of being taken to where we would be thistle thrashing, we were asked if we'd help move some Fallow deer from Hampers Wood. We drove up to the Stables and left our cars there, then walked the rest of the way. Hampers Wood is almost surrounded by a dry stone wall but there are gaps in the wall for people to walk through. We went in and tried to spread out to cover the width of the wood, walking slowly so the deer could see or hear us and, because they are very timid, would run out through one of the gaps. Some deer saw us as we approached and, we hope, left the wood. As we walked along, the Rangers put fencing over the gaps so the deer couldn't get back in. As we retraced our steps to leave the way we entered the wood, some of our group saw a couple of deer still in the wood so we had to go back in and try and encourage them to leave. I've never been 'deer herding' before, so yet another 'first' with MNTV:-)

We went back to our cars and moved them again, this time to the wood store, so we didn't take too long to walk to where we were using slashers to cut down the thistles in part of the deer sanctuary. If they were left for another few weeks, they would start to spread their seeds enabling new thistles to grow. Some of the thistles easy to find and slash but some were in long grass making it a bit tricky to get down near the base to slash them.

It was a varied day and, having missed an early downpour before we got to Lyme, the weather improved throughout the day. The views of the Cheshire plains, when we stopped for lunch, were magnificent. Two of our group couldn't stay for the afternoon so, by the time we took a group photo at the end of the day, there were only 7 of us remaining.

Biddulph Grange Gardens Sun 12th July 2015

 

Eight eager volunteers made their way to Biddulph Grange Gardens this week to work on the renovation and improvement of a section of the garden we have been involved with for ten years. The job this time was removing weeds from between laurel planting and covering the area with a two inch layer of sterile mulch. The very dark brown mulch not only prevents the weeds restabilising but also retains water and heat to maximise the growth potential of the laurel which look very pretty popping up out of the dark soil.

Before we started

Almost finished:-)

It has been very satisfying to see and be a part of the transformation of this section of the gardens from a brick strewn waste land to peaceful area with a lovely swath of lawn besides an elegantly curved path. The project is still ongoing and the planting of the laurel is just part of the on long term plan for the area so hopefully we will continue to work here and see the metamorphis continue.

 

The weather was dry all-day with just a hint of rain in the morning and bright sun shine in the afternoon, some of us really caught  the sun with Tim going a very fetching shade of lobster pink. After we finished for the day we had time to tour the gardens, always a great place to explore and one of those spots where you seem find something new and delightful every time you visit.

Thanks to Paul the top banana and his team for providing a very interesting work day plus chocolate rolls at brew time and ice cream at the end of the day.

Text provided by Tim. Photo's by Adrian.

Footpath repair at Bosley Cloud on Sunday 5 July 2015

Six of us spent today at Bosley Cloud with Tim Ryan (Ranger) and Colin (Alderley Edge volunteer) repairing sections of the Gritstone Trail near the summit.  Andy and Christine drove there direct and Daniel, Adrian, Jo and Paige carshared from Quarry Bank Mill.  We rendezvoused on Tunstall Road at the junction with Gosberryhole Lane at 9:15.

The worktask was to build stone 'run offs' to prevent water running down the path and instead drain across it.  This should mean the path is drier and encourage walkers to stick to it and not walk on drier ground either side thereby widening the path through erosion.  The first step was to dig diagonal trenches across the path using mattocks and spades and the second step was to unearth boulders from the path/heathland and manoeuvre them to the trench by rolling and/or using wrecking bars, then set them in place slightly proud of the path.  Gaps between the boulders were filled with stones and spoil.  The footpath was easy to dig into (compact sand) and the boulders could be chipped to size with blows from the mattocks.

We ate lunch at the summit of the Cloud and enjoyed wonderful views to all four points of the compass.  The viewing disc informed us that Land's End was 264 miles away, Snowdon 81, Liverpool Cathedral 38, John o'Groats 380 and London Charing Cross 143.

We are returning to Bosley Cloud on 16 August and will be building more 'run offs' then.

Daniel

(PS volunteers from the Congleton group and Congleton Harriers also repaired footpaths at the Cloud today but worked on the west side and not at our worksite.)

Workday at Styal on 28th June 2015

Ten of us turned out at Styal for a varied workday.  First thing was on to the Mill Meadow to look for an item of jewellery lost by a visitor the day before.  Despite the ranger having searched the area by torchlight the night before (looking for shiny things) and 14 of us getting down on our hands and knees we didn't find it.  Then we split into two groups for the main work: one group went with a ranger to the Southern Woods to pull up Himalayan Balsam while the other group became the first NT volunteers to work on a new purchase, namely Bank House Farm which is just behind the Mill Meadow.

There we cut invading thistles by using scythes prior to the fields being treated with herbicide.  We may in the future be doing a lot more work on the farm.

Adrian

MNTV social at the Phanthong Thai in Wilmslow Sat 27th June 2015

As well as being an MNTV social, this evening was also to add to the numerous 'big' birthday celebrations of Phil, one of our MNTV members.

Phil selected the venue which was the Phanthong Thai restaurant in Wilmslow (by the Kings Arms on Alderley Road) and 7 of us met there for a 7.30pm booking.

We had a lovely evening as the food and the wine flowed (for those of us that weren't driving that is!). Five of us selected the banquet and it was fabulous, the others choosing from the a la carte menu. Although there was the occasional chilli to watch out for, which certainly brought tears to Andy's eyes, the food was really tasty, beautifully presented and beautifully cooked. I had never been there before and will certainly be adding it to my list:-)

The conversations were also fascinating including the discovery that Phils mum and Daniels mum were friends in their youth (we saw photo's of them as bridesmaids) proving that it really is 'a very small world'!

Keep partying Phil!!

Hayfield on Sunday 21st June 2015

A select group of six volunteers met up with four rangers various dogs and two of the ranger’s lads in the Set Valley car park in Hayfield this week.  From the meeting point we decamped to the road outside the Sportsman pub where we parked our cars and piled into the properties brand new minibus to complete the journey to Kinder reservoir. After a short but steep walk along the reservoirs boundary wall we reached the first work site, a plantation of mixed trees, where we proceeded to cut the bracken threatening to swamp the trees from around their bases using the sword like slashers provided.

 

We also replaced some tree guards and generally tided up.  Lunch was taken on the sunny hill side overlooking the reservoir with the view of Mount Famine, Dale Head and the dark looming bulk of Kinder Scout making for an atmospheric back drop.

In the afternoon we walked along the track bordering the water for about quarter of a mile to the next work site on a very steep hill. We finished work about three o’clock and made our way back to the minibus picking up discarded tree guards and other detritus on the way.

 

Thanks to Shane and the lads for looking after us and providing an interesting work day and to Tim for the brownies which he swore he had baked himself but unfortunately had forgotten to take out of the Morrison’s cake box!
Text from Tim, photo's from Adrian